ABSTRACT
Sixteen years after the notorious anti-Chinese riots in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and in other cities (Purdey, 2006: 106-141), the newly elected President Joko Widodo of Indonesia inaugurated Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, his former deputy governor of Jakarta, as the new governor of the capital city (Reuters, 2014). Basuki, known popularly under his Hakka nickname ‘Ahok’, is Christian and the first ethnic Chinese politician appointed as governor of the capital city. His inauguration is regarded as a step forward towards ethnic and religious tolerance in Indonesia.
