W

hether President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo believes in Javanese mysticism or not, the way he perceives the people'€™s mandate indicates his understanding of the centuries-old legacy of the Islamic kingdom of Mataram called manunggaling kawula lan gusti or the unity between the subjects and ruler.

The close encounter between thousands of people who thronged Jakarta'€™s main roads of Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin and the newly inaugurated President and his Vice President, Jusuf Kalla, who they sent off to the Presidential Palace on Monday, not only mirrors people'€™s high expectations of their new leaders to live up to their campaign promises but it also reflects the people'€™s aspiration to have a close relationship with their leaders in the future.

It was a rare, if not unprecedented moment of joy for all as everybody braved the scorching sun to shake hands with their new leaders or simply shout their names as they passed.

Indeed, on his first days in office, Jokowi displayed his reluctance to abide by the security protocol that used to separate a president and his or her people. After an exclusive interview with a private TV channel on Monday evening, Jokowi spontaneously walked to the gate of the palace to meet with dozens of people who had been waiting for him across the iron bars.

Over the following days he opened the palace, his new house, to acting Jakarta governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama and employees of the city administration who had accompanied the First Family on their move-in from the official Jakarta governor residence on Jl. Suropati.

Many would accuse Jokowi of showing off, especially because all those events occurred in front of the media. Critics believe that sooner or later, the President will desert his people for the sake of his survival and perhaps his hidden agenda of reelection in 2019.

While there is nothing wrong with such political ambition, his track record shows that his strength lies in maintaining close ties with and serving the people. That he won a record 90 percent of the vote in the Surakarta mayoral election in 2010 is testament to his popularity, which he nurtured through his people-based policies.

When elected Jakarta governor in 2012, he did not change his governing approach. He continued to carry out blusukan (impromptu visits) to talk with people and make sure public services were delivered. No wonder The New York Times called him '€œa governor at home on the streets'€.

His leadership style, at least when he led Surakarta and Jakarta, was a departure from that of past leaders, when policies were designed and executed top-down and hardly gave room for public participation, let alone evaluation. Some presidential aspirants and Jokowi critics insisted that there was nothing new about blusukan, but they failed to answer why such an approach was effective under Jokowi but ineffective in the past.

Back in the New Order era, president Soeharto often visited farmers, fishermen and people in the grass roots for dialogue. His successors also allocated time to meet with their people and listen to their grievances.

Unlike past presidents, Jokowi could easily reach the people because they feel they are equal to him. Jokowi does not belong to the party elite (although he helped the Indonesian Democratic Party on Struggle [PDI-P] gain ground and not the other way around).

He simply represents the commoners, while past presidents were either party founders or powerful chief patrons who could lead the parties in any direction they wished.

Jokowi has no real power in the PDI-P. Even the party chair, Megawati Soekarnoputri, deems him simply a party officer.

Jokowi'€™s weakness is however his strength. He rose to prominence at a time when people'€™s trust in political parties and their corrupt elite dwindled.

He won the majority'€™s trust in every election he contested, not primarily because of his much-heralded platform and campaign promises but because the public believed that he was a man they could talk to.

His election as the seventh president resonates with the people'€™s hope for a leader who knows what they need. Such a characteristic is absent in leaders who deliberately build barriers that keep them from their people, either physically or mentally.

Manunggaling kawula lan gusti was an ideal concept that Javanese rulers sought to realize through many efforts, which ranged from spiritual exercise to real actions such as regular gatherings between them and their people. Javanese king Mangkunegoro IV was said to be a leader who reached the perfect level of unity as many believe his spirit ascended to heaven along with his remains.

Of course, such perfection is not what people want from Jokowi. The newly inaugurated President is an ordinary man who unfortunately has to lead the nation to a direct confrontation with the global economic slowdown. The changing world may transform demographic dividend into disaster for Indonesia if the Jokowi administration takes a wrong path.

Jokowi'€™s orientation to the people is valuable start-up capital. But his good intention will result in a catastrophe if he fails to grasp what Taman Siswa educationist Soedyono Djojoprajitno called the '€œholy wishes'€ of the people, a condition that a leader needs to realize unity between the ruler and the masses.

Blusukan will remain effective, but a president who spends most of his time holding dialogue to absorb his people'€™s wishes is unrealistic. However, he can exercise the power at his disposal to ensure that his ministers and the government follow suit.