Ahmad Ali Unfazed by 'Jacket' Ceremony: Jokowi Is Already PSI

PSI Daily Chairman Ahmad Ali has addressed the plan to present a party jacket to former President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), stating that Jokowi is already considered part of PSI. Ali suggested the ceremonial act is merely a formality, as Jokowi’s previous statements already indicate his affiliation.

“The jacket ceremony or whatever it is called, that is just a ceremonial form. But actually, if we follow the sequence of Pak Jokowi’s statements about PSI, I think those statements should be interpreted as to whether Pak Jokowi is PSI or not,” Ali said when contacted on Sunday (14/6/2026).

“During the congress in Solo, he was firm. He reaffirmed it at the national working meeting in Makassar last May, that he would go down to the sub-districts to help PSI. That means, implicitly, he has already… in my view, today he is PSI,” he added.

Ali mentioned that Jokowi will begin his political safari this month, visiting regions including Lampung, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), and West Java. “Those handling the matter are the volunteers. This June, he will already visit several regions,” he said.

Ali also addressed critics who often mock Jokowi’s planned political safari, calling the agenda a normal activity for a national figure. “Interpreting Pak Jokowi’s safari journey is the same as the journeys of Ibu Mega, Pak SBY, or Pak Ahmad Ali. Because it is a common thing in the political world,” he stated. “The problem is that today it is being stirred up by certain people, made into something strange, something inappropriate for Jokowi to do, isn’t that right?” he added.

Previously, PSI DPP Chairman Bestari Barus said the party would soon bestow a PSI jacket upon Jokowi as a formal sign of his becoming Chairman of the Advisory Board. Bestari said the jacket ceremony would also mark Jokowi no longer being with PDIP. He stated the jacket would be presented by PSI Chairman Kaesang Pangarep, though the exact timing remains unconfirmed.

“Yes, it could be like that (before the tour), it could be fluid. The most important thing is that it becomes public knowledge that Pak Jokowi’s commitment is not just words,” Bestari told reporters on Saturday (13/6/2026). “But later, after the jacket is bestowed and officially announced by the General Chairman, it will become the widest public knowledge that Pak Jokowi is already with PSI and no longer with PDI,” he continued.