“A difficult first year”. The title of one of the articles in this newspaper depicts public perception of the government’s performance in the past year.
By
EDITOR
·3 minutes read
“A difficult first year”. The title of one of the articles in this newspaper depicts public perception of the government’s performance in the past year.
At the beginning of his second term, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo made an unusual political decision: He appointed his rival in the 2019 presidential election as the new defense minister. The move further fortified the administration of President Jokowi and Ma’ruf Amin.
The COVID-19 pandemic that has struck the world, including Indonesia, has caused difficulties in the health, social and economic sectors. A telephone poll on public opinion that Litbang Kompas (Kompas R&D) conducted from Oct. 14 to 16 found that as much as 52.5 percent of the respondents were dissatisfied with the Jokowi-Ma’ruf administration, while 45.2 percent said they were satisfied. However, public trust was still above 60 percent in the government except for law and enforcement, in which only 44.6 percent of respondents expressed confidence.
The results of the poll may provide the government a basis for comparison. Highlighted in particular is State Secretary Pratikno’s assertion that the government would continue to make efforts at improvement. In terms of social welfare, the poll found that public satisfaction was above 50 percent, with the majority of respondents saying they were satisfied or very satisfied. This positive perception might be prompted by the massive amount of funding the government has allocated for social assistance during the health crisis. However, extra attention is still needed in a number of sectors, including law and enforcement, as well as the economy, politics and security.
The poll also found that the lowest level of public satisfaction was in law and enforcement. Two of the basic principles of law and enforcement are that all people are equal before the law, and the absence of discrimination. Regardless, the public has encountered unequal treatment in some cases that could significantly erode public trust in law and enforcement. The law must be dedicated primarily to protect the people’s right to freedom of speech, as long as the right is not exercised using illegal means. The principles of democracy must be upheld so Indonesian democracy moves forward, instead of moving backward.
Amid the health emergency, it may be too much of a risk for President Jokowi to go on his “signature” impromptu visits, dubbed blusukan, during which he often meets and speaks with the people.
In line with President Jokowi’s understanding, democracy could be interpreted as listening to the voice of the citizenry, a principle that must be protected. Amid the health emergency, it may be too much of a risk for President Jokowi to go on his “signature” impromptu visits, dubbed blusukan, during which he often meets and speaks with the people. However, the voices of the people and civil society groups – and not just the political elite – must still be heard, even if the President has to find new ways of doing so.
Civil society groups, university students and administrators, as well as scholars who once supported President Jokowi must again be approached and invited to engage in dialogues for discussing the current problems that beset the country. In particular, the issue of information distortion could be resolved through dialogue.
The government has made a number of efforts during this difficult time, yet they are often not communicated well to the public due to the absence of an authoritative, skilled and credible spokesperson. The lack of credible public communication platforms also poses a serious problem.
The President still has four more years to fulfill his campaign promises. However, the withdrawal of public support and potential shifts in formal political alliances could occur in 2022, when political parties will be gearing up for the 2024 general elections. This must be anticipated.