JAKARTA. Deputy Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said he was ready to dissociate from the Gerindra Party amid attempts from the member parties of the Red-and-White Coalition — which is led by Gerindra — to return the vote for regional heads to regional legislative councils.

He issued the statement in response to reporters’ questions, asking why he had a contradictory stance to that of the coalition.

“It did cross my mind to just leave the political party should the attempt succeed. Why should I stay, right?” Ahok said at City Hall on Tuesday.

Ahok stood by his support of direct elections and rejected the idea of returning to the previous mechanism, arguing that the latter was prone to corruption.

The former East Belitung regent, however, emphasized that the mechanism was not the main issue.

“Did we see that citizens’ well-being improved after direct elections? Not really. Was it better then? Not really. So what is the point? The key point is that public officials should not embezzle taxpayers’ money,” he said. (Sita W Dewi)

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie