JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<select>
    <option value="1">1</option>
    <option value="2">2</option>
    <option value="3">3</option>
    <option value="4">4</option>
    <option value="5">5</option>
</select>

<a href="#" onClick="showOptWithValue(3); return false;">The Link</a>

JavaScript

function showOptWithValue(which) {
    $('select>option[value=' + which + ']').attr('selected', true);
}