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Ahok may tumble over controversial remarks
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Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama poses for a photograph with children in traditional attire after he opens a child-friendly park in Karet Tengsin, Central Jakarta, on Dec. 30. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
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ever has the country seen a politician as blunt as Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who has won as many detractors as supporters during his two-year stint as the capital’s leader.
Ahok is no ordinary politician who easily follows the dos and don’ts of political communication.
While the two politicians have many stark differences, Ahok shares one trait with US presidential candidate Donald Trump: Like the US Republican Party, the alliance of political parties backing Ahok is now wary of their nominee’s inclination to make controversial remarks, which analysts said would take a toll on his electability ahead of the February gubernatorial vote.
During a press conference in Blitar, East Java, on Monday, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri told the governor to keep his mouth shut when ambushed by journalists. The leader of the largest political party in the pro-Ahok coalition said
journalists would likely ask him leading questions so that “whatever [Ahok] said would come off negative”.
Megawati made the statement following an uproar over Ahok repeating a verse from the Quran that is used by some Muslim groups to oppose his election as governor. The governor said he meant to criticize the use of religion in politics, but some Muslims took his words as an insult to their holy book.
The gaffe has offended even Islamic groups that are traditionally considered moderate and which have claimed neutrality in the election. Ahok has apologized for the incident, but the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) on Tuesday issued an official statement asking the Jakarta Police to follow up on complaints filed against Ahok, who it said had clearly defamed the Quran.
Some groups, including the youth wing of Muhammadiyah, the nation’s second-largest Muslim organization, have asked the police to charge Ahok with blasphemy.
That was not the first time Ahok had triggered an uproar.
In August, he made national headlines after saying the country’s second-largest city, Surabaya, was equivalent to South Jakarta, despite their striking difference in size.
The size of Surabaya is 374.8 square kilometers and that of South Jakarta is 145.73.
Ahok made the statement in response to people who said the sidewalks in Surabaya were better than the ones in Jakarta. “As a resident of Surabaya, I have dignity […] Surabaya is not the same size as South Jakarta,” Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini angrily responded.
Surabaya residents took to the streets to protest Ahok’s statement, which they considered an insult to their city.
But the latest gaffe has the potential to derail Ahok’s chances in the election, with his opponents likely to use it to support their claim that the governor, a Christian of Chinese descent, is unfit to be a leader of Muslims, who make up about 90 percent of eligible voters.
The incident has further fueled sectarianism in the election, with several popular preachers, including Abdullah Gymnatiar, asking Muslims not to vote for Ahok.
Pelita Harapan University political analyst Emrus Sihombing said Ahok’s communication style was his Achilles’ heel and that it would hurt the public’s overall perception of him. “He needs a professional spokesman to accompany him when he is acting both as a candidate in the election and as a governor,”
he said.
Following the uproar, members of the pro-Ahok coalition have defended their candidate to minimize the political damage, assuring voters he did not intend to insult Islam.
Ahok’s campaign team has appointed 20 individuals to be the governor’s spokespeople during the election. Bestari Barus, one of those appointed, said they would conduct a meeting very soon to determine a better communication strategy for the incumbent.
Jakarta-based Polltracking Indonesia showed in a survey released last month that having a blunt personality was among the reasons why Ahok’s approval rating had dropped because people considered him rude. The pollster noted that Ahok’s electability rating in September was below 50 percent, down from about 70 percent in March.
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