Indonesia’s Widodo kicks off fresh term

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo was sworn in for a second term yesterday, as helicopters flew overhead and troops kept watch in the capital Jakarta -- days after Islamist militants tried to assassinate his top security minister.

Foreign heads of state, lawmakers and political rivals looked on as Widodo, 58, and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, 76, read an oath to start a five-year tenure leading the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.

Outside parliament, red-and-white Indonesian flags dotted parts of the city, but celebrations were muted with supporters outnumbered by some 30,000 security personnel deployed amid fears of another attack.

Demonstrations were also banned yesterday as extremist violence continues to plague Indonesia.

Several thousand supporters, many wearing T-shirts bearing the leader’s image, watched the ceremony on a big screen near Jakarta’s national monument.

“I was worried Islamic (hardliners) would take over the country if he lost,” supporter Suprihatini, who goes by one name, told AFP.

“I’m Muslim, but I don’t want that kind of movement here,” the 53-year-old added.

Widely known as Jokowi, the president said his final term would be aimed at eradicating poverty and catapulting the nation of some 260 million into a developed country with one of the world’s top five economies by 2045.