Jokowi arrived at the school, located in Babakan Kaum village, on Wednesday morning. He met with locals at the village and visited a small food stall where he bought and then distributed snacks for residents to break-fast with later in the evening.

'€œI'€™m very glad to shake Pak Jokowi'€™s hand, because I'€™ve only been able to see him on TV before. Now I see that he is just like an Islamic student and far from what we have been told in the Obor Rakyat tabloid,'€ said Babakan Kaum resident Enah on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Obor Rakyat -- a libelous tabloid that was distributed free-of-charge to several Islamic boarding schools across Java '€“ recently published false claims that Jokowi is a Christian of Chinese descent, not a Javanese Muslim.

Villagers said that in a closed meeting between Jokowi and the schools'€™ clerics, the presidential candidate asked for their prayers and support to win the July 9 election.

It was not the first time Jokowi had visited Islamic boarding schools in West Java. Previously, he visited schools in Banjar, Ciamis, Cilacap and Tasikmalaya, as part of his effort to repair the damage to his popularity inflicted by the tabloid.

West Java is one of the Java provinces where rival candidate Prabowo Subianto-Jusuf Kalla expects to win the most votes.

The Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla ticket, designated number two on the election ballots, is supported by a coalition led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Partner parties include the National Awakening Party (PKB) the Hanura Party and the NasDem Party. The coalition secured 207, or 39.97 percent of the total 560 seats at the House of Representatives in the legislative election on April 9. (gda/ebf)

Popular

Japan to export used destroyers to Philippines to deter China

Indonesia to face Saudi Arabia in World Cup qualifying

Kertajati’s hard lesson