Everyone's Mad At Bandung's Mayor Right Now

In what should have been a feel good PR move, Thai celebrity Punpun Sutatta Udomsil sent a message of love to Bandung's people and their mayor, Ridwan Kamil. Mayor Kamil decided to respond by accusing her of being transgender.

Udomsilp posed a selfie with a sign that said "I Love Bandung. To: Kang Emil #BandungJuara," with 'Kang Emil' used as a colloquial version of the Mayor's name. Not one to take a totally harmless and kind gesture lying down, Mayor Kamil said, "Dapat salam dari artis Thailand. Semoga dia bukan lelaki" ("Got a shout out from this Thai celebrity. I hope she's not actually a dude").

The post was a photo taken by a local Indonesian fan club who met Udomsil while she was in town, and the photo eventually made it to the Instagram account of Mayor Kamil.

The caption received criticism almost immediately. Many public figures spoke up on Twitter, like Time and CNN journalist Yenni Kwok.

Director Joko Anwar also chimed in.

Which translates to "If someone we call "role-model" endorses discrimination. We have lost."

After the sea of criticism, Ridwan Kamil corrected his caption and made a public apology. "Got a shout out from a Thai celebrity. Thank you @punpun_sutatta (I apologize for the previous version if it was ambiguous)."

Many seem to accept his apology, Enricoreonald wrote, "I appreciate kang @ridwankamil for revising his post. Next time please be more careful and about your words, especially since RK [Ridwan Kamil] is a public figure. If you weren't a public figure, people might not have cared. I know you meant it as a joke (I don't support LGBT but I'm not transphobic either)."

Bandung resident, Lia Lestari, considers his post as a poor attempt at a joke. "Maybe he meant it as a joke, because his posts always contain jokes. Cheap jokes about love and being single," said Lia, who works in marketing. "[All of this happened] because he's a mayor, there are many people who expect him to make innocent jokes, but when he made a gender-related joke, it became controversial."

This is not the first time Mayor Kamil sparked a controversy over gender. In 2014, the Bandung City Council launched an online campaign against littering. Anti-littering ads showed a woman with a quote saying, "Would you rather afford to be able to take me out to dinner, or pay a fine for littering."

Some saw that the campaign as objectifying women and treating them as a selling point. "It's as if we couldn't pay for our own meals," says Syarah Meidiana, a resident of Bandung. "I understand they're trying to get attention, but is it so hard to get attention without using the male gaze? And the sexism goes both ways, as if only boys litter." However, there were also some people and media who considered it a creative campaign that went viral.

Lia thought that the campaign was just another example of striking the wrong tone while trying to target a young audience through unique ad campaigns. "He's trying to convey a message through a simpler format with lighter language and advertising that is not stiff but able to deliver the message to citizens of Bandung."