PPP Suggests Ahok Changes Communication Style When Leading SOE

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The House of Representatives (DPR) Commission VI member Achmad Baidowi said he respected the authority of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir in determining SOE leadership, including in the appointment of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok.

However, Baidowi reminded the former governor of Jakarta to change his communication style by expressing empathy, rather than emotion, when leading an institution.

“Every problem can be solved in a good way without emotional responses,” said the secretary of PPP faction of the House in a written statement, Wednesday, November 13.

According to Baidowi, a state institution must be free from political parties, and thus, Basuki should have stepped down from the party PDIP before serving as a director at one of the country’s SOEs.

“[He] must also explain to the public about the previous polemic in Jakarta that the case had been closed so that it will no longer spark suspicion,” Baidowi added.

As widely reported, Ahok had served some two years in imprisonment for a blasphemy case challenged by several Islamic groups ahead of the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election. In the end, the pair of Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno won the race.

Earlier on Wednesday, November 13, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan hinted that Ahok would lead an energy-based SOE.

DEWI NURITA