Jakarta – In politics, apologies are a cheap commodity. Politicians apologize all the time.

Not all apologies are the same and some apologies are definitely and substantively better than others. Some enter the history books while others are quickly forgotten.

President Soeharto did apologize in his resignation speech in May 1998. In fact, the late strongman also used the same expression, "apologizing for all shortcomings," which was also used by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Aug. 1.

President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's apology to the people of Timor-Leste is certainly one for the history books and a lesson that if done right and especially uttered by credible and sensible politician, an apology can go a long way.

Gus Dur's apology in 2000 over the Santa Cruz massacre came at the right moment, right when Indonesia and the newly independent Timor-Leste was about to embark on new ties as neighbors.

Until today, Gus Dur is hailed a hero in Timor-Leste and thanks to that apology the ties between Indonesia and Timor-Leste remain close despite memories of Indonesia's occupation.

President Jokowi's apology last week came at a very awkward moment.

Not only was it unexpected, but he made the statement while he still had three months left in office. It seemed like a bit of a backhanded move, made during an event with no real political significance.

It was not even delivered from inside the presidential office, like the moment when he issued an apology to victims of many past human rights abuses.

Apologies matter only when there is contrition involved, and if there's one, President Jokowi did not appear to show that in the speech or in follow-up moves that he made.

If anything, the President said he was sorry for the "shortcomings" in his policies and that he couldn't "satisfy" everyone's needs. It seems like he's apologizing for not building more bridges, creating more jobs, or delivering the 7 percent annual economic growth we were expecting.

We can certainly accept that kind of apology, if President Jokowi was a truly technocratic leader whose sole purpose and motivation was to realize those development goals. The problem with him was that he was also a political leader who has overseen numerous setbacks especially in the country's political and economic fronts.

It's fair to say that the President has also been responsible for the deterioration in the country's quality of democracy. There are lots of examples, from the amendment of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law, which renders the commission ineffective, to policies that make it easier for political corruption, like a regulation on mining licenses for religious organizations.

But his biggest mistake is making nepotism great again, with his eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka set to be sworn in as vice president in October. Gibran holding the second highest office should have not been a problem had his rise been achieved through a normal process.

Gibran's nomination and eventual win in the Feb. 14 election was the outcome of an elaborate effort that involved an assault on an independent judiciary system, the massive deployment of state resources and a whole lot of arm-twisting.

And while President Jokowi was delivering his apology speech, he attempted to pull off the same move in Central Java where he is pushing his youngest son Kaesang Pangarep to contest the gubernatorial election. In fact, the President is now overseeing the deployment of candidates that he expects can win in crucial battleground provinces from North Sumatra – where his son-in-law Bobby Nasution is running for governor – to Jakarta.

And in some of these places, Jokowi's move to win the races could yield a cruel outcome in which popular candidates like Anies Baswedan in Jakarta or Airin Rachmy Diany could face a real possibility of failing to get their names on the ballot.

President Jokowi's words of apology will only matter if he starts making amends and puts a stop to whatever he does to compromise the country's political system.

If not, they're just empty words.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2024/08/08/words-dont-matter.htm