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Jokowi visits religious adviser, father's grave prior to second debate
Presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has taken the day prior to the second presidential debate to visit a local religious leader in Surakarta and pay his respects to his late father, Notomiharjo
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residential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has taken the day prior to the secondpresidential debate to visit a local religious leader in Surakarta and pay his respects to his late father,Notomiharjo.
Jokowi met Saturday with Abdul Qodir Assegaf, an influential cleric who leads the Islamic group, Majlis Ahbabul Musthofa, in Surakarta, Central Java.
"We haven't met for a long time, even though we regularly speak on the phone, so I wanted to pay him a visit today," he told reporters on Saturday after a closed-door meeting that lasted around 15 minutes.
Jokowi acknowledged that Abdul had given him spiritual advice during the past few years.
"When speaking on the phone, he usually encourages me to be stronger, and to be more patient in the face of libelous comments, as well as trying to be a wise leader for the people, particularly the underprivileged," he said.
Abdul declined to reveal the advice he had offered Jokowi during the meeting.
"A sincere prayer is a prayer between me and God," he said, declining to answer whether the meeting implied his support for Jokowi in the presidential election.
"I support the Prophet Muhammad," he added.
Earlier in the day, Jokowi had met with members of his debating team in Surakarta, having toured a number of cities in West and Central Java on the campaign trail for the past four days.
During the trip, Jokowi visited several Islamic boarding schools and met with religious leaders to nix a smear campaign questioning his identity and religious identity.
"There is not enough time, so I and my team have gathered here," he told reporters.
Among the economic experts in Jokowi's team are Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) economist Imam Sugema, former forestry minister Muhammad Prakosa and Gadjah Mada University (UGM) economist Sri Adiningsih.
Budiman Sudjatmiko, a member of Jokowi and running mate Jusuf Kalla's campaign team, said Jokowi was set to shine in the second debate.
"Pak Jokowi is a former businessman and he understands microeconomics. He also has an outstanding team of [economic] advisers," he said.
Budiman emphasized that Jokowi and Kalla's economic platform focused on building the economy from the bottom up.
The second presidential debate, which will be televised live on Metro TV and Bloomberg TV on Sunday at 8 p.m., will take place at the Grand Melia Hotel in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
Economist Ahmad Erani Yustika from Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, will be the debate's moderator.(dic)
