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Basuki Tjahaja Purnama
Chief Commissioner, Pertamina
History will mark the time that former governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as “Ahok”, spent in Indonesian politics. His 2014 appointment was the first time that a person of Chinese-Indonesian ethnicity and only the second Christian, both minority groups, held high office.
Purnama’s abrasive leadership and anti-corruption campaign provided the foundation that guides his current position as Chief Commissioner of Pertamina, the state-owned oil and gas company, where he oversees and regulates one of the biggest industries in Indonesia. In his time in the company, Pertamina has established several new changes, such as allowing ordinary employees to hold higher positions, increasing transparency, allowing criticism of top officials’ high salaries and removing their right to keep credit-card facilities.
Ahok applied the same approach to fairness during his time in politics, where he worked hard to improve the capital, revamp public space, and reduce floods and traffic. He has received recognition for his work in politics, planning and sustainability.
Impacted Industries
Manufacturing & Energy
Awards
- 2021: Asia's Most Influential (Indonesia)
2017: Foreign Policy Global Thinkers—For opposing Indonesian fundamentalism
2016: Indonesia Green Award “Most Inspiring”—Increasing Green Open Space (Ruang Terbuka Hijau) in DKI Jakarta
2015: WWF National Earth Hour Capital—High commitment to low-carbon development in a number of significant sectors
Did You Know?
As Jakarta governor, Ahok was imprisoned for blasphemy in 2017 after a doctored video of him went viral for a comment he made about Islam. He says of the experience, “I would say I choose to be imprisoned at Mako [Brimob, prison in South Jakarta] to study for two years, so that I could maintain self-discipline for the rest of my life. If I were re-elected, I would have become more arrogant, rough and I would have hurt people.”
