A meeting held by Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) chairperson Megawati Soekarno Putri and probable presidential candidate Joko Widodo with several envoys on Monday night has drawn brickbats from political analysts.

A political analyst from Universiti Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah, Burhanudin Muhtadi questioned why the media was invited to the meeting that was held at the residence of a businessman.

Megawati and Joko or Jokowi were said to have met envoys from Turkey, the United States, Mexico and Norway. Before that, Jokowi was introduced to former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad at Megawati’s residence in Jakarta on Monday afternoon.

Burhanuddin was quoted by Kompas yesterday as saying that the meeting could be misconstrued that Megawati and Jokowi would make a pact with foreign parties should Jokowi were to be elected president in the presidential race on July 9.

A political observer from Charta Politika, Yunarto Wijaya, said Jokowi opponents would turn the meeting into a political capital by accusing the Jakarta governor of being a foreign stooge.

In his reaction, Jokowi said the meeting was an opportunity to learn how to interact with the international community, apart from garnering foreign support in his candidature for the presidency.

- Bernama