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s Jakarta’s gubernatorial election approaches, numerous communities in the capital are starting to openly express their opposition to incumbent candidate Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, whose direct manner is said by some to be his Achilles heel.

One of those communities is RT/RW Forum, a group which consists of neighborhood and community unit (RT and RW) heads in the capital. The group recently invited residents not to vote for “an unjust leader”.

The forum has circulated a form, hoping to collect 3 million ID copies from residents, as an expression of opposition toward Jakarta’s governor, who, in their account, “conducts evictions without discussion, supports anti-poor people policies, has ill manners and harasses RT and RW heads.”

“This movement was initiated by me and the others. This is not a political issue and we are not backed by some particular party or interest group. It is just the RT and RW heads in the capital,” said Andi Pane, one
of the RT and RW Forum founders and initiators of the “3-million ID movement”.

Andi further denied that the invitation to residents was designed to influence them to vote against Ahok.

However, he admitted that he and other founders established the forum in June due to their disappointment over Ahok’s “high-handed policies,” particularly Gubernatorial Decree No. 903/2016 on the tasks and functions of RT and RW heads.

In the decree, the administration demands that RT and RW heads send three daily reports on the condition of their neighborhoods to public monitoring application Qlue. In exchange, the heads receive Rp 10,000 (76 US Cents) or Rp 12,500 for every report they send.

However, the heads, some of whom are seniors and businessmen, have declined to comply with the policy as they find the obligation to be burdensome. In June, they reported the issue to the City Council.

Responding to the dissatisfaction of RT and RW heads, Ahok suggested that those who refused to comply with the policy resign from their positions.

Acknowledging the movement separately on Wednesday, Ahok labeled the 3-million ID initiative a legitimate expression of aspiration in a democratic society.

However, he added that the RT and RW heads who initiated the movement should resign from their positions because the movement harbored political overtones.

“The movement is acceptable in this democratic country. However, they should resign. Those receiving fees from the city’s budget cannot take part in politics. They have played a role in politics,” Ahok said, adding that the success of the movement would be proven or disproven in next year’s election.

Besides the RT/RW Forum, communities in Luarbatang, North Jakarta and Condet, East Jakarta, earlier expressed their opposition to Ahok for similar reasons. A recent survey by the psychology and political laboratory at University Indonesia (UI) found that Ahok ranked poorly in terms of temperament.

Meanwhile, Indikator Politik Indonesia (IPI) political analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi believes the movement is just a psychological ploy allegedly initiated by Ahok’s opposition.

“I think the movement is just weasel words that likely will not be realized. Gathering 3 million IDs is not an easy thing,” said Burhanuddin, adding that the forum did not represent all RT and RW heads in the capital.

“There is an indication that this is part of political maneuvers by Ahok’s opposition. On the brighter side, it is a sign that Ahok should listen more to people who do not like his manner of political communication, as well as his temperament. Although he was born like that, he has to manage it better,” Burhanuddin said.