For the past month, former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has been teasing a surprise that’s going to be revealed on August 16 (today) through several posts on his official Instagram page (which is obviously being handled by his social media team as he’s currently imprisoned for blasphemy).
The latest post from yesterday says Ahok is going to “reveal all” tomorrow (Aug 16) at 2pm.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmgA-X5hFwK/?hl=en&taken-by=basukibtp
The cryptic nature of his posts led many to speculate that he would surprise his supporters by announcing that he would be getting out of jail as soon as this month, which would be odd considering that, in July, his lawyers said he had chosen to not apply for parole and that he would serve out his full two-year sentence instead.
This post, for example, features the Lapangan Banteng statue in Jakarta, which symbolizes the liberation of West Papua, leading some to think he was hinting about something related to his own freedom.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlkxVZSBf3G/?hl=en&taken-by=basukibtp
Well, unfortunately for optimistic Ahok supporters wishing for his early release, the truth behind his posts will likely be a little anticlimactic. The “surprise” hinted in the posts is probably going to be the launch of a new book by Ahok, if media reports are to be believed.
CNN Indonesia, for example, today reported that they had received an invitation to the launch of Ahok’s new book, titled Kebijakan Ahok (Ahok’s Policies), which is scheduled to start at Gedung Filateli in Central Jakarta at 2pm today. Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) politician Mohamad Guntur Romli also posted tweets revealing the cover of the book and its synopsis.
Hari ini akan ada launching buku #KebijakanAhok yg berisi catatan-catatan Ahok dlm membangun Jakarta, apa saja "policy" (kebijakan) Ahok pic.twitter.com/qyb1Kxw7SK
— Mohamad Guntur Romli (@GunRomli) August 16, 2018
Today there will be a book launch called Kebijakan Ahok that contains Ahok’s notes on building Jakarta and his policies.
Buku #KebijakanAhok tidak hanya berisi tentang policy (kebijakan) tapi juga legacy (warisan) Ahok saat memimpin Jakarta, baik pembangunan infrastruktur & pembangunan manusianya
— Mohamad Guntur Romli (@GunRomli) August 16, 2018
The Kebijakan Ahok book not only contains his policies, but also Ahok’s legacy when leading Jakarta, whether it’s through infrastructure building or humanity building.
The cryptic Lapangan Banteng post makes much more sense with this in mind, considering that one of Ahok’s policies was to revitalize the park. The renovation project started in 2017 and was completed recently, with Governor Anies Baswedan re-inaugurating the historic park in late July.
It’s also possible that Ahok wrote the book while he was in prison, considering that friends and family who have visited him have said that he dedicates a lot of his time in detention to writing his new book.
Ahok was elected as Jakarta’s vice governor to then-Governor Joko Widodo in 2012. He assumed the governor role when Jokowi was elected president in 2014 but lost his bid for reelection in 2017 amid a trumped up blasphemy scandal against Islam. He was sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy in May 2017, and, if he serves his full sentence, he will be out on April 29, 2019.
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