Jakartans voice hopes for new deputy governor

JAKARTA. With the official announcement that president-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo won the presidential election, acting Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is set to become the city’s first Chinese-Indonesian Christian governor, leaving the deputy seat vacant as of mid-October.

The leadership of the dynamic duo, affectionately called “Jokohok”, is soon to be over and residents have voiced their hopes about the new deputy governor.

Parking attendant Hadali, 52, said he hoped that a Betawi Muslim deputy governor would be chosen to accompany Ahok in leading Jakarta. 

“My hope [for a Betawi Muslim deputy governor] is clear and cannot be compromised,” he said. 

He said he made the statement because Betawi people are the original inhabitants of the capital city and Jakartans are mostly Muslim.

In comparison, fruit sellers Samsudin, 46, and Samsuri, 51, said that they did not care about the religious or ethnic background of the person who became deputy governor. 

They said that the new deputy governor should have the capacity to lead Jakarta and treat its people equally, regardless of their economic backgrounds. Samsudin and Samsuri, who both come from low-income backgrounds, said they did not want a leader who treated residents differently based on their financial situations. 

Housewife Jamilah, 42, said it would not be a problem for her if the new deputy governor was not Muslim. The most important thing was the new leader’s leadership track record, she said, adding that the new deputy governor should be able to prove to the people that he or she had previously made contributions to the capital city.

“Jakarta has complex problems. The new deputy governor should have a lot of experience because he will face such problems,” she said. 

Department store employee Dede, 42, also said that she did not care about the ethnic background of the new deputy governor, but added that she hoped the deputy would not be Chinese-Indonesian, to maintain balance in the leadership pair. 

“Indonesia is rich with ethnicities. I hope the seat of deputy governor is not enjoyed by either a Betawi or Chinese person,” she said.

Street vendor Hendri, 23, said that Jokowi had made achievements during his two-year tenure, including tidying up the Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta, a place where Hendri had worked for four years. He said he hoped that Ahok’s deputy would have Jokowi’s characteristics. 

“As we know, Jokowi loves to conduct blusukan [impromptu visits], while Ahok does not. I hope Ahok’s deputy loves blusukan,” Hendri said. 

Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) coordinator Edi Saidi said Ahok had proven that he was a good leader because he had shown totality in serving his residents. He was also not afraid to establish bureaucratic transparency in unorthodox ways, such as uploading videos of budget meetings and the work of his subordinates to the Internet. 

Moreover, Edi said, Ahok was not afraid to dismiss subordinates who were performing badly. Therefore, Edi said that a figure whose characteristics were similar to Ahok’s should be chosen for deputy governor, as similar characters would ensure harmony between the two.

However, he said he hoped that the new deputy governor would not be as grumpy as Ahok.

“The person who will be deputy governor must be as firm as Ahok, and also as calm as Jokowi,” 
he said. (alz)