Presidential Confidantes

Since he started working at the Bina Graha, Teten Masduki has seemingly been on 24-hour call. Nearly every day, the chief of staff to the President holds a morning meeting with his deputies. After that, he races to the office of President Joko Widodo at the Merdeka Palace where he usually meets with State Secretariat Minister Pratikno. The two, either together or taking turns, follow the President's agenda for the day. Whenever he is not next to the President, his cellular phone is on standby in case the President needs him.

Teten Masduki, who joined Jokowi's team in the run-up to the Jakarta gubernatorial election for the 2012-2014 term, also joined the latter's 2014 presidential election campaign. He was a member of the sub-team formed by Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri to help Jokowi in his presidential bid. Teten became secretary for his campaign in the 2014 general elections.

October 27, 2015