Presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Sandiaga Uno's campaign have been beset by numerous PR disasters in the lead up to next month's election, but this latest one seems to have been entirely avoidable if not totally unnecessary.
During a recent campaign event in Yogyakarta on Saturday, Sandiaga hosted a seminar discussing the role of millennials in business when a 20-year-old college student/model named Vincentia Tiffani – who the Indonesian media have ceaselessly called cantik (beautiful) in their reports – took the mic during a Q&A and asked the VP candidate if he would take her to be his second wife to the giddy cheers of those in the audience.
While Sandiaga did not respond in the affirmative (he just said marrying Vincentia would only bring problems to his household), the video spread like wildfire this past week. It seemed like harmless fun until Vincentia herself clarified what really happened after receiving a barrage of criticism.
"There have been many news stories that were overblown and 'seasoned' that disturbed me lately," Vincentia said in a video on her Instagram, as picked up by Kumparan.
Vincentia said the event's organizers actually asked her to ask a question to Sandiaga.
"I was asked by the organizers to ask if I could be Sandiaga Uno's second wife," she said, adding that it was meant to be a joke. "I don't actually want to be Sandiaga Uno's second wife."
Vincentia asserted that she is not thinking about getting married at the moment as she's still got a long way to go in her studies and her career.
Sandiaga's campaign team have yet to issue a statement in light of Vincentia's confession.
Sandiaga, 49, has a reputation of being a heartthrob among Indonesian politicians due to his good looks and youthful charm. He married his wife, Nur Asia, in 1996, with whom he has three children.
This isn't the first time that Sandiaga has been the fodder of Indonesian tabloids. After he was nominated as VP last year, rumors spread that he had been involved in an extra-marital relationship with an actress, but there was no evidence to support them.
Regardless, Prabowo and Sandiaga look like they have their work cut out for them to beat incumbent President Joko Widodo and his running mate Ma'ruf Amin, as most recent polls have put the latter in around 20 point leads over the former.