Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Chinese: 鐘萬學; pinyin: Zhōng Wànxué, Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chûng Van-ho̍k; born 29 June 1966) is an Indonesian businessman, politician, and former governor of Jakarta.

[8][9][10] Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was born to ethnic Chinese parents of Hakka descent on 29 June 1966 and grew up in Manggar, East Belitung.

Ahok firstly married Veronica Tan, a fellow ethnic Chinese of Teochew ancestry who hailed from Medan on 6 September 1997 and the couple had three children, Nicolas Sean, Nathania and Daud Albeneer.

He graduated with a bachelor of science degree in geological engineering in 1989 and returned to his hometown in Belitung to build a company that dealt in mining contracts.

After two years of working in the company, he decided to pursue a master's degree in financial management at Prasetiya Mulya Business School in Jakarta.

[19] Ahok resigned from his position as East Belitung regent on 11 December 2006 in order to run in the 2007 Bangka-Belitung gubernatorial election.

[29] On 10 September 2014, Ahok left Gerindra because he opposed the party's proposal to scrap direct elections for local leaders.

[5] In October 2015, the State Audit Board (BPK) commenced an investigation into the city's procurement of 3.7 hectares of land adjacent to Sumber Waras Hospital in West Jakarta for a cardiac and cancer center.

[37][38] In December 2020, South Jakarta District Court heard a pre-trial hearing over the Cengkareng land procurement case.

[45] Quick counts for the 19 April runoff indicated that Anies Baswedan was elected as governor; Ahok conceded defeat hours after the polls closed.

[52][51][53][54] Some groups, such as the FPI, or the local chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council, reported Ahok to the police, accusing him of having violated Indonesia's blasphemy law.

[55] On 10 October 2016, Ahok publicly apologised to those he offended with his statement, stating that it was not his intention to do so and that some of his policies had benefited Muslims, such as granting permits for Islamic schools, providing Jakarta Smart Cards (KJP) to the students, and building a mosque in the City Hall complex.

[56] On 9 May 2017, Ahok was sentenced to two years in prison by North Jakarta District Court after being found guilty of blasphemy and inciting violence.

The chief judge maintained that Ahok's statement considered the Al-Maidah verse as a tool to deceive or a source of lies.

They determined the word aulia ("friends and protectors", or "allies") in the verse could be defined as a leader, thus declaring that Ahok's remarks to be degrading and insulting to the Quran.

[61] The verdict was met with scrutiny, condemnation and heavy criticism by many Indonesians[63][64] and observers in the international community, in a case widely seen as a test of religious tolerance and free speech.

Renowned music composer and conductor Addie MS conducted a singing protest in front of the Balai Kota (city hall).

Many observers and individuals both inside and outside of Indonesia have also petitioned the Indonesian government to amend the blasphemy law on the basis that it is discriminatory and targets minorities.

In February 2018, he filed a case review request to the Supreme Court, with his lawyers citing a conviction for tampering with the video footage which was used as evidence against him.

[86] Human rights groups and academics criticized Ahok's forced evictions of Jakarta's urban poor 'kampung' residents from areas zoned for redevelopment to reduce floods and traffic and create green space.

[114] Human rights groups said the evictions were not conducted under the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) convention, which Indonesia ratified in 2005.

Ahok was criticized for deploying police and military personnel during evictions that were part of shutting down and redeveloping a brothel complex.

Rujak Center for Urban Studies researcher Dian Tri Irawaty noted that the evictions did not apply to commercial areas and elite neighbourhoods in Jakarta.

[119] Ian Wilson of Murdoch University argued that Ahok's policies that affected Jakarta's urban poor were overshadowed by his status as an ethnic and religious minority, especially since at the same time he was accused of blasphemy.