Supporters of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo have sought to tamp down reports about the behind-the-scenes role First Lady Iriana has played in grooming and positioning their eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka for high office.

Members of Indonesia Onward Coalition electoral alliance backing frontrunner Prabowo Subianto and running mate Surakarta Mayor Gibran have played down a report by Tempo magazine about Iriana’s role in pushing for Gibran’s vice presidential bid, dismissing it merely as the natural and reasonable support of a mother for her son.

“She’s his mother. Seeing her son running [in the presidential race], as a mother, she will definitely support him, pray for him, give her blessing,” Nusron Wahid, a senior member of the Golkar Party and secretary of the Prabowo-Gibran campaign team, told reporters on Tuesday.

Prabowo’s own party Gerindra described any insinuation that Iriana had intervened in the upcoming election as “malicious framing”.

“I don't understand, how has it come to this? To the point that a mother-son relationship is framed as an evil thing,” asked Habiburokhman, deputy chairman of Gerindra.

The report published by Tempo over the weekend laid out Iriana’s outsize role in Gibran’s ascendancy to the vice presidential candidacy, from consolidating extended First Family members to lobbying local businessmen in Surakarta and Jokowi’s supporter groups to back his son’s vice presidential bid.

Read also: Gibran addresses diploma controversy, shows academic certificates

Popular

Indonesia one step from Olympics after beating South Korea

Opposition weakens as rivals pledge support for Prabowo

Golden generation