TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Abdul Ghafur, chief administrator of Darussalam Mosque in Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta, has confirmed the dismissal of a man called Rasyidin Nawin from his post as an official of the mosque for supporting Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok, and Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

"That's the consequences [for supporting Ahok]," Ghafur told Tempo on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, at his house in Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta.

Earlier, social media posts reported Rasyidin's dismissal. A picture of Rasyidin was posted alongside a picture of his dismissal letter. A netizen captioned the pictures saying that the mosque official in Pondok Pinang had been dismissed for supporting Ahok.

Ghafur has confirmed the pictures, and said that Rasyidin was dismissed in February 2017 based on the dismissal letter. The letter was issued following a meeting of Darussalam Mosque officials in Bogor, West Java.

Darussalam Mosque secretary Firmansyah said that Rasyidin's choice to support Ahok was against the agreements reached among mosque officials. He said that Rasyidin had been given warnings on several occasions about voting for Muslim leaders.

"Because Rasyidin was different from us, we had held talks with him but we could not [change his stance]. He himself had said 'if you want to dismiss me, just do it'," Firmansyah said.

Ghafur added that Rasyidin had openly shown his political preference.

According to Ghafur, despite the dismissal, both he and Rasyidin have kept in touch. However, Ghafur said that Rasyidin no longer performs prayers at Darussalam Mosque following the dismissal.

FRISKI RIANA