Ahok's Letter: Emotional Outpour of Changed Man

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - In his hand-written letter dated January 17, 2019, former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama expressed his gratitude for the fact that he was found guilty and sent behind bars after being incriminated in a blasphemy case besetting the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial race.

“I am really grateful that God allowed me to be jailed at the Mako Brimob (National Police’s Mobile Brigade detention center). I am grateful that I was not allowed to be elected in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election,” Ahok wrote. 

The former governor said he would not have undergone his current transformation if he had been elected into office. He added he learned a valuable lesson of self-control that would positively affect his entire life. 

“If I had been re-elected in the gubernatorial election, I would have only been a man that controlled the City Hall,” he openly wrote. 

In the emotional letter, he suspected he would have ended up being more arrogant and hurting more people if he had taken office. He also apologized for his actions in the past that he had done to his supporters, Jakarta civil employees, and the people who were strongly against him. 

Read: Ahok Urges Followers Not to Greet Him in Upcoming Prison Release

“I offer my sincere apologies and when I get out of prison, please call me BTP rather than Ahok,” the letter wrote. 

 Ahok first stepped into office as deputy governor under then governor Jokowi. He became Jakarta governor after Jokowi stepped down to run for presidency in the 2014 presidential election. Ahok was known for his distinctive, hard yet assertive and transparent leadership style. 

In the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election, Ahok was accused of, trialed, and jailed for blasphemy in the wake of multiple public pressures by a group dubbing themselves as the 212 group led by Rizieq Shihab, who is the leader of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). 

IRSYAN HASYIM (CONTRIBUTOR)