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Malang cake-seller walking all the way to Jokowi
On the road: Street vendor Giman continues his walk-a-thon in Yogyakarta on Monday
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span class="caption">On the road: Street vendor Giman continues his walk-a-thon in Yogyakarta on Monday. The cake-seller is on a journey from Sukun in East Java to Jakarta to meet president-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo. During the presidential election campaign, Giman promised that he would walk all the way to Jakarta to meet Jokowi, if the latter was elected as president of Indonesia. Courtesy of Tribunnews.com
A street vendor has set out on foot on a journey of hundreds of kilometers to fulfill his nazar (promise) of meeting president-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo in Jakarta.
Giman, a resident of Gadang subdistrict, Sukun district, Malang, East Java, sells kue putu (cakes flavored with pandan). He made a promise to meet Jakarta Governor Jokowi if the latter succeeded in becoming the country's seventh president.
Giman left his hometown on Sept. 21 and arrived in Yogyakarta on Monday morning, tribunnews.com reported. Wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a cap emblazoned with 'Jokowi for President', with a red and white flag over his shoulder, he dropped by the house of politician Amien Rais in the Condongcatur district.
Earlier, he was welcomed by Yogyakarta city councilors from the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
'I've come here to pick up pak Amien Rais to walk with me to Jakarta,' the father of four said as quoted by tribunnews.com. He was met by three security officers in front of Amien's house.
One of the security officers informed Giman that Amien was in Jakarta with his son, Hanafi Rais, who is to be inaugurated into the House of Representatives. He said Amien had taken a plane to the capital city.
Giman seemed disappointed, perhaps realizing he had misunderstood a statement Amien made during the presidential campaign in June.
At that time, Amien received criticism for showing his support for then presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, whom he reportedly once urged to be hauled up before the Military Court for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of activists in 1998.
Amien, in response, challenged his accusers to furnish any newspaper clippings, radio records or television tapes that showed him making this demand. If proven, he said, he would walk back and forth between Jakarta and Yogyakarta. Bloggers and netizens subsequently shared a clipping from Republika newspaper in which Amien did indeed call for Prabowo to be called before the Military Court.
Despite this setback, Giman remains determined to fulfill his promise.
'I will continue my journey. I will not wait for [Amien], because I need to meet my deadline of arriving in Jakarta on Oct. 18 before the inauguration of Pak Jokowi,' he said.
Like many Indonesians, Giman has a lot of faith in the president-elect. Giman said his mission was to convey his hope to Jokowi on the issue of equal access to education for all Indonesian children.
Meanwhile, Sugianto, 48, from Padang Sidempuan in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, has also begun a journey to meet Jokowi.
On Monday, he arrived in Ogan Komering Ilir (OKI) regency, South Sumatra, to meet OKI regent Iskandar. 'My wife and children support my plan. If I meet the president, I hope he can change my life as a rubber sap worker,' he said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
