Know Difference Between Criticizing and Insulting, President Jokowi Says

President Jokowi delivers remarks at the Opening of the 8th National Consultation Forum of Male Congregation of Indonesian Communion of Churches in Solo, Central Java, Friday (6/9). (Photo: JAY/PR)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo regretted that some people fail to differentiate between criticizing and insulting, between criticizing and mocking.

“We often forget (the differences),” the President said in remarks at the 8Th National Consultation Forum of Male Congregation of Indonesian Communion of Churches in Solo, Central Java province, Friday (6/9).

The President added that insulting each other, mocking each other, and vilifying each other are not Indonesian values ; instead, he added, Indonesian values are those of solidarity, tolerance, and mutual cooperation.

President Jokowi admitted that he sometimes feels sad every time he reads social media feeds. “Why have the contents become like this?” he said.

President Jokowi also acknowledged that most countries are now facing a “turbulence” due to unstoppable openness, related regulations that are not yet available and technology development.

“This is a phenomenon that we must handle carefully. We must always remember the importance of love towards each other while following the technology development,” the President added.

On that occasion, President Jokowi mentioned the changing pattern of people interaction, particularly how we access information through social media.

“We can now get updates about the current situation in the world, such as demonstrations in Hong Kong and France, Brexit, the fall of Argentina’s Peso currency, and others, all through social media. We can easily access any information,” the President said.

For that reason, he reminded the importance of controlling ourselves to avoid spreading hoaxes and to maintain manners and good ethics. “This is what we need to uphold starting from our own family,” he said, adding that fathers have a crucial role in building good values in the family.

President Jokowi also stressed that a family as a place to build faith in facing the rapidly-evolving world. “Without faith, we may get lost in this changing world that is very difficult to control,” he said, adding that the world can be very dangerous or useful depending on how we adapt to those changes.

“Once again I would like to remind the importance of maintaining ethics and manners in our daily communication,” President Jokowi said. (MAY/JAY/ES)

Translated by: Estu Widyamurti
Edited by: M. Ersan Pamungkas