Acting Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said that the minimum provincial wage for Jakarta (Upah Minimum Provinsi) will not exceed IDR 2.7 million (USD $221) in 2015. This new minimum wage would mean a 10.3 percentage point increase from Jakarta’s current minimum wage of IDR 2.44 million (USD $200). According to the acting Governor, the new minimum wage would be above the needed salary to have an acceptable standard of living in the capital city of Indonesia (which Ahok puts at IDR 2.53 million or USD $207).

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On Friday (04/11) a massive demonstration is scheduled to be staged in Jakarta. In this protest rally thousands of people are expected to gather to ventilate their disapproval of incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki Cahaya Purnama (better known as Ahok). The rally is organized by a coalition of Islamic groups including hard-line group Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) which has often used violence to achieve their targets. The Muslim groups accuse Ahok of blasphemy by misquoting Quranic verses during a speech in Kepulauan Seribu, off the coast of Jakarta, in early October.

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Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as Ahok) has been inaugurated as the 17th Governor of Jakarta by Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday (19/11) The position of Jakarta Governor was previously empty as former Governor Widodo stepped down from this position to focus on a (successful) presidential campaign. Although by law the Deputy Governor (Ahok) automatically becomes the new Governor, this has met fierce resistance from certain sides as Ahok is an ethnic Chinese Christian. This news article is the updated version of an article that was first published on 18 November 2014

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