He was referring to the Hakka nickname of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama. Ahok was defeated by contender Anies Baswedan in the April 9 Jakarta gubernatorial election runoff. “Was the Jakarta gubernatorial election a numbers game?” I said, referring to the fact that about 83% of the 9.7 million eligible Jakarta voters are Muslims. The question posed in the Jakarta gubernatorial election, according to Andreas, was whether Muslims could accept a non-Muslim as a leader. “There is also a rising anti-Chinese sentiment in Jakarta.”Just like the Jakarta gubernatorial election, there are religious minefields in Malaysia through which politicians from minority groups have to tiptoe, carefully.

Source: The Star May 05, 2017 23:03 UTC