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Nusron’s appointment not ploy to pull Muslim voters: Ahok
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Golkar politician Nusron Wahid (right) speaks to Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama at City Hall on March 3. Nusron was last week appointed by Ahok as his campaign manager prior to the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. (kompas.com/Alsadad Rudi)
G
overnor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has said that the appointment of Golkar politician Nusron Wahid as his campaign chief was not a move to attract Muslim voters, but was due to their long and close friendship.
Nusron is known to have strong links with the nation’s largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), as he is a former chairman of the NU youth wing Gerakan Pemuda Ansor (Ansor Youth Movement).
“I’ve been close with Nusron for a long time. The political parties that are supporting me also agreed to make Nusron my campaign chief. If I only intended to lure Muslim voters, I would have just gone with Islamic parties, not Nusron from the Golkar party,” Ahok said at City Hall on Tuesday.
Nusron also supported President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during his presidential election campaign, which risked him his position in the House of Representatives. Then he was appointed as head of the Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Abroad (BNP2TKI).
Nusron said he would consult with Jokowi regarding whether he would still be allowed to head BNP2TKI.
In his new position, Nusron will coordinate with the three political parties – the Golkar Party, Hanura Party and NasDem Party – that have declared their support for Ahok, as well as Ahok’s main supporter group, Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok).
Nusron is also tasked with communicating with other political parties, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to invite them to endorse Ahok for the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. (bbn)
