Jokowi's 'Professor of Politics'

JOKO Widodo's presence at the Malang airport was a surprise to the members of Megawati Soekarnoputri's entourage. On that morning in March, the Jakarta governor's name had not been included in the passenger manifest. Neither was he listed as part of the group making a pilgrimage to Sukarno's grave in Blitar, East Java.

However, when they saw Megawati's smile widen as she spotted Jokowi, as he is known, the members of her entourage understood what was going on. It became even more obvious when Megawati asked Jokowi to ride in the back of her car. According to Bambang Wuryanto, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) campaign team for the upcoming presidential election, Jokowi had been deliberately 'hidden' to avoid speculation. Two days later, Megawati, PDI-P chairwoman, signed the letter for Jokowi's nomination for president.

July 1, 2014