Ahok’s downfall and its parallels to DAP Christianity factor
(Tanjak) – The name of Ahok’s wife is Veronica Tan. His son’s name is Nicholas. Ahok’s brother is called Harry, his sister is Fifi. They could almost be a Chinese yuppie family living in Bangsar.
But they live in Jakarta however.
Ahok – full name Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (pix right) – is the incumbent who has just conceded defeat in a bitterly “divisive” gubernatorial election. The Indonesian capital had gone to the polls amid social tensions that required 60,000 police to be preemptively called in to secure law and order.
Understated as a “religiously tinged election” by the New York Times,,yesterday’s run-off for the post of Jakarta governor was ultimately decided by the religious right. A headline in USA Today on the event reads: ‘Muslim voters oust Jakarta’s Christian governor’.
World media (in the English language) have all predominantly highlighted Ahok’s Christian faith.
“A candidate’s religion and race are keys factor in influencing voting patterns of Jakarta’s residents,” said one analysis by Singapore’s Channel News Asia quoting an expert on Indonesian politics.
The deepest fault line dividing the Jakartan electorate is religion. A reawakening of anti-Chinese sentiments played a part in the polarization too.
