TEMPO.CO, Jakarta- Jakarta Governor, Joko Widodo (best known as Jokowi) presented his speech in Betawi (Jakarta origin) dialect on the city's 486th anniversary ceremony, Saturday, June 22. During the speech, he apologized for his clumsy accent which was often mixed up with Javanese's.
Jokowi said he did a special preparation for his speech and verses in Betawi dialect. "I went on solitude for a whole day yesterday to practice this Betawi dialect," he laughed.
The governor disappeared from his office at City Hall on Friday, June 21. In addition to the solitude, he visited the Thousand Islands to have friendly chat while giving direction to Jakarta Administration's officials stationed there.
Despite of the special practicing, Jokowi were still awkwardly sounding the accent, saying in broken betawi "Aye mohon maap ame para tokoh Betawi kalau bahase aye campur. Karena kurang pas logatnya, eh logatnye", which means "I apologize to all Betawi public figures for my improper dialect," Jokowi said, responded by clapping hands and laughter from the participants at IRTI Monas Field.
ANGGRITA DESYANI