Basuki Tjahaja Purnama

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Chinese: 鐘萬學; Tjung Ban Hok; pinyin: Zhōng Wànxué; Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chûng Van-ho̍k) was born on 29 June 1966 and grew up in Manggar, East Belitung. He is the first son of Buniarti Ningsih and the late Indra Tjahaja Purnama.[9] He has three siblings: Basuri Tjahaja Purnama, Fifi Lety, and Harry Basuki.

Ahok married Veronica Tan on 6 September 1997, and the couple has three children: Nicolas Sean, Natania, and Daud Albeneer.[10][11] They divorced in 2018, with Ahok gaining custody of the two younger children.[12] In 2019, Ahok married Puput Nastiti Devi, a police officer who previously served as the aide of his ex-wife.[13]

Ahok attended Trisakti University, majoring in mineral resources and technology. He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in geological engineering in 1989 and returned to his hometown in Belitung to build a company that dealt in mining contracts.

After two years of working in the company, he decided to pursue a master's degree in financial management at Prasetiya Mulya Business School in Jakarta. He graduated with a Master of Business Administration.[4]

Ahok entered politics in his home region of Belitung. He contested the 2005 East Belitung regent election with Khairul Effendi as his running mate and was elected with 37.13% of the vote. He was hopeful Indonesia was breaking with its long and often violent history of prejudice and resentment. He is nicknamed "The Father" and "The Law" for his firm stance against corruption.[14] Ahok confronted vital issues related to traffic congestion, labour, corruption and bureaucracy. He mediated a minimum wage increase, proposed incentives for street vendors to move to designated markets in order to reduce congestion, migrated poor villagers to new flats, introduced surprise inspections of government offices, and proposed installing CCTVs to improve accountability.[15]

Ahok resigned from his position as East Belitung regent on 11 December 2006 in order to run in the 2007 Bangka-Belitung gubernatorial election. He later credited former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, for convincing him to run for public office.[16] Wahid supported Ahok's candidacy[17] and praised his healthcare reforms. However, Ahok was defeated by Eko Maulana Ali.

In 2008, Ahok wrote a biography titled Merubah Indonesia (Reforming Indonesia).[18]

In 2009, Ahok was elected to the DPR as a member of Golkar. He was elected with 119,232 votes,[19] and was assigned to the Second Commission.[20] In 2011, he generated controversy in a visit to his local constituency, during which was recorded by the local media condemning local tin mining businesses for causing environmental damage. The comment was regarded as an insult by a local youth NGO, who reported him to the House Ethics Committee.[21]

In 2011, Ahok considered running for Jakarta governor as an independent candidate. However, he opted not to run, as he was pessimistic about his chances of receiving 250,000 signatures, a requirement for running as an independent gubernatorial candidate in Jakarta.[22] He then became the running mate of Joko Widodo in the 2012 election. The pair won 1,847,157 (42.6%) votes in the first round, and 2,472,130 (53.82%) in the second round, defeating incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo.[23][24] The ticket was nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).[25] On 10 September 2014, Ahok left Gerindra because he opposed the party's proposal to scrap direct elections for local leaders.[26] Since then, he has been politically unaffiliated.

When Joko Widodo took a temporary leave from his post as Jakarta governor to campaign for the presidency, Ahok became acting Governor of Jakarta from 1 June to 22 July 2014.[27] Following Jokowi's victory, he succeeded him as governor and was sworn into office on 18 November 2014.[5]

In October 2015, the State Audit Board (BPK) commenced an investigation into the city's procurement of 3.7 hectares of land adjacent to Sumber Waras Hospital in West Jakarta for a cardiac and cancer center. The city administration bought the land in 2014 for Rp775.69 billion, but BPK subsequently said the land should have cost Rp564.35 billion, so the purchase had caused a state loss of Rp191 billion.[28][29] The Corruption Eradication Commission questioned Ahok over the case in 2016 and cleared him of any wrongdoing.[30][31] Anti-corruption activist Boyamin Saiman claimed he had evidence of corruption and demanded Ahok be held accountable.[29] Corruption allegations were also made over an allegedly fallacious land purchase made by the city administration in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, on 13 November 2015,[32] with a marked-up price causing an estimated state loss of Rp600 billion.[33][34] In December 2020, South Jakarta District Court heard a pre-trial hearing over the Cengkareng land procurement case.[35]

