Indonesian President Joko Widodo Shares Rare Public Hug With Political Rival
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi, shared a rare public hug with presidential contender Prabowo Subianto during the Asian Games in Jakarta on Wednesday, August 29.The pair were thrown together in an embrace by Indonesian athlete Hanifan Yudani Kusumah, who had just won a gold medal in pencak silat, the country’s national martial arts form.Hanifan was seen walking up to the Gelora Bung Karno stadium’s stand to greet the President and Prabowo, who is chairman of the Indonesian Pencak Silat Association, before pulling them into a group hug.Photos and videos of the group hug quickly went viral on Indonesian social media channels. This video of the embrace was captured by the Presidential Staff Office.In Indonesia, the Hashtag #WowoSayangWiwi (Wowo Loves Wiwi, referring to Prabowo’s and Jokowi’s nicknames) became one of Indonesia’s top 10 trending topics.Jokowi and Prabowo, who were candidates in the bitterly contested presidential election 2014, will once again be opponents in the 2019 election, the Jakarta Post reported. Credit: Presidential Staff Office of Indonesia via Storyful