When he took office, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo began a new tradition of spending the Idul Fitri and Christmas holidays outside of Java, in a bid to change the country’s Javacentric mind-set and support inclusive development.

Jokowi’s long journeys — to Aceh for Idul Fitri and East Nusa Tenggara for Christmas last year — reflect the hands-on leadership style that he has displayed since he began his political career as Surakarta mayor.

But as a politician with the chance to run for a second term in the next presidential election, it is not hard to see the visits as part of a political safari to get a hold on voters.

This year, Jokowi paid a visit to Padang, a city in West Sumatra which is home to a majority Muslim population. Other than joining residents to perform Idul Fitri prayers, Jokowi also met with people to strengthen silaturahmi (togetherness) and held a brief dialogue.

West Sumatra is among the regions where Jokowi experienced major losses in the 2014 presidential election. Jokowi and his then running mate Jusuf Kalla garnered only 23 percent of the vote in the province, far behind his rival Prabowo Subianto.

“Such visits can be a tool for [two-way] communication [with communities],” political observer Gun Gun Heryanto said. “However, such a move can still end up as merely an effort to present a good image if there is no concrete follow-up to the visits in the form of output.”

Padang was among two locations outlined in Jokowi’s Idul Fitri plans last year, before he decided to visit Aceh. More than 54 percent of eligible voters in Aceh voted for Prabowo in the 2014 election.

Since he took office in late 2014, Jokowi has moved away from the open house tradition at the State Palace in Jakarta on the first day of Idul Fitri, which most of his predecessors have upheld.

A similar approach was also seen at Christmas in the last two years when Jokowi attended national celebrations in Jayapura, in the country’s easternmost province of Papua, and Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara. Jokowi has tried to build mutual trust with Papua, which remains a poor region despite its abundant natural resources.

The eastern regions were Jokowi’s strongholds in the last presidential election. Jokowi won 72 percent and 65 percent of the vote, respectively, in Papua and East Nusa Tenggara.

Ah Maftuchan, a public policy expert at Jakarta-based think tank the Center for Welfare Studies, said a good development agenda needed balanced results in terms of input, processes and outcomes.

“Such visits are good as every leader has their own leadership style, which is also part of the process. But he must be able to show the outcomes,” Maftuchan said, adding that Jokowi’s staff must also work to implement his development agenda.

“From Sabang to Merauke, and maybe later [I] will hold [an Idul Fitri celebration] in Jakarta,” Jokowi said in Padang last week. “Whether it is Idul Fitri, Idul Adha, New Year or Christmas, all will be held in various areas [countrywide].”

After wrapping up his visit to Padang, Jokowi continued his Idul Fitri trip to his hometown of Surakarta and a village in Karanganyar, Central Java, where he spent his childhood, before continuing to Yogyakarta.

Presidential communications team member Ari Dwipayana, however, was optimistic that Jokowi’s leadership style would work as the President has remained consistent in his efforts to promote more inclusive development.

“By closely observing [conditions in] the field himself, the President will have enough information to decide upon or resolve problems that occur,” Ari said, adding that the move also showed Jokowi’s focus on tackling poverty, reducing economic and social gaps and creating more jobs.

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