T

he Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has given assurances that the candidacy of Jakarta Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo was free from foreign influence and that if elected president the country'€™s most popular politician would not bow to foreign interests.

The PDI-P issued the statement in response to allegations that if elected Jokowi would become a '€œpuppet'€ for foreign governments. The attack made the rounds especially after Jokowi attended a meeting at the private residence of tycoon Jacob Soetoyo in South Jakarta on Monday evening. The meeting was attended by PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri and several foreign ambassadors.

Jokowi'€™s entourage arrived at the scene at around 7 p.m. on Monday. Cars with diplomatic plates, including from the United States, Myanmar, Norway, the Vatican and Mexico were also seen entering through the heavily guarded front gate of Jacob'€™s residence.

Opponents rushed to cast aspersions on the nature of the meeting, alleging that a Jokowi presidency would jeopardize Indonesian sovereignty.

PDI-P executives have categorically rejected such a claim, saying that Jokowi had been invited in his capacity as governor of the capital city by Jacob.

'€œIt [the meeting] had nothing to do with [foreign] intervention. It was not designed to garner support from foreign agencies. It was simply because many had expressed support for Jokowi,'€ PDI-P legislator Tubagus Hasanuddin said on Wednesday.

Hasanuddin, who is deputy campaign chairman of PDI-P and sits on House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs, emphasized that no rule prohibited Jokowi from meeting with foreign envoys.

'€œIt is too much to allege that he [Jokowi] was seeking endorsements [from foreign ambassadors] for his presidential bid. Will they vote in the presidential election that Jokowi would need such a blessing?'€ Hasanuddin said.

Separately, PDI-P lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari said the meeting simply reflected how popular Jokowi was with a foreign audience.

'€œHe doesn'€™t have a dark past. He also has integrity that proves him to be a trustworthy candidate, and this has attracted international support, both in political and economic terms,'€ Eva said.

PDI-P secretary-general Tjahjo Kumolo has also made statements defending Jokowi, saying that the meeting was only aimed at maintaining good relationships with ambassadors of foreign countries.

Tjahjo said that politics were not discussed at the Monday night meeting.

'€œIt was just a regular meeting where a mayor welcomed representatives of foreign countries to his city. I believe the meeting didn'€™t discuss anything related to his [Jokowi] nomination or his [potential] running mate,'€ Tjahjo said.

Speaking after the meeting, Jokowi said: '€œI was only invited as a guest.'€