What new excuse will Bogor's controversial mayor Diani Budiarto come up with next to prevent the GKI Yasmin church from opening, one wonders?

In the latest excuse, the mayor has told Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi that the church should not be built on a street with an Islamic name.

Not only is the mayor in open defiance of a Supreme Court ruling, he is turning logic on its head and making a mockery of the country's constitution and laws. If the mayor's latest reasoning was to be applied more widely, many mosques would be closed because they are located on streets with names taken from other religions.

Ombudsman Commission chairman Danang Girindrawardana has said that the street name issue was manufactured and defied reason.

Thankfully, ordinary Indonesians do not accept the mayor's farcical reasoning. Judging from the public reaction, most people are appalled that he would have the gall to come up with such a lame excuse. In fact, local cleric Muhammad Mustofa, whose father shares his name with the street, has said in the past that he has no objection to the church.

What may have started as a local dispute has turned into a national embarrassment. As a nation committed to pluralism, tolerance and the rule of law, we cannot allow to persist such blatant disregard for the values we cherish. It is inconceivable that a local politician can thumb his nose at the entire country and get away with it.

How is it that the country has come to this? We have laws that govern us and courts that settle disputes according to those laws. We have a Ministry of Religion, which has been conspicuously quiet on this issue, to ensure that religious harmony is maintained. We have a deep culture of tolerance and celebrating diversity.

Yet, one man is able to defy the entire country just because he has some unknown reason for not allowing a church to be built in a particular location.

If he is able to get his way, there will be no turning back and we risk sliding into anarchy. We pray that the mayor will soon obey the law for the good of the nation.