KUCHING: Indonesian President Joko Widodo won the hearts of many of his countrymen today when he donned traditional Dayak Kenyah headgear during his visit to Malinau Regency in North Kalimantan.
In a post on his official Facebook page, Joko – or popularly known as Jokowi – could be seen wearing a black vest adorned with traditional Dayak beads and other accessories, while fastening the traditional headgear of the Kenyah, complete with hornbill feathers.
“It is my first time visiting Malinau Regency here in North Kalimantan, and I received traditional Dayak Kenyah clothes and headgear from the elders along with 11 tribal leaders in Malinau who welcomed me at Robert Atty Besing Airport yesterday,” he wrote in the post.
“This traditional outfit in the form of a black vest adorned with a series of beads fits me very well.”
He also conveyed his thanks to the Malinau community.
Jokowi is currently visiting many areas in Kalimantan, Borneo, after a tour of the proposed site of the new Indonesian capital in East Kalimantan.
He has updated his Facebook page regularly during his visit to the island, even seen riding a touring motorcycle on the trans-Kalimantan road in Krayan District, Nunukan, North Kalimantan.
The President announced in August that the Indonesian government intended to move the administrative capital of Jakarta to East Kalimantan province, on Borneo, by 2024 to relieve the heavy burden on the current capital Jakarta due to overcrowding and pollution.
Jakarta, the current capital of the world’s fourth-most populous country, on the island of Java, is now home to 10 million people and is sinking due to over-extraction of groundwater, as well as being prone to floods and traffic gridlock.