Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo stepped off the political stage for an evening on Friday and jumped into the performance fire; singing a popular Betawi song at a large-scale concert.

'€œOllie, I cannot sing. My voice does not sound too good,'€ he told British band Arkarna'€™s front man Ollie Jacobs during the band'€™s concert at the Senayan Indoor Tennis Court in Central Jakarta on Friday night.

Ollie laughed and told the audience that Jokowi was being modest.

Despite his protestations the governor confidently grabbed a microphone and accompanied by several musicians sang late Benyamin Sueb'€™s song '€œNonton Bioskop'€ (Going to the Cinema).

Wearing an Arkarna t-shirt and a brown leather jacket, he seemingly forgot he was a governor for the duration of the song and enjoyed his time on stage.

Three days before the concert, to members of the rock band visited Jokowi and asked him join them on stage. Jokowi asked the band to sing a Betawi song.

'€œOllie said yes, but only if I sang with them,'€ he said, as quoted by tempo.co.

Besides Ollie, two Indonesian singers, Bondan Prakoso and Dyandra, accompanied the governor, known for his fondness for rock music.

Bondan, who was asked to join at the last minute, said he admired the governor.

'€œAs far back as I can remember, no other governor has collaborated with a foreign rock band,'€ he said.

Bondan said the jam session was performed without any focus on status, position or nationality.

Jokowi is a die hard fan of heavy metal bands such as Nazareth, Metallica, Sepultura, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Fear Factory, Exodus and Lamb of God.

As such, this was not the first time he had attended a concert since being governor. He also watched a Guns '€˜n Roses concert during the early part of his tenure.

He recently received an Ibanez bass guitar, with a signed message from Metallica'€™s Robert Trujillo, via a concert promoter. The guitar was confiscated by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as it was considered a gratification.

'€œI would accept a guitar or drums. But I will check first [with the KPK] whether it is a gratification or not,'€ he said in response to whether he would receive gifts from this band.

Jokowi returned to his duties the next day and attended a ceremony to observe Pancasila Day held by his Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) at the Tugu Proklamasi (Proclamation Monument) Park in Central Jakarta on Saturday.

Like PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarno Putri, Jokowi wore a black uniform and a red beret, and looked similar to the Army'€™s Special Forces (Kopassus).

Megawati recently said that she would not run in the next presidential race, throwing the doors wide open for the governor'€™s ascension.

Also in attendance at the ceremony was former vice president Jusuf Kalla, former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso and many other senior politicians.

Popular

Prabowo seeks House support for stalled asset forfeiture bill

Hamas to release hostage as part of direct Gaza talks with US

Thirteen dead after blast during military ammunition disposal