Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has offered an apology for the blasphemy case he said was orchestrated against him and which has caused public uproar and cost a lot of money.

"As some people orchestrated this case, it caused an uproar. People are scared, investors are running away and my neighbors are seeking 'refuge' in Singapore. I should apologize for this uproar," Ahok said during his hearing at the North Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.

The outcry against Ahok's allegedly blasphemous speech, in which mentioned the Surah Al Maidah 51 Quranic verse during a visit to the Thousand Islands on Sept 27, drew thousands of people, including Muslim hardliners, into the street in mass rallies that called for his prosecution and even his death on Nov. 4 and Dec. 12 last year, and again on March 31.

Ahok also apologized to the police for this uproar. "The police spent a lot of money to guard me and this trial from morning until night," Ahok said as quoted by kompas.com.

Presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto adjourned the hearing until April 11, when the court will hear the sentence the prosecutors want given to Ahok, should he be found guilty. (cal)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/04/05/orchestrated-blasphemy-case-costing-nation-ahok.html