Welcome back: President-elect and Jakarta Governor Joko âJokowiâ Widodo (right) talks to Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaya âAhokâPurnama at City Hall in Jakarta on Wednesday
span class="inline inline-center">
President-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo did not prolong his victory celebrations but rather went straight back to work hours after the official announcement of his election win.
Jokowi returned to City Hall on Wednesday as Jakarta governor, after his leave ended on Tuesday, the day the General Elections Commission (KPU) officially announced the presidential election result.
Jokowi, wearing a black suit and red tie, arrived at City Hall at 8 a.m., welcomed by North Jakarta mayor and acting gubernatorial affairs bureau chief Heru Budi Hartono as well as members of the media.
'I want to work on several clerical items and then later today I will attend a plenary meeting of the City Council,' Jokowi told reporters.
Deputy Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama later met Jokowi in the latter's office.
Speaking to reporters after the brief meeting, Ahok said that the two had discussed city projects and a few administrative matters.
'I asked him to brief me and I suggested that he attend the plenary meeting later today because there will be papers that he needs to sign,' Ahok said, adding that he did not expect Jokowi to extend his leave.
Among the issues raised during the meeting were national roads and the stalled monorail project.
'Pak Jokowi said we can cancel the monorail project if the design does not meet our needs. We also talked about roads in Jakarta that belong to the central government; I suggested they should be managed by the city administration,' he said.
A number of high-ranking officials, including assistant to city secretary for administrative affairs Mara Oloan Siregar, Spatial Planning Agency head Gamal Sinurat and Jakarta Financial Management Body (BPKD) head Endang Widjajanti, separately visited Jokowi's office.
Jokowi said he summoned his subordinates to catch up with work after a two-month absence from City Hall due to his presidential campaign.
Jokowi's return to office drew the attention not only of the local media but also foreign correspondents who bombarded him with questions about his election victory.
The former Surakarta mayor acknowledged that he had received good wishes and congratulations from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono, as well as from world leaders including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and US President Barack Obama.
'Mr. Obama said 'apa kabar' ['how are you?' in Indonesian] but that's the only Indonesian words he said,' Jokowi said, laughing.
'He also congratulated me, saying he looked forward to seeing me in China [for the APEC Summit] later this year,' he added.
Jokowi said that each of the leaders had offered a positive message of support with the hope of forging solid bilateral ties with Indonesia.
Aiming to ensure that his future Cabinet works effectively from day one, Jokowi said he and vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla were preparing a temporary office where they, along with a team, could draw up priorities and personnel deemed capable of addressing all issues.
Later in the day, Jokowi attended a plenary session to deliver his answer to the council's response to the 2014 revised budget draft bylaw.
As he entered the plenary hall, dozens of councilors lined up to congratulate him and shake his hand.
Jakarta Education Agency head Lasro Marbun expressed his support for his boss. 'When he becomes president, he will take care of Jakarta and also the other provinces,' he said.
When reporters jokingly asked Jokowi whether he would come to the office the next day, he answered, 'What do you think? I'm the governor!'
» More stories p2,3,4,5,13
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.