Not Attending The Meeting Of The Former Governor, Jokowi Is Called Shame For His Champion To Lose In The Jakarta Pilkada

JAKARTA The PDIP spokesman, Mohamad Guntur Romli, highlighted the absence of President Joko Widodo at the meeting of the governor and former governor of Jakarta at City Hall on Tuesday, December 31, 2024. He said that Jokowi's reason for being absent because activities in Solo was just an excuse.

According to Guntur, there are three main reasons behind Jokowi's absence. First, Jokowi is suspected of being reluctant to meet with Anies Baswedan because of the polemic of alleged criminalization of the former Governor of DKI Jakarta.

Guntur mentioned the potential involvement of Jokowi in Anies' legal matter, which is planned to be discussed by the Secretary General of PDIP, Hasto Kristiyanto.

Jokowi is afraid to meet Anies because he is busy about alleged criminalization through a legal case. The video about this is reportedly going to be released by Hasto Kristiyanto," said Guntur on Friday, January 3.

Guntur also said that Jokowi avoided meeting with Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok). He considered Jokowi to be impressed by allowing criminalization of Ahok in the 2016 blasphemy case, which led to Ahok's detention and affecting his political career.

"The effect of neglect of the case that ensnared Ahok in 2016 is one of the reasons why Jokowi may not be comfortable meeting Ahok," continued Guntur.

The second reason, continued Guntur, was shame because his name was included in the list of finalists for the Organizational Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) version. He said that this OCCRP assessment had a negative impact on Indonesia's image in the eyes of the world.

"The announcement of OCCRP embarrasss Indonesia's name in the international world, and this is the result of Jokowi's actions," said Guntur.

Third, Guntur mentioned the defeat of Jokowi's champion, the Ridwan Kamil-Suswono pair, in the 2024 DKI Jakarta Pilkada. According to him, Jokowi had previously promised his supporters that the pair would win in one round, as was Jokowi's victory in the 2024 presidential election.

"These three reasons made Jokowi avoid it on the grounds that there was an event in Solo," he added.

Previously, President Jokowi had conveyed his official reasons for not attending the event. He said he was attending an activity in Solo and had asked for permission from the Acting Governor of Jakarta.

"Invited (to the meeting of the former governor), I have apologized for not being able to come because there was a small event in Solo," said Jokowi in Surakarta on Thursday, January 2, 2025.

Jokowi also denied speculation that his absence was caused by the whereabouts of Anies Baswedan and Ahok at the meeting. He emphasized that he had good relations with all parties, including with Anies and Ahok.