Former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is scheduled to be released from prison tomorrow, reportedly kept himself quite busy while serving out his controversial two-year prison sentence for blasphemy. Previous reports indicated that he has been a model inmate, spending most of his time reading books, including the Bible and the Quran, working out and answering letters from his supporters.
And now his former vice governor, Djarot Saiful Hidayat — who has often visited Ahok in prison to give him moral support — has revealed that Ahok also used his time in detention to explore his musical talents by forming a five-piece rock band with fellow inmates and prison guards.
“He formed a band called Band Teman Penjara (Prison Friends Band), or BTP,” Djarot said yesterday, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
Djarot said Ahok isn’t exactly musically gifted, but he’s been honing his skills with the band. He said Ahok is the lead singer of BTP, backed up by band members who play instruments like the guitar and cajon (box-shaped percussion instrument), covering songs by the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Indonesian folk singer Iwan Fals when they performed in the transit room at the Mako Brimob Correctional Facility in Depok, where Ahok has been serving out his sentence.
“[His voice] is admittedly bad, but that’s his charm. He’s the vocalist and they have rehearsed several times. At least he’s not tone deaf,” Djarot jokingly said to reporters.
Ahok is scheduled for release tomorrow after serving out his sentence (which was reduced by 3.5 months due to good behavior and holiday remissions). In a heartfelt open letter that he penned last week, Ahok seemed most concerned with turning over a new leaf and becoming a better man once he’s out thanks to his time in prison.
In the letter, which was posted on his official Instagram account, Ahok began by saying how grateful he was for all the donations of food, clothes, books and more from his supporters during his time in prison, which amounted to more than he had ever received at any other time in his life. He also pleaded with his supporters not to greet him — or camp overnight outside the prison to do so — when he is scheduled for release.
The former governor further emphasized that he was becoming a new man by asking people not to call him by his long-time nickname, Ahok, but by his initials, BTP, after he gets out.
Whether or not Ahok will return to politics has been a topic of much speculation (he’s certainly not short on offers) but only he knows for sure what he will be doing after he regains his freedom tomorrow.
