It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is currently serving out the two-year prison sentence he received at the end of his controversial blasphemy trial. But besides praying, working out learning Mandarin and doing tai-chi, it seems as if Ahok is still having a big impact on people’s lives even while he is behind bars at the Mako Brimob Detention Center in Kelapa Dua.
One of the ways that the former governor has been spending his time is signing special editions of Ahok di Mata Mereka (Ahok in their Eyes), a book featuring the writings of 51 authors who each contributed pieces and meant to serve as a present for Ahok’s 51st birthday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWE8qaRHDC0/?hl=en&taken-by=timbtp
People who purchased special editions of the book were allowed to request personalized messages from Ahok, and a man named Andreas used his request to ask the beloved former governor to ask his sweetheart for her hand in marriage.
“So he wanted to propose to his girlfriend and have that book sent to her house, the book featuring this guy’s message,” Imadya, one of Ahok’s personal staff, told Kompas today.
Ahok obliged the request, simply writing “To Mentari, please accept Andreas’s proposal,” at the top of the page, as shown in a photo included in an Instagram story posted to Ahok’s official account.
Imadya said she did not know how Andrea’s proposal went down, but said she hoped Ahok’s assistance helped.
She also mentioned to Kompas that many of the people who had purchased the special edition of the book has asked for humorous messages from Ahok, including ones from women asking that the former governor address them as “tersayang” or “tercinta” (dear or beloved).
Imadya said that Ahok had time to write messages in about 50-100 books per day and it was a good way to keep him entertained and occupied in prison.
Another way that the ex-governor keeps busy is by reading and responding to the tons of fan mail he receives every day.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXPjAgGhxeA/?hl=en&taken-by=basukibtp
