End of an era: A former furniture salesman raised in Surakarta, Central Java, Jokowi came to power in 2014 as an outsider with limited connections to political establishments. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
As his presidency enters its final weeks, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has gone on the last leg of a tour across the country, where he will bid farewell to the people.
After completing two full terms, Jokowi is set to step down on Oct 20 and hand over the reins to his successor Prabowo Subianto and vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son.
The President’s schedule has been packed over the last few weeks with work trips to regions around the archipelago to greet people, inspect traditional markets or inaugurate new infrastructure.
During his visit this week to a traditional market in East Nusa Tenggara, Jokowi took the opportunity to apologise for all the shortcomings of his administration after checking on the availability and prices of basic goods in the market.
“On this auspicious occasion, I’d like to apologise profusely for all the mistakes, any policies that may not have pleased the hearts of everyone,” Jokowi told market vendors and local residents on Wednesday by megaphone. “I am an ordinary human being who is full of mistakes, full of shortcomings, full of errors.”
The President previously made a similar apology during his visit to local traditional markets in Lubuk Pakam in North Sumatra and Surabaya in East Java, where he inspected prices and chatted with the vendors.
The farewell tour comes after Jokowi made his first public apology during an event at the start of the independence month in August, and later in his last State of the Nation address
A former furniture salesman raised in Surakarta, Central Java, Jokowi came to power in 2014 as an outsider with limited connections to the political establishments, promising to reform a political system dominated by family dynasties and military elites. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
