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Ahok denies financing Teman Ahok
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People fill in forms and provide their identity cards for copying at a Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok) booth at Kuningan City Mall in South Jakarta on Thursday. Teman Ahok has opened booths at 15 malls to garner public support for Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s independent candidacy in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. (thejakartapost.com/Callistasia Anggun Wijaya)
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akarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has denied financing Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), especially in the form of a grant of Rp 500 million (US$38,233) for the initial operations of the group of volunteers who support the incumbent governor.
"I don't have money. Where did I get that money? It's his [Hasan Nasbi’s] business," Ahok said.
Ahok referred to Hasan Nasbi, director of political campaign consultancy the Cyrus Network. Ahok said Hasan was a supporter of the Jakarta Baru (New Jakarta) movement when Ahok and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ran as gubernatorial and deputy gubernatorial candidates in the 2012 election.
“After that, Hasan and I became good friends,” Ahok said.
Separately, Hasan said that the Rp 500 million was donated by 10 people who supported Ahok. "Each of us gave Rp 50 million. Most of the donors are my business partners," Hasan told thejakartapost.com on Friday.
The money was used by Teman Ahok volunteers to make merchandise and print support forms, said Hasan, adding that aside from being a political consultant, he also owned restaurants and a property business.
Previously, lawmakers from the House of Representatives Commission II overseeing domestic affairs and regional governance proposed additional articles for the Regional Elections Law to require audits of the financial resources of independent supporters like Teman Ahok.
In response to the proposal, Ahok said he had no opposition to the idea. “Just audit them [the volunteers]; it is not my business," Ahok said.
Ahok added that he kept all of his money in the bank so all of his transactions could be traced by the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK). (bbn)
