It wouldn’t surprise us if there are those who would wish to inflict harm upon Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama – receiving threats is just one of the risks of being a high-ranking government official, anywhere.
But there is reason to believe the threats against Ahok have gotten more seriously recently. Many media outlets picked up on the fact that, yesterday, there were more security personnel than usual guarding Ahok during his visit to the Kebon Bawang market in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
Kompas noted that dozens of armored mobile brigade (Brimob) officers on motorcycles formed a motorcade escorting Ahok’s car as they left the market. Two of these officers were reportedly armed with long-range rifles.
Ahok himself couldn’t explain the reason behind the increase in security personnel and their weaponry.
“Maybe they don’t want to take risks [regarding my safety],” he said, as quoted by Kompas yesterday.
It must be noted that last Friday, dozens of supposedly local citizens demonstrated against Ahok when the governor attended the inauguration of the Kampung Duri market in Tambora, West Jakarta, though the demonstrations didn’t turn violent.
Grand Commissioner Verdianto, head of the Operations Bureau at the Jakarta Metro Police, played down any issue regarding Ahok’s safety, saying there was nothing out of the ordinary with the police’s recent handling of Ahok’s security.
“Every official will be given security… even regents need guards. We provide them,” he said as quoted by Kontan today.
