House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon has brushed off a report against him and colleague Fahri Hamzah to the ethics council over their participation in last week's rally in Jakarta as an attempt to seek sensation. (Antara Photo/M. Agung Rajasa)

Jakarta. Fadli Zon, deputy chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, has displayed what appears to be an intense dislike of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama in recent squabbles in the media.

The latest argument between Fadli and Basuki occurred over alleged corruption involved in a transaction to acquire land for the expansion of the Sumber Waras Hospital in West Jakarta.

The lawmaker has challenged Basuki to a debate over the issue, while the Jakarta governor responded by challenging him to a boxing match. In his response, Fadli called Basuki a "big-mouth."

"I have read that he can knock me out in a boxing ring. Taunts like these are common among boxers, such as the big mouth Muhammad Ali. But this is Ahok, not Muhammad Ali," Fadli said in Jakarta on Thursday (24/03), referring to Basuki by his popular nickname.

He added that Basuki did not really win the last election, because people were actually voting for Joko Widodo – the former Jakarta governor and current president – and not for Basuki.

"Ahok should know that he only became deputy governor because of Gerindra's support. If it was not for Gerindra, he would not have been Jakarta's deputy governor," Fadli added.

The Gerindra lawmaker also mentioned that when his party proposed Basuki as Joko's running mate in the previous Jakarta gubernatorial election, Basuki was initially rejected by both Joko and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Therefore, Fadli said, there was no need to form a coalition against Basuki as he would most certainly lose the 2017 gubernatorial election. The Gerindra lawmaker went on to describe the incumbent Jakarta governor as nothing more than a flea, adding that the public dislikes leaders like Basuki.

The Gerindra lawmaker again challenged Basuki to take responsibility for alleged corruption in the Sumber Waras case. According to Fadli, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found certain irregularities, which he believed to be worth "double the evidence" to bring Basuki to justice.

However, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) previously said that the case lacked proper evidence.