Indonesian President Walks 3 Kilometres to Avoid Traffic

Indonesian President Joko Widodo had no option but to step out of his car and walked 2kilometres to attend a military parade after the road his convoy used was congested with traffic.

The country’s traffic nightmares were aptly illustrated when President Joko Widodo had to walk more than 2km to attend a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the Indonesian military’s founding.

He and senior government officials were held up by gridlock as they approached the military parade in Cilegon, a port city about two and a half hours drive from the capital Jakarta, the presidential palace said.

After a 30 minute wait, “the president then decided from inside the car that he would walk,” his guard Ili Dasili said in a statement.

National police chief Tito Karnavian, who was also stuck in the jam, joined the president.

Video footage shows the president walking with a phalanx of security personnel while spectators yell and chant his name.

The president’s unorthodox entrance wasn’t lost on social media users, who questioned why the leader of South-east Asia’s largest economy was compelled to walk to the event.

“How come the president walked for 2km to the military anniversary location, why didn’t they give him the privilege of vacating the road or taking him in a helicopter?” Twitter user @Pujithegooners wrote.