TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo surprised when reading the editorial section of Koran Tempo (Tempo newspaper) Thursday, April 25 edition with the headline said: "Propaganda of Electoral Fraud". The article stated that an appeal of Prabowo Subianto - Sandiaga Uno ticket to not trust the 2019 Presidential Election's quick count result, that was deemed favoring Jokowi - Ma'ruf Amin, as misleading.

In front of Tempo journalists, Budi Setyarso and Reza Maulana who met him at Bogor Palace on Friday, April 26, the president read it out loud. "Why nobody dares to say this before," he said. According to the 57-year-old-man, the quick count is a scientific method with high accuracy. Based on the quick count result, 25 state leaders, among others Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, congratulated him for his win in Indonesia's presidential election on April 17.

Without mentioning any names, the incumbent candidate regret other parties who built opinions by claiming victory, which affects people's rationality. In the interview, he also touched on the post-truth concept. According to the Oxford dictionary, post-truth is a condition when objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. The moments that highly correlate to the concept are the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as the president of the United States.

According to Widodo, media and non-formal leaders have to be more vocal to clarify disinformation. "If no one dares to say it, it will mislead us all," he remarked, adding that it would only be getting more difficult to be stopped.

In the 45-minute exclusive interview, Jokowi also talked about the reconciliation process with Prabowo-Sandiaga, as well as the 2019-2024 work plan and a cabinet reshuffle. Read the full interview at Tempo weekly magazine published on Monday, April 29.

Mohammad Reza Maulana

Read: Jokowi Unsatisfied with Presidential Election Result