TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jokowi's running mate, K.H. Ma'ruf Amin, refused to be categorized as old. Ma'ruf said according to the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) one is said to be old when he or she is 80-100-year-old.
Ma'ruf, aged 75, said he did not fall in that category and was still considered middle-aged.
“According to WHO, the old ages are 80-100. The ages of 60-80 are still middle-aged. That means I am not old, I am still middle-aged,” said Ma'ruf in Cipasung Islamic Boarding School, Tasikmalaya, West Java, Monday, October 22.
Read: Ma'ruf Amin to Leave MUI if Elected Vice President
Ma'ruf is known to have always compared himself to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is now 93-year-old. He said he was still much younger than Mahathir.
When addressing questions about the reason why he still wanted to become vice president at his age, Ma'ruf often resorted to a story about an old man who planted trees, which he heard as a student of an Islamic boarding school.
“Many people asked him, why did he plant the trees when he was already old. The old man replied, 'I planted these threes not for myself, but for the generations to come,'" Ma'ruf Amin said.
DEWI NURITA