Jakarta – Around 100 people staged a protest in front of the Lenteng Agung sub-district office in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, on Wednesday, demanding the dismissal of a newly installed Christian official in the predominantly Muslim sub-district.

The protesters, who claimed to be representing Lenteng Agung residents, held a demonstration in front of the office at 9:10 a.m. with an escort from dozens of police officers, tribunnews.com reported on Wednesday.

As previously reported, representatives of the residents submitted a list of 2,300 names and 1,500 photocopies of their IDs to the Jakarta administration on Aug. 19 as a show of support for the dismissal of Susan Jasmine Zulkifli, who is a Protestant.

The representatives argued that having a non-Muslim sub-district head was inconvenient, as the sub-district held many religious activities in which its head was expected to be involved.

Amid those demanding Susan's replacement, a group of people calling themselves the Forum of Lenteng Agung Residents for Reformation (Formala) said on Aug. 21 that they were supporting Susan as part of their support for the city administration's effort to develop good governance.

The Lenteng Agung sub-district head was among 415 local leaders inaugurated in June by Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo after passing a series of tests in an open-call selection. (hrl/ebf)