Public Appreciation Can Become Social Capital for Government
The level of public satisfaction with the Jokowi - Ma\'ruf Amin government has increased again. The public approval is expected to be social capital motivating the government to work harder amid the tough challenges ahead
By
NIKOLAUS HARBOWO/DIAN DEWI PURNAMASARI/DIMAS WARADITYA NUGRAHA
·5 minutes read
JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The level of public satisfaction with the performance of the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Ma\'ruf Amin has increased again, as reflected in a survey conducted by Kompas Research and Development in April. However, the consistent increase in the level of public satisfaction in a number of surveys during the Covid-19 pandemic should not make the government complacent. Rather, the public approval should become an asset in dealing with various challenges, especially those caused by the pandemic.
According to the Kompas R & D survey in April 2021, the rate of public satisfaction with the Jokowi-Amin government’s performance has reached 69 percent, up from 66.3 percent in a similar survey conducted in January 2021 and 65.9 percent in August 2020.
The increase is in line with higher public satisfaction in four policy fields namely politics and security, law, economy, and social affairs. Public satisfaction in the field of politics and security increased most, rising from 67.2 percent in January 2021 to 77 percent in April 2021. In the other fields, the increase was between two to four percentage points.
The high level of public satisfaction is in line with a high degree of public confidence that the performance of the Jokowi-Amin administration will continue to improve. However, there is a difference between the level of public satisfaction and public confidence. The level of the public confidence is recorded at 65 percent, marking a difference of four percentage points to the level of public satisfaction.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD said in an interview with Kompas in his office on Friday (30/4/2021), that the persistent increase in the level of public satisfaction indicated positive change in the government\'s performance. He said the government’s work had a clear direction and was more consistent and more positive. These changes, among other things, were seen in the handling of the pandemic, economic recovery program, and government policies in the political and legal fields.
After all, Moeldoko is a friend of the President’s, my friend, but we cannot mess with legal matters
In the political field, Mahfud said that the public saw, among other things, that the government policy in handling the conflict in the Democratic Party was quite appropriate. The government policy had succeeded in dispelling some people\'s suspicion that the government would support Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko to become the chairman of the Democratic Party.
"After all, Moeldoko is a friend of the President’s, my friend, but we cannot mess with legal matters," he said.
Mahfud vowed that the high level of public satisfaction and confidence would not make the government complacent. He promised the government would keep working hard and become more consistent.
The executive director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Philips J. Vermonte, said in Jakarta on Saturday (1/5/2021) that the high level of public satisfaction was the manifestation of public optimism. He said that, if the public was apathetic to the government, the level of the public satisfaction would not change, let alone increase, within the span of the survey period.
The increase, said Philips, could be affected by the government’s handling of the pandemic, which was considered to be improving, as seen in the decrease of new Covid-19 cases. In addition, the government has also showed seriousness in implementing the Covid-19 vaccination program.
Based on data from the Health Ministry, the number of new daily Covid-19 infections decreased from 14,518 at the end of January 2021 to 4,656 people on 27 April. On Sunday (2/5), the daily cases fell again to 4,394 cases after rising to 5,833 on April 29.
From an economic point of view, Yusuf Rendy Manilet, an economist at the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) said that the decline in new Covid-19 cases had resulted in a pick-up in the pace of economic recovery.
The positive trend of the economic recovery can be seen from the movement of the Consumer Confidence Index, which has begun to improve, and the rise in the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for manufacturing, which has entered the expansionary level, and the high mobility of the people. These various indicators are in line with the projection of economic growth in the second quarter of 2021, which is expected to return to a positive level after falling into recession since the third quarter of 2020. Therefore, it is not surprising that the public appreciates the government\'s performance in the economic sector.
Both Yusuf and Philips said the high level of public satisfaction with the government should become social capital to work better amid the growing challenges in the future. Due to the tough challenges, the level of public confidence is not as high as that of public satisfaction.
From a health standpoint, the challenges include ensuring that the vaccination drive continue smoothly. In addition, selecting the right stimulus is also a challenge for the economic recovery.
Philips noted that the government had extra work to do in improving democracy and eradicating corruption. In the 2020 Demonstration Index, Indonesia recorded the lowest score in 14 years. In the Corruption Perceptions Index (IPK), Indonesia\'s position dropped from 85th to 102nd of 180 countries surveyed.
A number of political parties have warned the government not to be complacent. The secretary general of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Hasto Kristiyanto, has the view that the high level of satisfaction should be used as an opportunity for the government to work harder, especially in facing the increasingly tough challenges, one of which is the economic recovery.
Don\'t get caught up in a premature celebration, as it can neglect crucial issues in dealing with Covid-19.
The head of the Democratic Party\'s strategic communication division, Herzaky Mahendra Putra, said handling the Covid-19 pandemic should remain a priority for the government.
"Don\'t get caught up in a premature celebration, as it can neglect crucial issues in dealing with Covid-19. Public awareness must be further improved, especially regarding the importance in adhering to health protocol. Do not let a second wave occur like in India, "he warned.
This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.