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n Wednesday morning, dozens of supporters of Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat, crowded a street in front of a modest house on Jl. Lembang in Menteng, Central Jakarta, known as Rumah Lembang — the headquarters of the pair’s campaign team.

The supporters, most of whom wore plaid shirts, the emblem of the candidates, had already packed the street starting from 6 a.m. to get queue numbers before entering the house so they could take pictures later with the candidates.

A supporter of the candidate pair, Oky Kurniawan, said that he and his other friends, amounting to 35 people, departed from their houses in Sunter, North Jakarta, at around 5 a.m. and arrived at 6 a.m. at Rumah Lembang.

The 59-year-old man said he came so early in the morning to get a low queue number.

“I have visited this house five times, but in my last four visits, I always got a high queue number, 200 or above. Today, I got queue number 46 as I came early,” Oky said.

By getting a low queue number, the possibility of taking a picture together with Ahok and Djarot was greater, he explained.

“The time to take pictures with the pair is limited, from around 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., so many visitors fail to get them.”

People who are willing to arrive early in the morning at the house include not only potential voters, those living in the city with Jakarta identification cards (KTP), but also people coming from other surrounding areas.

Activist and writer Julia Suryakusuma drove from her house in Cinere in Depok, West Java, at 5 a.m. to get to Rumah Lembang in a bid to show her support for the incumbent pair.

“It is clear that [some people] have tried to knock him down using SARA [ethnic, religious and racial] issues, so I am here now to support him. Ahok is the symbol of pluralism,” Julia said.

Ahok, a Christian of Chinese descent in a predominantly Muslim country, angered some Muslims after citing a Quranic verse during a visit to Thousand Islands regency in late September.

A number of anti-Ahok rallies, organized by a variety of Muslim groups and communities, have been staged in the capital to push for the immediate arrest of Ahok for alleged blasphemy.

After weeks of investigations, the National Police announced on Nov. 16 that they had named Ahok a blasphemy suspect.

American national Xandear Tjhatra, who claimed to be an Ahok supporter, said he hoped that Ahok’s legal case would not jeopardize the governor’s efforts to seek reelection.

“I support him because he can make the city better under his leadership,” the 42-year-old man said. That morning, he drove from Meruya, West Jakarta, where he has been staying during his three-long-week visit to the city.

“I departed at 5 a.m. from Meruya because I knew it would take a long time to get here due to traffic congestion,” he told The Jakarta Post, adding that he had arrived at 6:30 a.m. at the house and got queue number 92.

Rumah Lembang has been used as the Ahok-Djarot campaign team headquarters since Aug. 25. The operational expenses of the house, from the rent to equipment, is funded by a donor who prefers to remain anonymous.

The house is a space for Ahok and Djarot’s supporters to express their opinions and to meet directly with the candidate pair. There is a yard wide enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

It is estimated that up to 1,300 people visit Rumah Lembang every day. (vny)