Ahok initially had declared to run for the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election as an independent candidate with Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), a group of volunteers responsible for collecting over one million Resident Identity Cards, representing supporters required by Indonesian law to be eligible to run from an independent ticket.[36] Due to a new state regulation that stricken independent candidate's requirements to run for this election, Ahok is set to run from political party ticket from three political parties, who previously declared endorsements earlier in 2016.[37][38] They are Golkar, the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), and the Nasdem Party.[39] On 20 September 2016, the PDI-P declared its support for Ahok.[40]

In the first round of voting on 15 February 2017, Ahok secured passage to the second-round between two candidates, having secured approximately 43% of the vote, ahead of Anies Baswedan with 40%, and well ahead of Agus Yudhoyono with 17%.[41] Quick counts for the 19 April runoff indicated that Anies Baswedan was elected as governor; Ahok conceded defeat hours after the polls closed. The official results of the runoff were published by General Elections Commissions (KPU) in May, and Anies Baswedan was elected as the new governor of Jakarta.[42][43]

A candidate and a member of a minority ethnic group, Ahok has become the subject of occasional racist comments. During the campaign, he was regularly targeted by ultra-conservatives and supporters of rival candidates for being of Chinese descent. Furthermore, his "double minority" background, being both a Christian and of Chinese descent, makes him a target of the hardliner Islamic Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI). The group called for the revision of the Jakarta constitution to remove some of the governor's responsibilities for government-affiliated Islamic organisations. In 2016, Indonesian Army General Surya Prabowo commented that Ahok should "know his place lest the Indonesian Chinese face the consequences of his action". This controversial comment was considered to hearken back to previous violence against Chinese Indonesians.[44]

Islamist protests against Ahok in Jakarta, 2 December 2016

On 27 September 2016, while introducing a government project to citizens of the Thousand Islands, Ahok said some citizens would not vote for him because they were being "threatened and deceived" by those using the verse Al-Ma'ida 51 of the Qur'an and variations of it.[45][46][lower-alpha 2] The provincial government of Jakarta uploaded the video recording to YouTube in a channel which often featured Ahok's activities.[47] The video was later edited by a university lecturer, Buni Yani, and one word was omitted from that video, creating a misinterpretation of Ahok's statement. The video went viral, with some citizens considering it an insult to the Quran.[45] Ahok received threats of lynching and was widely criticised in social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Several Change.org petitions were filed, initiated by both his supporters and critics, garnering tens of thousands of signatures.[48][47][49][50]

Some groups, such as the FPI, or the local chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council, reported Ahok to the police, accusing him of having violated Indonesia's blasphemy law.[51] On 10 October 2016, Ahok publicly apologised to those he offended with his statement, stating that it was not his intention to do so and that some of his policies had benefited Muslims, such as granting permits for Islamic schools, providing Jakarta Smart Cards (KJP) to the students, and building a mosque in the City Hall complex. He also pointed out that during his Thousand Islands speech, the residents were not insulted, and even amused during his recitation.[52] Imam Mohammad Tawhidi of Australia requested to defend Ahok during his blasphemy trial.[53] Tawhidi argued that the aggrieved Islamic groups had incorrectly interpreted the verse of the Quran that Ahok had allegedly referenced in a blasphemous manner.[53] Tawhidi stated that there is nothing wrong with non-Muslims leading a Muslim-majority country.[54] Tawhidi said he had received death threats from FPI.[53]

On 9 May 2017, Ahok was sentenced to two years in prison by North Jakarta District Court after being found guilty of blasphemy and inciting violence. The panel of judges rejected his defence that he referred to a Quranic verse to highlight political discrimination.[55][56][57][58] Based on the court hearing,[59] the panel of judges said that his Thousand Islands speech[60] contained elements of blasphemy. The chief judge maintained that Ahok's statement considered the Al-Maidah verse as a tool to deceive or a source of lies. He said the verse is part of the Quran, and that anyone who quotes it should not have any intent of deception. The judges took into consideration a book Ahok had written in 2008 titled Changing Indonesia. His book was judged as proof that he understood the verse in question. They determined the word aulia ("friends and protectors", or "allies") in the verse could be defined as a leader, thus declaring that Ahok's remarks to be degrading and insulting to the Koran. They also agreed with expert witnesses in the trial that Ahok's remarks were a blasphemous offence.[59]

The singing protest for Ahok arranged by Addie MS.

