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resident Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo stole the show as Philippines world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and undefeated US boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. were gearing up for their '€œbout of the century'€ in Las Vegas on Saturday. Pacquiao spared time to write to Jokowi, asking the Indonesian leader to show mercy to his compatriot Mary Jane Veloso, one of the nine death row inmates awaiting execution in Indonesia.

Global pressure has indeed been mounting on Jokowi to save the lives of the convicts. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and France'€™s President Francois Hollande are the latest world leaders who have appealed to Jokowi to reconsider the execution. As Brazilian President Dilma Roussef did, Hollande warned Jokowi of strained diplomatic ties between Jakarta and Paris if the latter turned a deaf ear to the international demands.

Following the first batch of executions of drug convicts in January, which included a Brazilian national, Roussef recalled her ambassador from Jakarta and turned down the credentials of Indonesian ambassador-designate to Brazil Toto Riyanto in retaliation. Whether he enjoys such worldwide publicity, Jokowi has risen to fame unfortunately for a policy that sparks controversy. Jokowi has insisted that he is upholding the law, which maintains the death penalty.

It seems that for Jokowi, a popular president but one who lacks outright majority political support, the execution of the death row inmates will help him retain the public'€™s faith as many of his election promises have yet to materialize. His priority programs have remained in the pipeline after over six months in office.

Understandably Jokowi has resorted to a nationalist narrative when dealing with the death penalty, reminding foreign governments against interfering in Indonesia'€™s internal affairs. Or perhaps foreign nationals were deliberately put on top of the list so as to stir international reaction in the first place.

In fact Jokowi has aimed to give a nationalist flavor to his government policies, which is not strange considering his affiliation with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). This may also explain why Jokowi chose to attack the World Bank, IMF, ADB and '€œrich countries'€ in his opening speech at the recent Asian-African commemorative summit in Jakarta.

Capital punishment, Jokowi insists, is also testament to Indonesia'€™s commitment to fighting the narcotics trade, which the nation has declared is an extraordinary crime, along with corruption and terrorism. He fails to explain, however, why the death penalty has never been sought for corruption convicts. To make matters worse, Jokowi'€™s commitment to anticorruption has come into question as a result of his failure to defend the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) recently.

It is a lack of consistency that Jokowi has been accused of, including on the issue of the death penalty. The fruits of this inconsistency include the unnecessary media circus. Reports of Sukhoi jet-fighter fly-pasts and Army drills to secure the executions and repeated delays to the implementation of the death sentences have filled the public space without adding any new insight into the long-standing debate over capital punishment.