TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Sjafrie-Idrus will likely be first Ahok’s challenger
Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Muhamad Idrus will likely be the first pair to challenge incumbent Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama as they start appearing together at events. The Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) have announced their plan to form a coalition to jointly nominate a gubernatorial ticket in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
CD
Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Muhamad Idrus pose for a photograph at an Islamic boarding school event in Jakarta, recently.
(tribunnews.com/-)
S
jafrie Sjamsoeddin and Muhamad Idrus will likely be the first pair to challenge incumbent Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama as they start appearing at events together.
The Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) have announced their plan to form a coalition to jointly nominate a gubernatorial ticket in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Gerindra deputy secretary-general Andre Rosadie said Sjafrie, a former deputy defense minister, and Idrus, a PKS politician, would visit mosques and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), where they would break the fast and perform tarawih (evening Ramadhan prayers).
Andre said they, for example, visited the Hisnayain Islamic boarding school in Cijantung, East Jakarta on Sunday evening. “Sjafrie visited an Islamic boarding school managed by KH Cholil Ridwan. He was accompanied by Muhammad Idrus,” said Andre as reported by tribunnews.com on Tuesday.
As the second-largest party, Gerindra has 15 seats on the Jakarta City Council, while the PKS, the third-largest party, has 11 seats. The combination of the two has passed a threshold of 22 seats so that they could propose a gubernatorial ticket.
Andre said the pair would attend various events together. “It is part of the plan to form a coalition between Gerindra and the PKS,” said Andre, adding that during the event, Cholil introduced Sjafrie as a gubernatorial candidate, while Idrus as a deputy governor candidate.
Ahok has declared himself an independent candidate, pairing with a civil servant, Heru Budi Hartono. Ahok-Heru is considered by many the most electable pair so far, while Sjafrie-Idrus’ electability is still unknown. Another candidate pair is expected to come from a coalition chaired by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest party in the city with 28 seats on the council. (bbn)
