By Abu Hanifah
JAKARTA, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The outspoken incumbent Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has became the most controversial candidate to run in Indonesia's upcoming simultaneous regional elections slated for Wednesday with proceeding trials against him were still underway as he did the campaign, marred with hostile events in the city related to the case.
Despite the controversy and hostile events resulted from his statements, Basuki was praised for several remarkable projects for the public he already carried out during his brief service as the governor.
In the initial day of retaking his gubernatorial post on Monday, Basuki had to attend the trial of religious blasphemy case charged against him, continuing series of trials on the case conducted in the past several weeks.
If he is found guilty in the case, he may face a maximum of 6 years imprisonment and be fined 1 billion rupiah (about 75,000 U.S. Dollars) .
Basuki, a minority Christian Chinese descent, was declared a suspect in the case following the complaint lodged in by Muslim organizations over his alleged blasphemous statement against the Koran that he made during his official visit in northern Jakarta area in September last year.
The statement made by Basuki sparked wave of massive demonstrations initiated by Muslim hardliner groups. His statement also sparked heating debate in the social media, pitting Basuki supporters against his critics.
Read the full story at Xinhua