He could have easily forgotten for a moment that he is a newly inaugurated president, not a rock star. Or probably he was just enthusiastic and euphoric, like the huge crowd around him, when he ran back and forth along the rectangular stage as a rock star would in a concert, during one of many celebrations of his presidential inauguration in Jakarta on Monday.
Joko Widodo, a self-proclaimed fan of heavy metal, is officially Indonesia’s seventh president after his inauguration during a plenary session of the People’s Consultative Assembly, or MPR, on Monday morning.
While to many of the country’s political elites, his theatrical act at the National Monument (Monas) stage during the evening might look silly and tacky, to most Indonesians who love him, it was somewhat endearing, staying true to his humble and honest populist persona. These are in fact among the very traits that contributed his instant rise to popularity, and which later won him the nation’s top job, despite politicians largely being considered aloof and unapproachable by ordinary people.
Joko rose from obscurity and a life as a furniture maker, before becoming the mayor of Solo, a Central Java city, and then governor of the nation’s capital.
Now he has taken over leadership of the world’s third-largest democracy from Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, following his second five-year term.
His inauguration at the MPR plenary was attended by three former Indonesian presidents — Yudhoyono, Megawati Soekarnoputri and B. J. Habibie — as well as leaders of political parties including defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.
Foreign dignitaries in attendance included Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Prior to the inauguration ceremony, flanked by family members, Joko — wearing a dark suit, white shirt and red tie — appeared lighthearted and upbeat. Asked about his preparation and mood, Joko’s nonchalance elicited laughs:
“I slept soundly last night … woke up as usual at 5:30 a.m.,” Joko said. “I ate half a fried banana for breakfast; had a herbal drink. I have a herbal drink [jamu] each day with turmeric and ginger.”
Political communication expert Hamdi Muluk of the University of Indonesia said the attendance of several leaders from Prabowo’s Red-White Coalition, including Prabowo himself, indicated improved political communication between Joko’s coalition and the opposition. This elicits positive signals for the next five years of Joko’s administration.
Hamdi said the Red-White Coalition, also known as KMP, probably finally bowed to the sentiment of the Indonesian public at large, who enthusiastically welcomed their new president on Monday.
“It seems that the KMP is finally aware of the enthusiasm of the Indonesian public in supporting their new president Joko Widodo. There has never been such great public enthusiasm about a presidential inauguration before in this country. The KMP has also realized this,” Hamdi said.
“If they keep going against Joko, it means that the KMP stands against the public. That will harm their position in the coming years, especially in terms of gaining public sympathy. It seems that they are now more open in communication with the government.”
However, political analysts Muhammad Qodari and Aleksius Jemadu disagreed.
“It simply shows improved communications between the two coalitions. But competitions between [them] in the parliament will continue to go on no matter what,” said Qodari, the executive director of Indo Barometer.
Aleksius, the dean of Pelita Harapan University’s School of Political Sciences, similarly said despite Prabowo’s attendance at Monday’s plenary and his meeting with Joko a few days earlier — after months of hostility — things were not likely to easily change between the two camps.
“It is too early to say that Joko’s administration will simply run well following recent communications with KMP leaders. Competition in the parliament will remain inevitable,” Aleksius said. “But, Joko shouldn’t be bothered by this. This is normal in a democracy.”
Resembling his election victory speech of July 22, Joko addressed the issue of unity in his inaugural speech — which critics have praised as a positive gesture after what is dubbed the most fractious and bitterly fought election in Indonesia’s history.
“I believe we will be able to tackle these heavy historical tasks together — united in partnerships and hard work,” Joko said. “Unity and partnerships are required for us to be able to grow into a great nation. We will never become great if we’re still trapped in discord and fractures.”
“To the fishermen, laborers, farmers, meatball sellers, hawkers, drivers, academics, teachers, the Indonesian Military, the National Police, business people and professionals, I’m calling on [all of us] to work hard, hand-in-hand, together.”
‘Sea-centric’ speech
In his inaugural address, Joko also reiterated his intention of turning Indonesia into a global maritime axis.
“The oceans, seas, straits and bays are the future of our civilization. We’ve neglected the seas, oceans, straits and bays for far too long,” Joko said.
“This is the time to return to jalesveva jayamahe,” he added, citing the motto of Indonesian Navy, which is the Sanskrit for “In the sea we will triumph.”
Joko said it was important for Indonesia, once a collection of disparate kingdoms renowned for their maritime prowess, to build on its wealth of maritime resources.
“To build Indonesia into a great, prosperous and peaceful country we must posses the soul of Cakrawati Samudra,” he said, again using Sanskrit to refer to a maritime nation with a strong merchant navy.
“As a captain mandated by the people, I’m asking the entire nation to board this ship that is the Republic of Indonesia and sail together toward a great Indonesia. We will stretch sturdy sails. We will face storms and ocean waves using our own power.”
As part of his focus on maritime issues, Joko is expected to announce a new cabinet post of coordinating minister for maritime affairs, natural resources and environmental affairs when he reveals his cabinet lineup today.
Economist Wellian Wiranto of the OCBC Bank noted Joko’s penchant for maritime issues. He believes Joko’s “sea-centric” inaugural speech underscored that, and that maritime development would be beneficial for Indonesia — whose archipelagic geography has been seen as a development constraint, especially in remote regions.
He recalled how Joko and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, in the night after the General Elections Commission (KPU)’s announcement of the ticket’s win in the July 9 presidential election, made their victory speech from on board a pinisi , a traditional seafarer, at Sunda Kelapa port in North Jakarta.
“For someone who was born in the inland city of Solo and first earned his stripes in the rather land-based trade of furniture-making, Jokowi has quite an outsized penchant for all things maritime,” Wellian said on Monday.
“While he did not mention it directly, he is probably imbued with the sense that Indonesia should be inspired by the seafaring legacy of the Sriwijaya Kingdom, which ruled a sizable chunk of Southeast Asia between the seventh and 14th centuries.”
Wellian added it was a “relief” that Joko was focusing on Indonesia’s maritime sector and sea-based connectivity, citing the president’s campaign documents highlighting plans to build a series of deep-sea ports across the country — which will allow more vessels of larger tonnage to ply between islands.
“The resulting network can help to integrate the country better through trade linkages, boosting growth for the hinterland and ultimately reduce structural inflation,” he said.
People’s celebrations
Indonesians took to their social media accounts to welcome the country’s seventh president. The hashtag #PresidenJokowi became the top trending topic on Twitter worldwide on Monday.
Social media users in Jakarta took to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Path to post pictures of the street celebrations taking place outside Hotel Indonesia.
For a while “Jalesveva Jayamahe”, the motto of the Indonesian Navy, also made it onto the worldwide trending topic list.
Various versions of posters depicting Joko just moments before his inauguration with varying quotations have been circulated online.
Ade Mardiyanti, an Indonesian living in Sydney, posted a picture of her standing next to a television showing footage of Joko’s inauguration ceremony on her Facebook account.
“Chose to stay at home after I finished work only to witness the inauguration of Indonesia’s new president. Rocky road ahead for him. Good luck, Mr. President!” Ade wrote.
Renowned director Joko Anwar tweeted several pictures of the celebration.
“Rock ‘n’Roll, Mr. President,” Joko said.
The Tiga Jari music concert was held at Monas in the evening to celebrate the inauguration, featuring Joko at the opening, with performance by a string of musicians including Indonesian rock band Slank and British
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