IDNEWSNOW.COM, Jakarta – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Tuesday, June 29, responded to the criticism touting him as the ‘king of lip service’ – in the form of meme made by University of Indonesia student executive board (BEM UI) to protest against what they claim as the President’s inconsistency.
In a video aired by the Presidential Secretariat Youtube channel, the President merely smiled and said that criticism is a normal occurrence for him.
“That’s been going on for a while. In the past, I was accused of being clueless but they changed and accused me of being authoritarian, there were also those who likened me to a paralyzed duck. The latest is being coined as the king of lip service,” said Jokowi casually in the Youtube video on June 29.
However, he said that the criticism from students is mainly a form of expression that is permitted in a democratic country such as Indonesia.
“This is their way to express themselves and this is a democratic country, so criticisms are allowed. University should not hinder students from expressing themselves.”
Despite the president’s permissible stand towards the criticism, he reminded people to remain focused on mitigating the ongoing pandemic.
“Maybe they are learning to express their opinions, but most importantly is to collectively focus on handling the Covid-19 pandemic,” the president said.
On Saturday, June 26, the University of Indonesia executive student board (BEM UI) took to Twitter and uploaded a meme that depicted ‘Jokowi the king of lip service’ on their official Twitter account. Among many, one of the focal points in their criticism lies in the President’s stand on the revision of the Information and Electronic Transactions (UU ITE) law.
Read: PPP Politician Comments on ‘Jokowi King of Lip Service’ Meme
DEWI NURITA
