Protester holding up an anti-Ahok sign last year.
It’s no secret that many politicians or groups pay people a small amount of money to protest against whatever they tell them to. The anti-Ahok protests are no exception, of course.
The Anti-Racist Society (MARS) group protested against Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s yesterday, accusing the governor of racism after naming a Jakarta-bred breed of cow the ‘Betawi cow’.
Obviously, no one took them seriously. One protester realized this and said he regretted his decision to protest.
“That’s it, [I was given] just this gocap (Rp 50k). I didn’t see Ahok, I didn’t even pray. That’s two losses for me,” the protester said in front of City Hall yesterday, as quoted by Merdeka.
He also lamented the fact that not many people showed up at the protest, not even the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).
“That’s it, I’m going home. We were going to get the FPI to come but we weren’t allowed. We’ll bring them tomorrow,” the protester said.
