The Jakarta Government has long owned a significant number of shares of PT Delta Djakarta, a brewer that produces several local beers including Anker, Carlsberg and San Miguel.
The ownership has rarely caused rancor until Governor Anies Baswedan promised during his campaign that he would divest the government's shares in order to appeal to conservative Muslim voters.
The promise was mostly forgotten until last week when news broke that the number of shares that the Jakarta Government held in Delta Djakarta had actually increased recently.
As it turned out, this was not due to the government buying more stocks but because of a merger between the administration and another shareholding unit owned by the administration, Equity Investment and Management Board (BP-IPM Jaya).
Nonetheless, the incident provoked a new debate over the Delta Djakarta shares, with Governor Anies saying he wants to sell the shares but saying he did not have the support of the Jakarta City Council (DPRD).Jakarta DPRD chairperson Prasetio Edi Marsudi has indeed rejected plans to divest the Delta Djakarta, arguing that ownership in the company does not cause any harm to Jakartans while also providing them with a good return on investment.
In response, Anies said he would report the DPRD's reluctance to sell the beer shares to the "people".
"We intend to report this. We report to the people of Jakarta that your representatives want to continue to own the beer shares. So that later citizens can also also convey their aspirations," Anies said on Tuesday as quoted by BeritaSatu.
That "report" is what seems to have triggered this afternoon's demonstration by members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and the 212 Alumni Brotherhood (PA 212) – both hardline Islamist organizations – in front of Jakarta City Hall demanding that the government's beer shares be sold.
PA 212 spokesperson Novel Bamukmin said the demonstration was based on upholding Governor Anies' campaign promise to sell the stock.
"We ask that Jakarta is built up not just physically but also morally and spiritually. That is important. And this is why we are committed to this cause," Novel said as quoted by Tempo today.
The latest update is that DPRD Deputy Speaker M Taufik met with representatives of the demonstrators to discuss their agenda and said he would support the sale of the shares.
The Jakarta Government controls about 3.7 million shares in Delta Djakarta, equal to about 23.34% of the company. The company's shares have brought millions of dollars of revenue to the capital over the years.