TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Gun Gun Heryanto, a political communication expert of Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University, said Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama and his deputy Djarot Saiful Hidayat must refrain themselves from lambasting each other in front of the public to ease the tension arising from the dissenting perceptions between the capital’s helmsmen.
“This process will also become an impression management,” he told Tempo on Tuesday, June 2, 2015.
News is rife that Ahok and Djarot are at each other's throats on the issuance of the permit for the 2015 Jakarta Folk Fair, which is held at the East Senayan Parking Lot from May 30-June 5, 2015.
Ahok accused Djarot of okaying the fair without his prior consent, while Djarot claimed he had told Ahok about it.
Gun Gun said Ahok’s strong reproaches were indeed necessary for the internal reorganization of the Jakarta Administration, but added that Ahok had also been needlessly commenting on minor issues.
Gun Gun said actually Ahok could have opted to reprimand Djarot personally and out of the media limelight, and that doing otherwise would instead cause psychological discomfort for both. He added that things could worsen as Ahok and Djarot were not running mates in the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Gun Gun also said that some particular people could draw on the momentum to bring Ahok down, and that these people would use daily issues as a bullet to attack Ahok politically.
Thus, Gun Gun suggested that Ahok involve Djarot in the decision-making process of the capital’s future events. “Their togetherness will show that they have buried the hatchet,” he said.
LINDA HAIRANI
