Jokowi hints at choice of successor for Indonesia’s next president with ‘fully white-haired’ remark
- ‘Look at the leader’s hair too, if it’s fully white, that means they are thinking about the people,’ President Joko Widodo told a rally in Jakarta
- Ganjar Pranowo is the only presidential hopeful with a full head of white hair among the most popular contenders for the next elections in 2024
“Look at the leader’s hair too, if it’s fully white, that means they are thinking about the people,” Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, said to his almost 150,000 supporters gathered at a rally in Jakarta.
While Baswedan and Prabowo have declared their plans to campaign, Pranowo has mostly kept mum. Presidential candidates need to have the support of parties representing at least 20 per cent of seats in parliament, and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle or PDIP – the party backing Pranowo and Jokowi – has refrained from throwing its support behind anyone.
PDIP Chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri is widely seen as expecting her daughter to be the party’s candidate despite her low popularity. PDIP has 22 per cent of seats.
In the lively rally in central Jakarta on Saturday, Jokowi also called on his supporters to pick a leader who understands the people’s plight.
“This is a big country, don’t get a leader who just sits pretty in the presidential palace. Find, I remind you, find a leader who wants and loves to go down among the people,” he said.
Almost all of the presidential hopefuls have adopted the blusukan or walking-among-people style of campaigning that propelled Jokowi to the top job.
“We have to ensure the continuity of what we have built. Agree? This is what we have to protect together, not just for 2024, not just for 2029, but also for a Golden Indonesia in 2045 and onwards,” he said to loud cheers from the crowd.