The verdict was met with scrutiny, condemnation and heavy criticism by many Indonesians and observers in the international community, in a case widely seen as a test of religious tolerance and free speech. Many said the verdict was politically driven, retaliatory in nature, and the judges had succumbed to pressure from extremist Islamic groups, disgruntled corrupt business groups, and politicians and officials who were previously criticised by the Ahok administration. Several civil society groups protested his imprisonment, including Amnesty International. Renowned music composer and conductor Addie MS conducted a singing protest in front of the Balai Kota (city hall).[61] Candle-lit vigils were held in various cities. Many observers and individuals both inside and outside of Indonesia have also petitioned the Indonesian government to amend the blasphemy law on the basis that it is discriminatory and targets minorities.[62] The promotion of three judges from the panel a few days after the verdict also raised suspicions and spurred criticism from many Indonesians.[63]

As a result of his imprisonment, Ahok was unable to finish his term as governor and was replaced by his deputy, Djarot Saiful Hidayat, who served until the administration completed its term in October 2017.[64] Ahok initially wished to appeal his sentence but withdrew his appeal on 22 May 2017.[65][66] In an unusual move, the prosecutors filed an appeal against the verdict, arguing the sentence was much heavier than the 1-year imprisonment they had requested. In February 2018, he filed a case review request to the Supreme Court, with his lawyers citing a conviction for tampering with the video footage which was used as evidence against him.[67] On 26 March, the Supreme Court rejected his appeal.[68]

Before his arrest, Ahok had said that one day he wanted to be president of Indonesia.[69][70] Although parole was possible in August 2018, Ahok stated that he would serve his entire sentence before leaving prison. In 2017, Foreign Policy included Ahok in its list of Global Thinkers 2017 "for standing up to Indonesia's creeping fundamentalism."[71]

He was released on 24 January 2019 due to remissions granted at Indonesian Independence Day and Christmas.[72][73] Soon afterwards, he joined the PDI-P.[74] He has requested to be called as 'BTP', rather than 'Ahok' by which he is more known.[13]

In 2019, Ahok stated that he "could no longer become a government official".[75] During Jokowi's second term of presidency, Ahok was appointed as the president commissioner of the state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina.[76] By February 2020, the 212 Movement (the same group which protested his alleged blasphemy) had protested for Ahok to be removed from Pertamina.[77]

Ahok was criticized by various human rights groups and academics to have violated human rights in implementing his public housing programs by employing forced evictions to Jakarta's urban poor 'kampung' residents. Ahok accused the residents as squatting government-owned lands and as a result move them to newly built public housings.[100][101][102][103] Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation noted that at least 16,000 urban poor families had been displaced in the two years during his administration.[104] There were 193 forced evictions alone in 2016, compared to 113 in 2015.[105] Human rights groups noted that these evictions were not done under the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) convention, which Indonesia ratified in 2005.[106] One of the conditions of the covenant requires a dialogue before eviction and compensation for any damaged property. Ahok also deployed police and military personnel in most of its evictions, which is considered as violating Indonesian law on military organization.[107][108]

Ahok claimed that his policies only evicted illegal squatters in order to uphold the rule of law. Human rights groups have argued that according to Indonesian land policy, the so-called illegal squatters should have received land certificates instead for living there for more than 30 years. Ahok relocated the evicted dwellers to the privately funded public housing, but the relocation has drawn criticism for not meeting basic standards of living and having a costly living expense, which jumped from the equivalent of about $10 to $20 a month to $70 to $100.[109] Ahok was also accused of employing double standards in the evictions. Rujak Center for Urban Studies researcher Dian Tri Irawaty noted that the evictions did not apply to commercial areas and elite neighbourhoods in Jakarta. She cited the Taman Anggrek mall in West Jakarta, the neighbourhoods and commercial areas in Kelapa Gading and Pluit in North Jakarta, which were also built on water catchment areas.[110] Ian Wilson of Murdoch University argued that Ahok's policies that affected Jakarta's urban poor was overshadowed by his status as ethnic and religious minority, especially since at the same time he was accused of blasphemy.[111] Many lower and middle-class citizens feel that without hearing the aspirations of the people, he caused hundreds of residents to lose their homes.[112]

When confronted, Ahok firmly brushed it off, claiming that he had a different concept of human rights, saying, "I would kill two thousands people in front of you to save ten millions".[113] The leader of human rights group KontraS, Haris Azhar, criticised Ahok for this statement, claiming that his anti-corruption image was "nothing but a publicity gimmick" for his lack of awareness in human rights.[102]