Now that he is officially governor of Jakarta, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has to choose a vice governor. And even his political enemies acknowledge that Ahok, and Ahok alone, has the right to make that decision.
There had been rumors that Megawati Sukarnoputri, the former president of Indonesia and current chairwoman of PDI-P (the party of President Joko Widodo), was pushing for PDI-P politician Boy Sadikin to be Ahok’s pick.
Yesterday Ahok went to Mega’s home to discuss possible candidates. After the meeting he told reporters that the rumors that Boy was Mega’s boy were incorrect.
“Bu Mega denied that she endorsed Pak Boy […] In fact, she told me that I should not have a ‘forced marriage’ with my deputy,” Ahok said as quoted by the Jakarta Post.
Merdeka quoted him as saying, “She knows the constitution and the law is clear that I have the right to determine the deputy governor.”
Although he seemed to reject the idea of Boy as a vice governor pick, Ahok insisted it was nothing personal. “It’s not that I don’t like [Boy Sadikin]. He’s fine. But I’ve already given my criteria. I want a person in this position that has already been tested in a similar role. As Abraham Lincoln said, if you want to test a person’s character, give them power.”
Boy Sadikin was the Jakarta City Council deputy speaker. He is also the son of former governor Ali Sadikin, who Ahok kind of idolizes. But apparently Ahok thinks that’s not enough to make him a good candidate for vice governor.
Ahok has repeatedly said that Sarwo “Yani” Handayani, the head of the Governor’s Team for Development Supervision, would be a good fit for the vice governor position.
