There’s still a long way to go before the 2017 Jakarta Governor’s election, but plenty of political parties are already planning how they’re going to try and beat current Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.
Ahok has not talked much about his own election campaign beyond the fact that he will be running as an independent candidate. He has not, for example, spent a lot of time talking about campaign promises or detailed plans for what he would do if he was chosen to lead the capital once again.
But yesterday, he made a rather huge promise about what he would do if he were to win in 2017.
“If I can be be given (the people’s trust) for five more years, we can finish everything, transportion as well. Including the dike (to cope with flooding in North Jakarta),” Ahok said at City Hall yesterday as quoted by Tribunnews.
If almost any other Indonesian politician had said they could essentially solve all of Jakarta’s major problems in the next six years or so, we’d be rolling on the floor laughing.
But Ahok has made a huge amount of progress in the last few years, including in terms of flood prevention, sanitation and improvements to public transportation. And remember, many of the projects that he has helped get off the ground, like the mass rapid transit system, won’t even be completed until after his first term ends.
Also, do any of you remember what Ahok’s mother said on the day her son took over for Joko Widodo as Governor of Jakarta when reporters asked if she was proud of him?
“I’m not proud [of him] because there are still poor people, still so many floods and still so many other problems. If all of that is finished, then I’ll be proud,” Ahok’s mom told reporters at the State Palace that day, as quoted by Detik.
So yeah, we believe that Ahok will do his damndest to make his momma proud. And if that means fixing all of Jakarta’s problems, then that’s what he’ll do.
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