Basuki Sworn In as Jakarta’s 17th Governor

Jakarta Globe, Nov 20, 2014

Newly inaugurated Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, left, shakes hands
 with President Joko Widodo, and both are accompanied by their wives at the
Presidential Palace on Nov. 19, 2014. (Antara Photo/Widodo S. Jusuf)

Jakarta. Despite violent protests by hard-line Islamic vigilante groups and threats of a legislative boycott by rival politicians, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama on Wednesday was officially inaugurated as governor of Jakarta.

Basuki, popularly known as Ahok, was sworn in at the State Palace by President Joko Widodo during an afternoon ceremony broadcast live by the nation’s major news networks.

“I promise to fulfill my obligations as a governor to the best of my ability, and I will uphold Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution and implement all regulations fairly,” Basuki said when taking the oath of office.

The first governor of Indonesia’s capital of Chinese descent and a Protestant Christian, Basuki was Joko’s number two at City Hall until the latter resigned to assume the office of president.

Selecting a new deputy

Several cabinet ministers were present at the inauguration, including Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo and Spatial Planning Minister Ferry Mursyidan.

The new governor was accompanied by his wife, Veronica Tan, his children and his mother.

Tjahjo said Basuki would have 15 days to select his own deputy governor.

“After a maximum of 15 days, Basuki must submit the name of his deputy,” the home affairs minister said.

Among the first to congratulate Governor Basuki was former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chair of Joko’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Tjahjo is also a PDI-P stalwart.

Ari Dwipayana, a political expert from Yogyakarta’s Gajah Mada University applauded that a member of an ethnic and religious minority has been sworn in as Jakarta’s governor, calling it a testament to Indonesia’s motto “Unity in Diversity.”

“This is a historic event,” he said.

Basuki said he joked with the president shortly before the inauguration: “I told Jokowi: this is a miracle. Two years ago we were inaugurated together [as Jakarta governor and vice governor] and now it is Jokowi who inaugurates me,” he said after the ceremony. “Jokowi just smiled and patted me on the shoulder.”

Basuki, keeping his pick for deputy a secret, jokingly said he wants his new deputy to be an actress.

“But my wife won’t let me. So we’ll see,” he said.

Threats of violence

Prior to the inauguration, police said around 12,000 personnel would be mobilized to provide security, after threats by the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

The vigilante group said it would block the inauguration at any cost. Members of the group in Cisarua, Bogor, on Sunday vowed to send reinforcements to their confederates in Jakarta. As of Wednesday afternoon, however, there were no reports of disturbances to the public order related to an FPI demonstration.

The FPI has protested, violently at times, against Basuki’s appointment, arguing that as a Christian and an ethnic Chinese, he should not be allowed to govern the capital of a Muslim-majority country.

Wednesday’s inauguration marks the first time a governor was sworn in by a president, an authority bestowed by the so-called Law on Regional Elections, enacted in October, that eliminated elections for governors, mayors and district chiefs nationwide.

Prior to the inauguration, a police bomb squad entered Basuki’s office. The acting governor’s staff denied there had been a bomb threat, saying officers only wanted to have their picture taken with the outspoken governor-to-be. Basuki has, at times, been equally vigorous in trading barbs with the FPI.

Political opposition

The Jakarta chapter of the Red-White Coalition (KMP) said it will boycott every single plenary session of the City Council to express their opposition to Basuki’s inauguration.

The council’s deputy speaker, Muhammad Taufik of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), a Red-White constituent, said he has instructed the coalition’s 57 city councilors to stop showing up for plenary meetings.

“Every meeting has its rules, such as [requirement of] a quorum. And can you imagine what’s going to happen if we don’t attend the meetings? The meetings will never reach a quorum,” Taufik said on Wednesday morning.

Taufik, a corruption convict who served an 18-month sentence for embezzling funds from the Jakarta Elections Commission in 2004, is the KMP’s leader in Jakarta.

The former convict said that even after Basuki is inaugurated as the capital’s governor, the Red-White Coalition will retain its power within the city council, since all four deputy speakers are from the KMP.

Taufik dismissed criticism that the boycott would hamper the city’s development, arguing that with Basuki serving as acting governor, development was continuing without the city council being involved.

He also reiterated that members of the Jakarta chapter of KMP, including himself, would not attend the inauguration, despite having received an invitation from State Secretary Pratikno.

Ari of Gajah Mada University said the Red-White Coalition has no legal grounds to reject Basuki as governor.

“Those rejecting [Basuki] are merely showing off political acrobatics, a childish act. The legal basis [for succession] is clear. What more is there to protest?” he said.

“If [Basuki’s] policies remains for the benefit of Jakarta residents, [the KMP] should support him.”

Meanwhile, Jakarta Council Speaker Prasetyo Edi Marsudi invited the Red-White Coalition to challenge his decision endorsing Basuki’s succession in the State Administrative Court (PTUN).

“It is the KMP’s right to lodge a PTUN suit against me,” the PDI-P politician said.

“As [speaker] I have followed all the rules made together by all parties in the council. The parties wanted me to ask for a ministerial recommendation and a [Supreme Court] endorsement; I did that. So with all do respect to my friends at the KMP, we must proceed … to name Basuki as governor.”

Prasetyo lamented the decision by his four deputies — all Red-White Coalition members — not to attend Basuki’s inauguration saying that it shows they were putting their respective political interests ahead of the nation’s.

“Don’t let [political interests] lead to bigger problems. [The KMP] has to respect the Constitution and be fair by coming to the inauguration,” he said.

Taufik and the three other deputy speakers who rejecting Basuki’s inauguration appear to have sought help from the House of Representatives, where the KMP controls 314 of 560 legislative seats.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House announced plans to summon the minister of home affairs and the state secretary.

“We … will invite the home affairs minister and the state secretary based on the recommendations of the City Council,” said Ahmad Riza Patria, deputy chairman of the House Commission II, which oversees domestic affairs and regional autonomy.

“We regret the government’s rushed this unwise decision,” Ahmad said.

But Council speaker Prasetyo said the House had no business rejecting the decision.

“If they disagree they can take it to the Constitutional Court, the only body with authority to judge [if Basuki’s succession] is lawful,” he said.

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