Magang KJI, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid is questioning President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's apology during his state of the nation address at the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). Hamid said that Widodo in fact failed to explain his actions and mistakes so he conveyed an apology instead.
"It was an empty speech, because there was no acknowledgement of his failure to do what he promised", said Hamid during a public discussion at the Amnesty International office in Jakarta on Friday August 16. Hamid said that Widodo should have apologised for his various failures over the ten years he has been president.
Hamid highlighted a number of failures that occurred under Widodo's watch. For example, he promised to strengthen the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). But instead of it being strengthened, the KPK was actually weakened during Widodo's term in office.
Not to mention Indonesia's democratic index that has continued to decline. Based on research by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Indonesian ranked 56th globally for democracy in 2023. Yet in the previous year, or in 2022, Indonesia's ranking was 54th.
In addition to this, Hamid also highlighted that Widodo's apology was irrelevant to the speech as a whole. The reason is that Widodo actually claimed a number of successes while serving as president. "Jokowi only mentioned various actions that in his personal views were the right thing to do", said Hamid.
Earlier, Widodo made an apology to the Indonesian people during his speech at the MPR annual session and a joint session of the House of Representatives (DPR). Widodo said that ten years is not a long enough time to unravel Indonesia's problems.
Widodo claimed to be aware that he is a person who is far from perfect or special. Widodo said that it was very likely that some people were left out during his period of leadership.
"Sorry for every heart that may have been disappointed, for every hope that has not yet been realised, for every ideal that has not been achieved", said Widodo in his speech on Friday August 16.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Jokowi Minta Maaf, Amnesty International Indonesia: Pidato Kosong".]
