The President ruffled some feathers last week when he attended a major political rally held by his volunteers, in which he encouraged thousands of people packing the Gelora Bung Karno stadium to vote for a leader who worked so hard and cared about their people so much that their face wrinkled and their hair turned white. 

While political pundits believed that Jokowi was giving his blessings to the silver-haired Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, the President claimed that a “white-haired” leader could be anyone, not only exclusively Ganjar, a fellow member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Political tour

During his working visit to Pontianak on Tuesday, the President made reference once again to a “white hair” successor, saying that one could interpret his suggestion in any way, throwing several names into the fray this time.

"One can interpret it in any way; but indeed if one works hard, they think very hard for the people, their hair could turn white,” Jokowi told reporters on Tuesday. “Many have white hair, like [National Mandate Party politician] Hatta Rajasa, [Central Java Governor] Ganjar Pranowo, including [Defense Minister] Prabowo Subianto, his hair is also rather white, and others.”

Jokowi humorously rehashed the allusion to white-haired politicians the following day when he spoke at an annual Bank Indonesia (BI) gathering, saying that the current crisis engulfing the world had created headaches for world leaders serious enough to turn their hair white.

Popular

Govt banks on Rp 500t inflows to international financial center

When prosecutors become prosecuted

Why EV makers choose Vietnam, not nickel-rich Indonesia