Jakarta – Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman Said Aqil Siradj has called on the public not to conduct another rally against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama on Nov. 25.

"Conducting rallies is just a waste of money and energy. We fear that politicians will exploit it," Said said as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday.

The NU leader acknowledged that there was a plan to conduct another rally to demand the prosecution of Ahok for alleged blasphemy.

The police are investigating the alleged blasphemy by the governor in a fair and transparent manner, he said. The police have named Ahok a blasphemy suspect for remarks allegedly made concerning a Quranic verse in Thousand Islands in September.

The governor has been charged under Article 156 of the Criminal Code on blasphemy and Article 28 of the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law on hate speech.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/11/18/national-scene-nu-calls-cancellation-nov-25-rally.html