Indonesian President Joko Widodo walks to attend a press conference at the presidential palace in Jakarta (10/22). AP/Tatan Syuflana
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Being a president is a whole new experience for Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, as he is now in charge of a nation with moe than 13,000 islands and 300 ethnicities. Moreover, Indonesia is divided into various beliefs, amid being the nation with the most Moslem population in the world.
Speaking to Time magazine, Jokowi emphasized that Indonesia is under the spirit of unity in diversity. With his face printed in what-could-be an iconic cover, Jokowi spoke of moderation and tolerance, and that they are embedded in the DNA of Indonesians.
Time also wrote that Jokowi has a diverse ethnic relations as he picked a deputy who happened to be a Catholic (Fransiskus Xaverius Hadi Rudyatmo) when he was the Mayor in Solo. "In Jakarta, his Jokowi's deputy was a Chinese, an ethnicity that has suffered from race rioting," Time wrote. "Although the sprawling island nation has maintained remarkable harmony given the diversity of its inhabitants, human-rights groups worry about a recent uptick in ethnic and religious intolerance."
