Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Setya Novanto said his party had never thought of abandoning its support for Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial race.

"We remain committed to Ahok and Djarot. We're not backing down," Setya said in Jakarta on Thursday (17/11).

He added that Golkar will let the police do their work to process the blasphemy case against Ahok, and he also urged everyone to respect the ongoing legal process. "We'll leave it to the law enforcers. There's no need to put more pressure on them," Setya said.

Golkar's central leadership board's deputy secretary general Jerry Sambuaga meanwhile said the party will support Ahok in good and bad times, including while facing the blasphemy allegation – in which Ahok is now officially a suspect.

"Golkar supports its candidates not only when the going is good. We support [them] whatever the challenges are," Jerry said.

According to Jerry, Ahok-Djarot's support base has actually become more solid after Ahok was named a suspect in the blasphemy case on Wednesday.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/golkar-still-fully-behind-ahok-setya-novanto/