Jakarta – Street artists have loudly condemned a mural contest festival to be organised by the Indonesian police (Polri) saying that it is a waste of time and absolutely does not show that the government is open to criticism.

Jakarta – The winners of the Gagged Mural Contest, which was organised by the Gejayan Calling (Gejayan Memanggil) movement, have been announced with as many as 85 out of hundreds of works and murals selected as champions.

Yogyakarta – A mural on the eastern side of the Wirobrajan intersection in Central Java city of Yogyakarta was covered over with black paint on the morning of Friday September 10.

It is known that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo would be passing through this stretch of road during a working visit to Yogyakarta today.

Fitria Chusna Farisa, Jakarta – Presidential Staff Deputy Chief Juri Ardiantoro says that criticism should not be allowed to ignore obedience to the law, ethics and aesthetics. If the criticism is intended as part of democracy, said Ardiantoro, these three elements must still be basic to this.

Tatang Guritno, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) says that the government has been excessive in dealing with the emergence of murals with a critical tone drawn by the public.

Jakarta – A number of murals and graffiti with a critical tone on walls in busy locations have been removed recently. The aggressive removal of the critical murals has largely been done by regional officials and police in their respective areas.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia is concerned that the public will become even more reluctant to express an opinion after police acted excessively by hunting down and arresting a person who painted a mural critical of the government.

Fitria Chusna Farisa, Jakarta – Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko has asked the public not to criticise President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in a reckless manner. After all, the president is a parent to the ordinary people and must be respected.

Jakarta – Jakarta State University (UNJ) sociologist Ubedilah Badrun has criticised the actions of authorities in removing murals containing social criticisms of the government such as a mural depicting President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo with the message "404: Not Found" in Tangerang and a mural reading "Forced to be well in a country that is sick"