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hmad Syafii Maarif, former leader of the country's second-largest Islamic organization, Muhammadiyah, welcomed Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential hopeful and Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to his home in Yogyakarta, Central Java, on Saturday.

Maarif, a prominent advocate for pluralism, expressed his optimism on Jokowi's presidential bid.
"He [Jokowi] is a very humble person with a good heart. He is also a down- to-earth person and cares nothing about image," Maarif said.

"We need someone like him [to lead the country]. [...] There is no need to have a debate about the Sukarno clan," he emphasized, referring to the fact that Jokowi is not part of the family of Sukarno, the country's first president.

Jokowi spent around 40 minutes at Maarif's house, where both men exchanged their thoughts about the social problems facing Indonesia.

In addition to these more serious discussions, they also shared jokes about political antics in the lead-up to the presidential election.

Besides Maarif, Jokowi is scheduled to visit several other well-known Islamic figures in Central and East Java, as well as religious sites in the provinces through Sunday.

During his trip, Jokowi is being accompanied by the PDI-P's deputy secretary-generals, Hasto Kristiyanto and Ahmad Basarah; Effendy Choirie from the NasDem Party, the only party that has officially declared a coalition with the PDI-P; leader of the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction at the House of Representatives, Marwan Djafar, and PKB deputy secretary-general Fathan Subchi.