Dynamics of Public Satisfaction During the Pandemic

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

Vice President Ma'ruf Amin accompanied by Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin (left) and Chairman of the Press Council M Nuh (right) greets health workers tasked with vaccinating Covid-19 at Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Jakarta, Thursday (23/9/2021).

The latest public opinion survey conducted by Kompas Research and Development for the period of October 2021 found that the level of satisfaction with the government's performance was 66.4 percent. The figure shows a decline of 2.7 percentage points compared to April 2021.

The results of the survey conducted during the period were similar to the August 2020 period, when the satisfaction level was recorded at 65.9 percent. They were also not much different from those in January 2021, when 66.3 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the government’s performances.

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The increase in appreciation in general is indeed in line with public satisfaction in the government’s performances in various fields. The people’s satisfaction with Joko “Jokowi” Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin's performance, which was slightly higher than the current level, was recorded in the April 2021 survey during which results were 69.1 percent.

In the latest survey, there was also an anomaly in the public satisfaction related to political and legal fields, while it tended to persist in the social field and strengthened in the economic field.

The trend of public satisfaction was reflected in fluctuations in the satisfaction level in the government’s performance in various fields, including politics and security, law, economics and social welfare. In the latest survey, there was also an anomaly in the public satisfaction related to political and legal fields, while it tended to persist in the social field and strengthened in the economic field.

The strengthening of appreciation in the economic field seemed to be related to the government's ability to maintain the performance of the national economy in the midst of the pandemic. According to the latest data published by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the Indonesian economy grew 7.07 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the second quarter of 2021 , an indication that Indonesia was no longer in a recession zone. Last year, economic growth was also not too deep (minus 2.07 percent yoy), given the difficulties caused by the pandemic. This year, the economic growth rate is projected to increase from 4.8 to 5.8 percent yoy.

In the political and security fields, the people’s satisfaction with the government's performances weakened significantly to 70.8 percent from the previous 77 percent. The activities on the national political stage have grown significantly of late due to the massive maneuvering of political elites at the ministerial level or at political parties towards the 2024 presidential elections, disturbing the solidity and the activities of some Cabinet members.

The people’s satisfaction in five political sub-indicators showed a decline. The deepest one was in the aspect of “opening up opportunities for the public in supervising and controlling the government”.

RUMAH SAKIT UMUM PUSAT DR HASAN SADIKIN

The atmosphere of injecting the Covid-19 vaccine to pregnant women at Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Bandung City, West Java, Thursday (19/8/2021).

Meanwhile, the satisfaction was still quite high in the sub-indicator of “promoting the public respect towards differences”, which was recorded at 74 percent.

Like in the political field, the satisfaction in the legal field also fell 60.6 percent from 65.6 percent in April 2021. Latent issues in the legal field, such as bribery and commercialization of legal cases or the latest issues related to the eradication of corruption, especially related to the weakening of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), showed no improvement. A number of issues regarding law enforcement are still in the public spotlight.

Siding

The educational background still reflects the public's critical level in assessing the performances of the government. For example, the highest level of satisfaction with government performances came from groups of respondents with low education (69.2 percent). Meanwhile, the low satisfaction level came from groups of respondents with higher education (44.5 percent).

Meanwhile, the satisfaction level of the respondents from outside Jokowi's supporters declined to below 40 percent.

In addition, the nuances of political fanaticism still strongly influenced the public objectivity in their assessment. Almost similar to the previous survey, the majority of respondents (85.4 percent) who claimed to be part of Jokowi's supporters expressed their satisfaction with the government's performances. Meanwhile, the satisfaction level of the respondents from outside Jokowi's supporters declined to below 40 percent.

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The people’s different responses to the government’s performances were part of the dynamics that needed to be addressed wisely as part of the government’s reform, especially in the remaining three years of the presidential period. Of course, the public hopes that in the next three years the government will be able to increase public optimism in order to get through all the impacts of the pandemic. (Kompas R&D)

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)