Jakarta Globe, Nov 20, 2014
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.
 |
| 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.
Further Coverage
No comments:
Post a Comment