Reports are circulating that the recently released Basuki ‘Ahok’ Tjahaja Purnama, who has asked to be referred to as BTP, is getting married next month.
Ahok with his girlfriend (to his right) and relatives after being released from prison.
A rumoured wedding between ethnic Chinese Christian BTP and Second Brig Puput Nastiti Devi has been a hot topic among netizens over the past week – and now that the former governor has been released from jail, the rumours are picking up steam.
City Council speaker Prasetio Edi Marsudi recently confirmed the news, according to tempo.co, which quoted him as saying: “It is true, Ahok will get married on Feb 15. I see that his condition is healthy, and he has a lot of plans upon his release.”
Prasetio received the news when he visited BTP several weeks ago.
However, Teguh Sriyono, Puput’s father, said he was not aware of any such plans.
“We will know if there is going to be a wedding, but so far there is no info yet,” he said on Monday.
BTP’s sister, Fifi Letty Indra, posted a childhood photo of her and her siblings on her Instagram account five days ago, with a caption that said, “Honestly, it’s strange that none of us (the family) know about the Feb 15 wedding. As a family, we should know these things, shouldn’t we? So please ask Pak Pras (Prasetio) why things are the way they are. Also, about #Ahok converting to another religion, we must say firmly that there is no such thing. Whatever happens, (he) will not convert to another religion. (This) reminds me of the song #IHaveDecidedToFollowJesus.”
Pasir Gunung Selatan subdistrict head Aselih told The Jakarta Post on Jan 24 that he had signed the marriage documents for BTP and Puput.
“It is all done, meaning I have signed (the documents), which means it is not a rumour anymore. The truth is, Puput will (be married), although I don’t know exactly when. And that is true. I have written a letter of recommendation for the marriage. When the wedding is held is entirely up to her. It is not a rumour anymore,” he said.
Regarding Puput’s alleged conversion to Christianity, Aselih said: “I am stating the facts because, on her ID and family card, she’s recorded as a Christian. I don’t deviate from that. What (religion) she was prior to this, I don’t know. I am only adhering to administrative facts. According to my records, there was no change in religion.”
Ahok and his girlfriend attending a thanksgiving service with his relatives after being released from prison.
Ahok was previously married to Veronica Tan until their divorce in April 2018. They divorced after a 20-year marriage after a Jakarta court found there was adequate evidence of infidelity by Tan.
The couple has three children and the court has granted Ahok custody of the second and third children, who are below the country’s legal age of 17.
Policewoman Puput, 21, was reportedly his ex-wife’s bodyguard from the time he served as governor.
Reports say 52-year-old BTP plans to become a consultant to local governments, helping them to navigate the country’s electronic budgeting system.
He had also accepted offers to speak at events in New Zealand, Japan and Europe, and would feature on a new YouTube Channel – named BTP – to “make money”, Prasetio said.
A close associate of President Joko Widodo, Ahok was charged with blasphemy against Islam after a doctored video went viral.
The video purportedly showed him telling residents of the Thousand Islands, a group of islets off the Jakarta coast, not to be fooled by a Koran verse that says Muslims should not vote for non-Muslims.
Reports say 52-year-old BTP plans to become a consultant to local governments, helping them to navigate the country’s electronic budgeting system.
He had also accepted offers to speak at events in New Zealand, Japan and Europe, and would feature on a new YouTube Channel – named BTP – to “make money”, Prasetio said.
A close associate of President Joko Widodo, Ahok was charged with blasphemy against Islam after a doctored video went viral.
The video purportedly showed him telling residents of the Thousand Islands, a group of islets off the Jakarta coast, not to be fooled by a Koran verse that says Muslims should not vote for non-Muslims.
Muslim hardliners, naming themselves the 212 Movement, rallied on Jakarta’s streets in December 2016 to demand Ahok be jailed.
Ahok went on to lose the Jakarta election and after his conviction in May 2017 was sent to a prison in east Jakarta.
Authorities later moved him to a jail in the city of Depok in West Java due to “security reasons”.
He was granted a remission of three months and 15 days.
The editor of the video, Buni Yani, a former journalist, was found guilty of violating the country’s information and electronic transaction law and sentenced to 18 months in prison. But he has appealed the decision and has not yet served a day in jail – in fact, he is a media relations staff member helping presidential contender Prabowo Subianto in his upcoming fight to unseat Widodo.
The blasphemy case against Ahok fuelled religious intolerance in the country and encouraged its use as a political campaigning tool, analysts said.
Though in prison, Ahok was still able to capture the public’s imagination. A film about his life in Belitung, A Man Called Ahok, was released last year and as of November had been viewed by at least 1 million people.
Prasetio said former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, the grand dame of Indonesian politics whose political party now supports Widodo, was among supporters who sent Ahok food, fruits, clothes and books while he was in jail.
Last week, Ahok wrote an open letter to his supporters recommending them not to celebrate his release at the prison. He said his time in prison had helped him learn self-control.
“If I were elected, I would become a man who only controls the City Hall, but [in prison], I learned how to control myself,” Ahok said. “If I were elected, I would be more arrogant and rude, and I would hurt more people’s feelings.”
“I also want to apologise to Ahokers, all of Jakarta’s civil servants, even my haters, of all the things that I’ve said and done that have hurt you and your family,” he said.
“I am sorry, and I hope that you will call me BTP now, not Ahok, after I get out from here.”
Earlier report: Jan 24, Indonesia Frees Popular Christian Politician Ahok Jailed for Blasphemy