Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is definitely not your typical Indonesian politician. His no-nonsense attitude and blunt language stands in stark contrast to most politicians’ prevarications, which has earned him plenty of fans as well as critics.
According to Fayakhun Andriadi, the chairman of the Jakarta chapter of Golkar (one of the political parties supporting Ahok in his reelection bid), the governor is planning to use his sharp tongue to do two other things that are quite unusual for Indonesian politicians – fundraising and stand-up comedy.
“He (Ahok) said, Whenever you want to do stand-up comedy (for fundraising), I am ready,” Fayakhun said at the Parliament Complex today as quoted by Kompas.
However, it would not be the first time that Ahok has done stand-up comedy before. You may be surprised to learn that the governor has actually performed on Metro TV’s Stand Up Comedy Show (where he got quite a few laughs):
Fayakhun noted that, behind the fearsome image Ahok sometimes projects, he can be quite a funny and entertaining guy.
“Can Agus and Anies do that? As for Ahok, just wait. He is a very funny person,’ the Golkar politician said.
On Wednesday, Ahok also touted his comedy skills, joking: “Stand-up comedians are usually paid Rp 60 million, while I only need to be paid Rp 30 million. I’m also really funny.”
Fayakhun said Ahok would do his stand-up routine to help raise funds for his reelection campaign. He also said that the governor was planning on holding special dinners in which people, especially business people, could pay Rp 25 million to sit at his table, as well as selling merchandise such as shirts with Ahok’s image on them.
