Jokowi calms Surakartans about his candidacy

SURAKARTA. In a bid to help calm his people regarding his candidacy for the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial race, Surakarta Mayor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo decided to meet directly with the city’s residents on Wednesday and explained that his entry into the race was a party decision that he had to obey.

He went to Bororejo village in Jagalan subdistrict, Jebres district, and was promptly surrounded by dozens of villagers as he got out of his official car. They demanded Jokowi remain in Surakarta and finish his service until the end of his term in 2015.

“I promise you that everything will be much better even if I am not here,” said Jokowi, trying to calm the curious residents as they expressed their concerns one after another.

In front of Jokowi, they worried about whether the programs that the mayor had introduced and had carried out would continue if he had to take leave to pursue his candidacy.

They especially expressed anxiety over the continuation of the Surakarta people’s healthcare (PKMS) program.

One of the villagers, Yus Hernowo, 43, said that from 2007 to the present, the Boro River that passed through the village continued to flow freely thanks to Jokowi’s policy, leaving behind the recurrent flooding that previously plagued hit the area.

“I’m especially impressed by the way Jokowi mixes with the people and listens to their complaints,” Yus said.

Another villager, Hamid Sukamto, 57-year-old street vendor, expressed his gratitude for Jokowi’s humane treatment of the city’s street vendors.

“We are given spaces [to run a business] and are not abandoned,” said Hamid, who is also a former chairman of the Surakarta street vendor association.

Responding to the villagers’ concerns, Jokowi said that he could not just ignore the task given to him by his political party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

“If I could choose, I would prefer to become a carpenter,” said Jokowi, who previously ran a furniture business before being elected to his first term as Surakarta mayor in 2005.

After hearing Jokowi’s explanation, the villagers said they would give the mayor their support.

Jokowi then distributed packages of rice to the villagers, as he always does when making a community visit.

The rice was purchased with funds from his official residence, known as Loji Gandrung, and his salary as Surakarta mayor, which he never kept for himself.

Jokowi is currently serving his second year of his second term in office. He and his running mate, former East Belitung regent Basuki “Ahok” Tjahja Purnama, registered their candidacy with the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD) on Monday.

They are backed by the PDI-P, the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and 24 other smaller political parties.

If the election body approves his registration, Jokowi will have to temporarily leave Surakarta to live in Jakarta during the campaign period.

Jokowi and Ahok are one of the six candidate pairs to contest the Jakarta gubernatorial election, which is slated for July 11, 2012. (Kusumasari Ayuningtyas/ The Jakarta Post)