Jakarta's ethnic Chinese acting Governor Ahok a national first

Indonesia's presidential race isn't until July. But there's already one winner.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known by his nickname "Ahok", has taken over as acting governor of the capital Jakarta. He is the first ethnic Chinese to do so in a country that is 95 per cent native Indonesian with the world's largest Muslim population.

A Christian, Ahok succeeds Joko Widodo, who has stepped aside to run in the presidential election on July 9, which opinion polls suggest he will win. Ahok will automatically take over to complete Widodo's five-year term if he does win.

Indonesia's Chinese make up only about 2 per cent of the 240 million population.

Historically resented for their wide control over trade and business, and suspected of loyalty to China, Indonesian-Chinese have been deliberately kept out of the political and military hierarchy for most of the country's 69 years of independence. The resentment, which has burst into bloody riots in the past, appears to be on the wane, although it's not over.

Even critics of Jakarta's acting governor complain mostly about what they see as his abrasive style of governance, not his background.