JOKOWI EMBARRASSES HIMSELF

Man, I can't wrap my head around what's going on in Jokowi's mind. He says the President can take sides and campaign in the 2024 Presidential Election. That statement caught everyone's attention, and it's setting a lousy precedent for the leadership he's been building for around 10 years. Many think Jokowi's words hurt the people, just like what the Ganjar-Mahfud Volunteers for Sumatra (Ragusa Sumbar) recently expressed. They believe that the wound Jokowi inflicted since the Constitutional Court's decision greenlighting Gibran as Prabowo's running mate is getting worse and tearing open with this statement.

Sure, according to the rules, for a President to campaign, they should take a leave first. But it's not just about the rules; there's a moral code to uphold to prevent conflicts of interest from gnawing at the country.

This context makes Jokowi's situation as President worse. He seems to be embarrassing himself, even though he probably wants to assert his rights as a citizen with political rights. But he's forgetting his position as a subject in a political system in a democratic nation.

Scientifically, a political subject can be understood as a party, coalition, or group of parties, independent candidates, or a list of independent candidates, and people involved in a political contest. As a subject, Jokowi's job is to execute and fight for whatever his political interest is, together with other coalitions or subjects.

So, Jokowi can't speak about bias from his personal standpoint. Anyway, he's a state official who gained power through the political process. Even though lately, Jokowi emphasizes that bias is regulated by the law and allowed in election regulations.

Jokowi should learn from SBY during the 2014 Presidential Election. Back then, SBY, leading the Democratic Party, chose to support and endorse the Prabowo-Hatta pair in the contest. As the party's chair, SBY had the right and opportunity to actively engage in the campaign for the candidates supported by his party.

However, he was aware that he was still the President, so SBY chose not to participate in the campaign and decided to finish his term until the last day. All the political affairs were handed over to party cadres who were more suitable and competent for campaign activities.

That's how a President should act. How a national leader should position themselves in the heat of the competition. Instead of stoking the competition with bravado and being more active in campaigning than the candidates themselves.

As someone who once supported Jokowi, I'm seriously worried about how his leadership will end. Even though a crash landing is almost certain, I still have high hopes for Jokowi, hoping he wakes up. What he's doing now is wrong. It's legally questionable and seriously unethical and immoral.