The first media appearance of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Joko Widodo’s eldest son, made headlines for all the wrong reasons. We covered the incident here (No smile from Gibran as his father Joko Widodo becomes President) yesterday, now here’s the video of President Jokowi introducing Gibran to journalists:
We can totally sympathize with the faux-hawk bearing Gibran here, especially if some media outlets did indeed accuse him of being Jokowi’s bastard son in the past. But the least he could do was force a smile on his father’s special day.
But netizens were not the least bit impressed. Some even branded Gibran as arrogant and lacking in manners. Here are some tweets bashing Jokowi’s eldest son:
“Hey bro, your dad was elected President of Indonesia not the president of thugs. Why are you so arrogant? Where did you graduate from?”
“You shouldn’t shower man, so your hair would look even cooler.”
“Act your best, don’t look like a bad person. Don’t be arrogant, act with kindness.”
Poor Gibran, he’d probably never talk to the press if he could have it his way. While you may or may not agree with how he handled the media, we can’t deny that he’s an accomplished businessman, who is worth a lot more than many of his critiques will ever be.
According to Gibran’s profile on Sooperboy.com, Jokowi’s first born is a businessman who owns a catering company. Gibran was born on October 1, 1988, and left to study in Singapore when he was just in middle school. He went to and completed tertiary studies at the University of Technology Sydney in 2010.
Gibran refused to follow in his father’s footsteps in furniture retail. Instead, his interest in the catering business led him to create his own company, Chili Pari Catering Service, in Solo in late 2010. He also refused funding from his parents, going out of his way to take out a loan of Rp 1 billion from a bank to start his company. Now, his business has evolved into a wedding organizer and caterer. Chili Pari’s cheapest package, which includes a buffet for 1,000 guests, costs Rp 56 million.
Not bad at all for someone who has only just turned 26 this month. Gibran has, time and time again, reiterated his apathy for politics, and after yesterday’s infamous incident, he’d do well to turn a blind eye to his bullies and get back to business.
10 years from now, we can imagine Gibran sitting on his golden throne, waving cash in the faces of his naysayers, all the while singing “Bum Raka Raka!”
More from Jokowi’s inauguration
No smile from Gibran as his father Joko Widodo becomes president
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