Pak Jokowi, a working president with no pomp and fanfare

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No Corruption

The third point is that he abhors corruption. He has taken many steps and issued many decrees in his efforts to eliminate corruption. Heavy penalties are imposed on those who take bribes. And the good news is, it works.

He identified the problem early on and worked tirelessly to strengthen the Anti-Corruption Agency (KPK) to fight those who were corrupt. He made KPK report to Parliament rather than to him. I think he is winning this long drawn-out war.

My current work scope in Indonesia allows me to travel extensively to the locations of toll roads that will eventually provide new links to some minor towns and new urban centres.

At the same time, it gives me the golden opportunity to meet with some of the more senior civil servants in various ministries, many of whom are close to the so-called corridors of power in Jakarta.

Knowing them and mixing socially with them partly through work has been fascinating. Not only do they value my professional opinions, but equally important, I get the chance to interact and understand them better, especially their oratorical skills and approach to planning and managing in Indonesia, a vast and diverse country.

My first important observation is how they all adore and admire their current president, who is the country’s huge driving force. They cannot imagine Indonesia without him.

Having been elected twice, Pak Jokowi is indeed a very popular president who drives the country forward and dictates which direction the country is heading, changing its course when necessary.

The second point that I must mention is that Jokowi is so well connected to the people at different levels. Despite the internal diversity of race, religion and ethnicity, Indonesia is very united under him.

Every time he makes a policy speech on certain subjects or a particular economic sector, he sounds like a subject matter expert and almost everyone can follow his narrative and understand his objectives and intentions.

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