H

aving been an avid supporter of Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, I was recently quite surprised to know that two respectable members of a study group were not enthusiastic about the governor’s leadership style.

They criticized Ahok’s way of dealing with the Kampung Pulo flood control project. They were not comfortable with Ahok’s obsession about turning Jakarta into a Singapore-like city either.

At first, I didn’t see anything wrong with such voices, but after discovering how people live in Singapore and how their government works, I began to fear what kind of leader Ahok could be.

Compulsively clean, filled with diverse attractions and catering to consumerism, Singapore is a popular holiday destination for many Indonesians. Not only that, many Indonesians also send their children to study at various educational institutions there, which rank among the best worldwide.

However, it seems that people pay less attention to Singapore’s dark side.

According to Human Rights Watch, Singapore limits freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. In the country, activities or expressions deemed a threat to “security, public order, morality and racial and religious harmony” are prohibited by the state.

For example, To Singapore, With Love, a film featuring interviews with activists who fled Singapore to avoid political persecution, has been banned by Singapore’s Media Development Authority.

The institution also requires news websites that discuss domestic political issues to be registered, and if there is any content deemed to be affecting the public interest, public order or national harmony, or to be offending “good taste or decency”, it has to be immediately removed.

... we need to make sure that we are not returning to the era when critics were silenced.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong previously sued an activist and blogger, Roy Ngerng Yi Ling, who criticized Lee’s way of managing the Central Provident Fund by calling it a misappropriation of funds.

As a result, Ngerng has been ordered to pay the prime minister S$150,000 (US$111,135) for defamation. Ngerng, along with notable activist Han Hui Hui and four others, has also been charged with carrying out a demonstration at Speaker’s Corner in Hong Lim Park without permission.

Most Jakartans are excited about the possibility of Jakarta emulating Singapore under Ahok. Indeed, Ahok has begun sweeping bureaucratic reforms. His dauntless admonition of civil servants who lack the appropriate mentality to serve the people has forced his subordinates to improve their performance.

With harsh words, he has threatened to fire incompetent officials. Middle-class people in Jakarta have praised his courage and supported his measures.

When visiting Jakarta, the dean of the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, Kishore Mahbubani, said Ahok reminded him of the late Singaporean founding father when he was young.

The scholar said that Ahok finished whatever he planned, just like Lee did, such as the relocation of squatters to low-cost apartments across Jakarta.

Although the apartment units seem to fulfill people’s basic needs, activists believe the policy neglected the fact that their lives were rooted deep in their former neighborhoods.

Furthermore, Ahok’s disputatious personality was taken to a new level when he challenged Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti to a debate on Jakarta’s north coast reclamation.

The minister warned that the project would degrade the environment and therefore had to pass an inter-institutional study.

It turns out that bribery mars the reclamation project. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has arrested Jakarta city councilor Muhammad Sanusi for allegedly accepting bribes from PT Agung Podomoro Land, one of the developers in the reclamation project. The company’s president director Ariesman Widjaja was also later named a suspect in the case.

In spite of the criticism and the graft case, Ahok has vowed to go ahead with the lucrative project.

Ahok seems to always have the right answer to counter his detractors. On the issue of reclamation, he maintains that other countries like Singapore opted for it and questions why Jakarta shouldn’t too.

His steadfast decision on the reclamation projects and relocation of squatters shows his uncompromising attitude when it comes to what he believes is right. Ahok looks to Lee Kwan Yew, but does Jakarta really need a Lee type of leadership?

Indonesians have shed blood to unseat a dictatorship, and we need to make sure that we are not returning to the era when critics were silenced. I’d rather have a leader who respects differences and embraces them to make sure that a policy is really for the benefit of most people.

Unlike Ahok, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has set an example of listening to the people. Jokowi doesn’t make fun of dissenting perspectives and he often just remains silent when facing insults.

Ahok is certainly a different kind of leader. He is courageous and, rest assured, he is good for Jakarta.

At the same time, however, he has to a certain degree displayed his penchant for authoritarianism.