S

ecurity for Deputy Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has been beefed up ahead of his assumption of the capital'€™s top job.

Ahok will soon replace the president-elect, Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo, who is slated to be inaugurated as Indonesia'€™s seventh president on Oct. 20.

The outspoken politician acknowledged that he had received three new guards provided by the City Police.

'€œYes, I have three new guards, who started working on Monday,'€ he told reporters on Monday evening.

He shrugged off questions that the move had been triggered by specific security concerns.

'€œIt was not because of any threats. Maybe because I am going to the governor soon, they thought it was better to increase the number of my personal guards. Anyway, there is a Catholic among the new guards, so I will still be guarded during Friday prayer,'€ he said. Muslim men normally go to the mosque to perform a mass Friday prayer.

According to Ahok'€™s personal assistant, Sakti Budiono, Ahok'€™s security detail now included 10 police personnel who worked in shifts.

The deputy governor'€™s safety was recently threatened when a facade attached to a 24-story building in the City Hall compound fell, grazing Ahok'€™s office, which is located next to it.

An independent team and the police were currently investigating the incident.

When asked about whether the investigation indicated that the facade had been deliberately weakened, Ahok answered with a joke, '€œI don'€™t know. Maybe I should start wearing a bullet-proof vest.'€

Separately, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto told reporters on Tuesday that he had yet to be notified about the three additional police personnel that had been assigned to guard Ahok.

However, Rikwanto said that anyone who felt threatened could submit a letter to any police office in the nation requesting private security. The police would then consider the person'€™s position and the level of threat before deciding whether to provide policemen for security.

'€œThere is no maximum number a person can request. But we will also do our own analysis of the situation to see how many personnel we can deploy for that person,'€ he said.

Most people who requested bodyguards, Rikwanto explained, were people in high positions, such as government officials or company directors.

'€œWe usually accept requests as long as the reasons are rational,'€ he said.

He said that besides bodyguards, public officials were also allowed to carry a handgun for self-protection, provided they had obtained an official permit from the police.

Police personnel assigned to Jakarta officials come from a variety of units, but are dominated by officers from the Mobile Brigade corps. Normally, they appear in plainclothes, often batik. (fss)