History today, nine years ago, February 5, 2017, the General Chair of the Gerindra Party, Prabowo Subianto apologized to the people of Jakarta for once making Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) the leader of Jakarta. He asked the people of Jakarta to forget the past and support Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno.
Previously, Ahok's withdrawal from the Gerindra party was a polemic. This condition made Prabowo and Gerindra look for another leader candidate in the 2017 DKI Jakarta Regional Election. They approached Ahok's opponent, Anies Baswedan.
No one doubts Prabowo Subianto's contribution to the 2012 DKI Jakarta Regional Election. He and the Gerindra party were able to get a sharp spotlight when they paired Joko Widodo with Ahok. Ahok, who is a Gerindra cadre, is still in doubt about his existence in the national political map.
Ahok's style, which is caplas-ceplos, sometimes also rude, is considered to bring problems. Ahok is also considered trivial to bring change. All doubts were immediately dismissed by prabowo. Prabowo likes Ahok's style, who was the Regent of East Belitung in the 2005-2006 era.
He assessed that Ahok was able to give a new color to Jakarta. Prabowo's intuition was not wrong. Jokowi-Ahok was able to become the new Governor and Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta. Later, many people were amazed by Ahok's leadership style - firm and measured.
Ahok was then seen as the future leader of Jakarta. This narrative was not considered a back-handed statement because Jokowi was predicted to run in the 2014 presidential election. However, Ahok and Gerindra's honeymoon must end first.
Ahok had a disagreement with Gerindra regarding the party's decision to want the Pilkada to be chosen by the DPRD alone. Ahok considers the narrative that Gerindra is fighting for can kill democracy. He tried to make a difficult decision.
He immediately resigned from Gerindra on September 10, 2014. The resignation shocked many parties. Ahok was considered to be self-centered to the party that had raised his political career.
"I have officially resigned from Gerindra. Since I put this letter in, I am no longer a person of a political party. For me, the Gerindra Party is no longer in line with my struggle to give the people the best choice," said Ahok at the Jakarta City Hall as quoted by kompas.com, September 10, 2014.
Ahok's resignation is indeed painful for Prabowo and Gerindra. However, politics continues. Prabowo also began to look for other potential leaders who are ready to be leaders of Jakarta. Prabowo then chose to advance Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno as the future leader of Jakarta.
Prabowo's choice will be against Ahok-Djarot Saiful Hidayat in the 2017 Pilkada. However, before the Pilkada was held, Prabowo first apologized to the people of Jakarta because he had brought Ahok as the leader of DKI Jakarta who was seen as a blasphemer on February 5, 2017.
He asked the people of Jakarta to immediately shift their support to Anies and Sandi. The two are considered by Prabowo to bring change and improve the living conditions of the people of Jakarta. He also considers Anies-Sandi to have polite speech, unlike Ahok.
"This time I guarantee (Anies-Sandi) the best son of the nation, if you forgive the old one. Don't look back, don't belittle anyone. Remember, Anies-Sandi's victory is a victory for all Indonesian people. Please pray for blessings."
"Don't buy cats in sacks, you have to test them, if from our morals we guarantee it, in terms of handsome, okay? His speech is also polite, have you ever heard Anies-Sandi cursing?" said Prabowo in the Prabowo Sandi Akbar Campaign at Banteng Square as quoted by lamantempo.co, February 5, 2017.
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