Gibran Comments on JK: Senior, Mentor, and Idol

Vice President Gibran Rakabuming responded to several controversial statements made by Jusuf Kalla (JK) regarding his father, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), in recent times.

However, instead of addressing those issues directly, Gibran praised JK, from his political career to his services in reconciling conflict areas. He described JK as a mentor, role model, and even an idol.

“Mr JK is my senior, Mr JK is also my mentor,” said Vice President Gibran during a break in his working visit to Sorong Regency, Southwest Papua, on Wednesday (22/4/2026).

“He has made many contributions to this nation, especially in conflict areas. So he is a role model for us all. And I am very grateful for the inputs and evaluations from Mr JK. Mr JK is my idol,” he concluded.

The polemic involving JK and the Jokowi family has recently centred on issues that revive the diploma controversy and claims of being instrumental in Jokowi’s political career—from pushing him to Jakarta to becoming the seventh president.

Jokowi himself responded to those statements calmly. Not denying JK’s claims, Jokowi instead called himself just a village person.

“Yes, I’m nobody. I’m a village person,” said Jokowi at his residence in Banjarsari, Surakarta (Solo), as reported by detikJateng.

For information, Gibran himself replaced JK’s position as vice president. JK has served as vice president twice, namely during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s (SBY) first term and President Jokowi’s first term.