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ollowing public outcry, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo apologized for his statements allegedly insinuating that the spike in the number of rapes on public transportation vehicles was a consequence of women wearing tight and revealing outfits.

“I apologize. I don’t intend to annoy women,” he said.

Analysts said the rhetoric would not improve Fauzi’s image ahead of the 2012 gubernatorial election.

University of Indonesia political communication expert Effendi Ghazali said that, following the statement, it was likely that Fauzi would have serious problems persuading female voters during next year’s gubernatorial poll.

“I don’t understand why he [Fauzi] said things like that. No women will want to vote for him [next year] after this statement,” Effendi told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Effendi said that, with his ill-advised commentary, Fauzi demonstrated that he had failed to fully grasp the gravity of the actual ground-level circumstances.

“Just imagine, of the numerous problems plaguing the public transportation system, public minivans, in particular, including unregistered drivers, tinted windows and the absence of inexpensive late-night service, Fauzi chose to shift the blame to the [rape] victims,” he said.

Effendi attributed Fauzi’s reckless statements to a lack of sympathy for the victims.

Late on Friday evening, hours after making his statement that women should not dress in tight and revealing outfits while riding public transportation, Fauzi issued another statement, which some have viewed merely as damage control.

Fauzi said that he had no intention of blaming female victims in rape cases.

“I am sorry because my earlier statement could easily have been misinterpreted. I have no intention at all to debase women. I condemn the crime and I think that rapists should be given the maximum sentence possible,” Fauzi said on Friday.

Fauzi also pledged that he would make all efforts to improve security in public transportation vehicles.

He also called on female passengers to be more vigilant when boarding public transportation vehicles.

This is an about face from what he had to say on Friday, when he urged women in Jakarta and other cities to avoid wearing miniskirts when they used public transportation because it could arouse male drivers and passengers.

Female passenger R.S., 27, was gang-raped on Sept. 1 when she took a late night ride on a KWK D-02 minivan plying the Ciputat-Pondok Labu route.

Two weeks later, the victim managed to spot one of the rapists and helped police arrest him. Three other suspects have not yet been apprehended.

On Friday, the South Jakarta Police issued a statement saying that the victim may have personally known one of the rapists, identified as A.

Wulan Danoekosoemo, co-founder of Lentera Indonesia, a foundation set up to give counseling to victims of sexual abuse, said that the new evidence should not serve as incriminating factors toward rape victim R.S.

“Our experience shows that in many cases of sexual assault, the victims know the perpetrator. The attacker is usually a relative, a neighbor or somebody they have known,” she said. (mim)