TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said that as inactive Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok resigned from his post, the Ministry will soon inaugurate Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat as his successor until October 2017. Djarot currently serves as the acting Jakarta Governor.
Tjahjo explained that the deputy governor seat will remain vacant because the remaining term of office is too short. “[The deputy governor post] will be vacant until October,” he said at the Senayan Parliamentary Complex in Jakarta today, May 24.
According to Tjahjo, Ahok’s resignation letter has not yet been received. The minister added that he is still waiting for the prosecutor’s office whether they will file an appeal against the court’s decision.
Earlier on May 9, 2017, the North Jakarta District Court handed down a two-year prison sentence to Ahok, which was heavier than that demanded by the public prosecutor. Both Ahok and the public prosecutor said that they would file appeals against the ruling. Later, Ahok decided to scrap his plan.
Tjahjo views that by withdrawing the appeal, Ahok has accepted the ruling, and the decision has a permanent legal force.
AHMAD FAIZ