It is not very often a state leader visits Jakarta and the first thing he looks for is a local eatery.

But that is exactly what Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob did soon after he arrived in town on Tuesday.

"The first thing that I did after arriving was order [food] from Garuda," Ismail Sabri said in a meeting with the media, referring to the popular Malay food joint in Jakarta, known for its spicy and coconut milk-heavy offerings.

The newly sworn in Prime Minister Ismail spoke of the popularity of Malay and Padang food in Malaysia, especially in the capital. "There’s so many Malay and Padang restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, so we're no stranger to that," Ismail Sabri said, adding that Malay culture had also become part of the country's cultural fabric. 

And just like other Malaysian prime ministers who claimed to have roots in Indonesia, the 61-year-old politician was more than happy to show off his own connections to the country.

"Malaysia and Indonesia have had a long history and large numbers of Malaysians can trace their roots to Indonesia. My son-in-law in fact comes from Manado [North Sulawesi]. So my granddaughter is half-Indonesian, half-Malaysian," Ismail Sabri said, speaking about his daughter Nina Sabri's marriage to 35-year-old fashion designer Jovian Mandagie. 

The Indonesian-born Mandagie is one of Malaysia's top designers who has been married to Nina since 2013.

In putting a personal touch on his first state visit overseas, Ismail Sabri followed in the footsteps of his predecessors who touted their roots to Indonesia as part of their public relations campaign.

His predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin had gone on the record to promote his Javanese and Bugis heritage. “People ask me what I am. My late father was a Bugis and my late mother was a Javanese. I am a Malay,” he said during a United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) event as quoted by The Star. Bugis people can trace their origins to South Sulawesi and have been known for their skills as sailors. 

Muhyiddin's father Muhammad Yassin was a prominent Muslim preacher from Johor who had Bugis heritage while his mother Khadijjah Kassim was of Javanese descent. 

Muhyiddin's predecessor Najib Razak also proudly flaunted his Bugis roots, something that was used by his political rivals to attack him.

In 2017, former prime minister Mahathir Muhamad came under fire for suggesting that Najib's behavior in office could be linked to his ethnicity.

In October that year, Mahathir, told the “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptokrasy” (Love Malaysia, Abolish Kleptocracy) rally that Malaysia was being led by a prime minister (Najib) who came from “Bugis pirates”.

A group of Malaysians of Bugis descent staged a protest against Mahathir, calling for him to apologize for the statement which they deemed "hurtful" to the feelings of the Bugis.

Najib's strong ties to Indonesia had also been contributed by his wife Seri Rosmah Binti Mansor, whose ancestry could be traced back to West Sumatra.

In 2014, Rosmah was given the honorary royal title "Puan Gadi" by the descendants of a royal family in Pagaruyung in West Sumatra.

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