Indonesia's justice system is opaque and confusing. Western rules of evidence don't apply.

Judges in sex abuse and murder trials discard expert evidence based on the visa status of the witness, and give weight to irrelevant testimony, like how many times per week an accused man had sex with his wife or whether an alleged killer shed fake tears.

This does not bode well for Jakarta's Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, who will stand trial for blasphemy next week in the face of a popular campaign to have him jailed for "insulting Islam".

In the blink of an eye, an ethnic Chinese governor who was a symbol of Indonesian tolerance and diversity is now tanking in the opinion polls, a hate figure in mass protests, and a defendant in a blasphemy trial.

On Friday, Ahok's former political running mate, President Joko Widodo, symbolically washed his hands of the Governor by praying with protesters who want his blood.

The momentum is building against Ahok. His chance of being re-elected Governor is now remote, and there is a high possibility that he will be convicted and jailed.

It is terribly unfair for an effective and popular political leader who has been able to tackle some of Jakarta's biggest problems, like flooding, illegal development, apocalyptic traffic and bureaucratic incompetence.

His chief critic, hardline Islamic cleric Rizieq Shihab, says protests against Ahok will continue until he gets what he wants: the "severe punishment" of Ahok.

The case against the Governor centres on comments he made to a small group of fishermen in September.

Ahok, who is Christian, was responding to claims by his opponents that Muslims cannot vote for him.

They cite a verse in the Koran — Almaidah 51 — that says Muslims should not be allies with Jews and Christians.

Ahok said this in response: "Maybe in your heart you think that you couldn't vote for me — but you are being lied to by using Almaidah 51."

He went on to tell the fishermen: "If you feel like you cannot vote for me because you'll go to hell, you're being tricked — but that's OK, it's your call."
Ahok's comments probably weren't wise — even in Australia politicians criticize religious leaders at their peril — but they hardly seem blasphemous.

But that doesn't really matter now. This whole episode defies logic. It feels like the fix is in. The momentum is against Ahok. There were 100,000 people at the first protest, and perhaps 500,000 at the second.

A month ago Mr Widodo wouldn't be seen dead in the same room as a hardliner like Rizieq Shahib — now he shares a stage with him in front of half a million people.

An emboldened Rizieq told the crowd that this movement will not stop at Ahok.

"I want to remind you that today we gather because Almaidah 51 has been insulted, remember, this is a sign from God, our fight is not only until Ahok is arrested or prisoned, it should be more than that, Almaidah 51 should be enforced in Indonesia, it should be applied in Indonesia."

In other words — Christians shouldn't have power over Muslims.

Members of Indonesia's Chinese community are rightly terrified by what's happening. They fear that this could turn into a re-run of the anti-Chinese mayhem of 1998, which saw widespread violence and looting.

More protests are inevitable if Ahok is acquitted. Conviction is unfair and unjust, but it is the only sure way to stop a mass movement that threatens Indonesia's stability and the rise of extremists like Rizieq.

You get the feeling that Mr Widodo has already picked his side. The court's decision should come early in 2017.

POSTED TUE DEC 06 23:43:13 EST 2016

Sumber = http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-06/indonesia-justice-system-and-jakarta-governor-ahok-trial/8098182?pfmredir=sm

S E N S O R???????
Yg tahu artinya monggo kasih tanggapan. Maaf salah kamar y