TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alias Ahok has been spending a lot of his time by reading during his jail sentence. He reads almost everything, including the Muslim’s holy book, the Quran, and said that he almost finish reading it.
“I almost finish reading the Quran. I went to Islamic schools; during my elementary and middle years, so I can recall a little,” Ahok told the 10 writers visiting him at the Mako Brimob detention center, Depok, yesterday, Oct. 24.
To his visitors, the former Jakarta governor says that he gets the Quran from a woman whom he could not mention in detail. The man, who is a Christian, praised the Quran's beautiful print. “I also read the al-Maida, it’s good,” he said.
According to Ahok, he does spend his time to read and he even feels like he has to finish all of his readings. When he is bored, he can jump to another book while he hasn’t finished the book he was reading. “Today is my 168-day in here, and I’ve read 18 books.”
Of all the books he read, Ahok is most impressed with the book authored by Guntur Soekarno Putra, titled ‘Bung Karno: Bapakku, Kawanku, Guruku’ (Bung Karno: My Father, My Friend, My Teacher). The book was first published in 1977 and republished in 2007.
“The book was funny and it shows the humanist side of Bung Karno. Even though he was a president, but for Guntur, he was still a father and a friend,” Ahok told his guests as quoted by Ignatius Haryanto, one of the writers who visited him.
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