Anies Baswedan's first public speech as the new Jakarta governor turned out to be counterproductive. It is disheartening that he set out to spark the primordial issue even before he assumed his duties. Instead of offering a breath of fresh air giving hope and uniting Jakartans, the speech was as if to divide people and stir up fear among the minorities.

And clearly it was not a slip of the tongue. The script was meticulously prepared and its pos