Kaesang Admits He Receives Blessing from Jokowi to Join PSI

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The youngest son of President Joko Widodo or Jokowi, Kaesang Pangarep has officially joined the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI). The brother of Solo Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka received a membership card handed over directly by the PSI chairman Giring Ganesha at the Presidential residence in Solo, Central Java on Saturday, September 23. 

During the membership card handover, Kaesang was accompanied by his wife Erina Gudono. But other members of President Jokowi's family, such as First Lady Iriana Jokowi or the Mayor of Solo who is also Kaesang's eldest brother, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, were not there.

Kaesang said that before joining PSI, he had asked for the blessing of his father. But he admitted that he had yet to talk about it further due to the President's busy schedule.

"I definitely asked for a blessing (from Jokowi). But he must be really busy, right? Maybe we only talked for about five minutes," said Kaesang when answering a question about Jokowi's blessing for him to join PSI.

Due to Jokowi’s busy schedule, Kaesang said he could not talk much with his father and his brother Gibran, who is also busy, about his intention to join PSI.

When asked further about his decision to join a different political party from Jokowi and Gibran, Kaesang said that it should not be a problem. Jokowi and Gibran are cadres of PDIP.

"It shouldn’t be a problem," he remarked. 

SEPTHIA RYANTHIE

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