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You up?: Jokowi the midnight caller
If his ministers don’t pick up, Jokowi will have their aides wake them.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo makes a call on a mobile phone. (Twitter/@jokowi)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo opened up about the ups and downs of being president at a forum with journalists in Central Jakarta on Thursday.
At the discussion, which focused on infrastructure and human resource development, the President said that he often called his ministers in the middle of the night to discuss infrastructure and other matters.
When asked how late he would call the ministers, Jokowi said it depended on the day.
“It can be at 1:00 a.m, midnight, 2:30 a.m.,” he said. “If it is difficult [to reach] the minister, I’ll tell their aide to wake them up. It’s common for me to do that, just ask the ministers, the [Indonesian Military] commander, the National Police chief. The most recent is the Army chief of staff, whom I called at 12:30 a.m.”
He said that he often worked late into the night and would remember some important matter and call the relevant minister or official to ensure that the issue was handled quickly.
Jokowi said the long hours he kept caused him to sleep less than he did before becoming president.
“I often sleep in the car. [On the trip] between Jakarta and Bogor [Presidential Palace] I can get some sleep. On the plane I can sleep around 30 minutes. I can also sleep on helicopters. Others can’t,” he said. “At night, it’s true I sleep less, but alhamdulilllah [thank God] I am given the pleasure of being able to sleep anywhere.”
When asked if he enjoyed the country’s top job, the President joked, “I enjoy it. I enjoy the headaches.” (kmt)
