Leaders seldom enjoy universal support, but if some 12,000 police and even military personnel have to be mobilized for the inauguration of a new Jakarta governor, clearly something is not right.

Resistance to Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, comes from various sides. A number of political parties opposed to his leadership decided to boycott Friday’s plenary meeting during which those present endorsed Basuki. And then there are his opponents on the streets, with the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, being the most outspoken.

While the politicians seem to mainly decry his assertive leadership style, which holds little regard for any of the special interests to which council members may be beholden, the hard-line FPI has said it cannot accept Basuki because he is an “arrogant non-Muslim.”

Members of the group in early October went on a rampage at City Hall, resulting in the hospitalization of 16 police officers, and more recently the group has vowed to keep up the pressure. “Jakarta’s leader should be from the majority [religious group],” a leader of the FPI said last Monday.

Citizens of Jakarta certainly have the right to express their dislike of their leaders, including by taking to the streets. But when demonstrations keep resulting in violence, the state has to draw a line. Fortunately, the preparations on the part of the police and the military show that the authorities are willing to take a stand in their support of a democratically elected official.

The Twitter hashtag #GubernurAhok made it into the top 5 of trending topics worldwide on Friday, which is just one of the signs that Basuki enjoys overwhelming support.

Basuki is not backing down in the face of threats, nor are the police. And that is how it should be.