KEBUMEN, thekabarnews.com—Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), has warned public figures and officeholders not to use power to hurt or bring down other people. He stressed that every position eventually comes to an end.

Jokowi delivered the message at Al-Falah Islamic Boarding School in Kebumen, Central Java, on Saturday, August 29. He attended a celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday and the eighth haul of the late Islamic scholar KH Musyafa Ali.

During his address, Jokowi cited a Javanese moral teaching that cautions powerful people against using their authority recklessly.

“Lamun siro sekti, ojo mateni,” Jokowi said. He explained the expression as a reminder that people with power should not use it to bring down or hurt others.

“Even if you have power, do not use it to bring down other people. Do not use it to hurt other people,” he said, as reported by Jawa Pos.

Jokowi said authority and public office are temporary. His speech framed leadership as a responsibility that requires self-restraint. This is particularly important when a person has the influence to affect other people’s lives.

The former president did not identify a particular person, institution or political dispute as the target of his remarks in the reported portion of the speech.

His message focused on the broader moral obligation to exercise power without humiliating or harming others.

Jokowi has used the same Javanese expression before. In 2019, while serving as president, he shared Lamun siro sekti and ojo mateni on his social media accounts.

An article published by Indonesia’s Presidential Staff Office at the time described the phrase as a form of Javanese moral instruction.

It explained that leadership should protect the public and that authority must not become arbitrary or oppressive.

The expression is sometimes translated literally as “If you are powerful, do not kill.” In its broader cultural context, however, it also warns people not to destroy, suppress or unfairly bring down others. This warning applies when they hold greater power.

Jokowi delivered the remarks during a religious commemoration rather than a formal political event.

The Maulid celebration honors the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. The haul allowed the boarding school community to remember KH Musyafa Ali and his religious service.

By using a familiar Javanese teaching, Jokowi connected the limits of political and social power with values of humility and personal responsibility.

The essence of his argument was that power should serve others, not be weaponized against them. He said that every office is temporary. Those who hold authority have to think of the effect of their actions on people long after they have left office.