TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Legislative Council on Friday, March 27, 2015 invited political communication expert Tjipta Lesmana to a meeting with the City Council’s inquiry team to discuss Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s communication style.
Wahyu Hernanto, one of the lawmakers from the People’s Conscious Party asked a question whether there was an empirical fact that a leader with uncompromising character could disrupt the political stability.
Tjipta pointed out that Ahok was an anti-criticism leader who could not handle critics. Tjipta then referred to his experience when he was attacked by Ahok following his criticism against Ahok’s policy to scrap the monorail project.
Tjipta added that a good leader must be able to handle criticisms in order to improve his performance. Tjipta said that a good example of such a leader was former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who thanked him for his criticisms.
Therefore, Tjipta argued that Ahok could not be compared to late Venezuelan President Hugo Chaves.
“[Venezuelan] people loved Chaves. But I can’t think of an example [of a leader] to be compared with the [Jakarta Governor],” Tjipta said.
Tjipta suggested that City Council members should not be tired of reminding Ahok, and Ahok should not hesitate to apologize.
AISHA SHAIDRA
