Joko gets rock star billing at inauguration
Published on: Tuesday, October 21, 2014
JAKARTA: Joko Widodo, Indonesia's first president from outside the political and military elite, got a rock-star welcome from a cheering crowd at a celebration marking his inauguration Monday but takes power facing huge challenges in enacting bold reforms.As night fell, Widodo, sworn in as leader of the world's third-biggest democracy earlier in the day, ran on stage in front of about 50,000 supporters at a park in central Jakarta, grinning broadly and raising his hands in the air. "We must realise that Indonesia is a great nation but it has to be run well, it has to be run for the prosperity of the people," said the leader, known by his nickname Jokowi and famed for his man of the people image.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I invite everyone in society to unite and work together to achieve what we have dreamt of – reating a strong, prosperous and dignified Indonesia.""To the fishermen, the workers, the farmers, the merchants, the meatball soup sellers, the hawkers, the drivers, the academics, the laborers, the soldiers, the police, the entrepreneurs and the professionals, I say let us all work hard, together, shoulder to shoulder, because this is a historic moment," Widodo said in his inauguration speech.Widodo, better known by his nickname of Jokowi, was elected with 53 percent of the vote, with most of his support coming from poor, non-urban Indonesians attracted by his simple demeanor and record of hard work as Jakarta governor.The son of a furniture maker, he grew up in a rented bamboo shack on the banks of the river Kalianyar in Solo, a town on Java Island.
ADVERTISEMENT
He is the first Indonesian leader not to come from the country's super rich, and often corrupt, political, business and military elite.The inauguration capped a remarkable rise from an upbringing in a riverside slum for the 53-year-old former furniture exporter, who won the presidency in July after a close race against controversial ex-general Prabowo Subianto.
ADVERTISEMENT
The former Jakarta governor is the country's first leader since the end of Suharto's three decades of dictatorship in 1998 to have no major links to that era.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
