Challenges Behind Growing Appreciation

The appreciative respondents far outnumber those still dissatisfied with the government's performance. Seven out of 10 respondents who were asked for their assessment stated they were "satisfied" with the government's.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

President Joko Widodo talks with Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung before chairing a limited meeting at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Monday (30/1/2023).

The Cabinet under the leadership of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo might be proud of the growing public appreciation toward the government's performance in solving various national problems. According to the most recent results of Kompas' periodic survey, public satisfaction was expressed in almost three-quarters of the respondents. To be precise, seven out of 10 respondents who were asked for their assessment stated they were "satisfied" with the government's performance.

The appreciative respondents far outnumber those still dissatisfied with the government's performance. At least 29.9 percent of the respondents selected "not satisfied". However, the level of appreciation in this survey is even more remarkable given that it is at its highest since October 2022.

Satisfaction toward government performance is demonstrated in most issues. Of the 20 indicators used to assess national issues such as political security, law enforcement, the economy and social welfare, at least 15 indicators have increased with relatively varying levels of achievement. Meanwhile, there are five issues considered to be decreasing, although not significantly.

Also read:

> Appreciation of Government Performance Increasing

> Public Satisfaction, the Government’s Primary Asset

Interestingly, a significant increase in public satisfaction actually occurred in the economic and law-enforcement sectors, which were previously of greatest concern. In the economic sector, for example, if in the previous period the movement of the economy tended to be slow and threats to the global economy were predicted to hamper the performance of the domestic economy, more recently, it has accelerated. The survey results revealed around 59.5 percent of respondents expressed satisfaction with the government's performance in dealing with economic turmoil. Previous satisfaction was only voiced by 53.5 percent of respondents.

In this survey, the biggest increase in appreciation occurred in the government's efforts to control the prices of goods and services. Although there were many complaints about the affordability of necessities, this time half of the respondents expressed satisfaction. The fact that prices of staple food tend to be under control after the Idul Fitri period is one proof for this satisfaction. Compared to the assessment of the previous survey period, the increase in appreciation this time is up to 12.7 percent.

In addition to prices for goods and services, public appreciation also focused on several aspects related to the field of social welfare, such as efforts to overcome poverty and various government programs in providing social assistance. However, there are still problems that are often the object of complaint. The efforts in providing employment opportunities, for example, are still a stumbling block even though compared to the previous period it has started to improve.

KRIS - BIRO PERS SEKRETARIAT PRESIDEN

President Joko Widodo chats with traders while checking the prices of basic commodities at the Legi Market in Surakarta City during a working visit to Central Java Province on Monday, April 10, 2023.

Law enforcement

The increase in satisfaction is also visible in the field of law enforcement. Problem areas that in the previous period received the most public scrutiny are now getting better. No less than 59 percent of respondents expressed satisfaction.

Responses to the recent management of various legal cases seem to have contributed to changes in public satisfaction. The performance of law enforcement officials in providing equal law enforcement guarantees to every citizen, for example, has begun to be appreciated by more than half of the respondents. In fact, in the past period it had slumped significantly.

On the other hand, the performance of resolving legal cases, such as eradicating bribery, kickbacks and buying and selling of legal cases, is still a problem. Only four out of 10 respondents said they were satisfied with the government in resolving legal cases. However, compared to the previous assessment period, there has been an increase in appreciation.

Also read:

> Total Evaluation for Polri

> Overcoming Seven Challenges to a Good Legacy

The growing public satisfaction toward law enforcement performance is in line with the improvement in the image of legal institutions in this country.

The survey results show the image of the police has become more positive by 11 percent. Currently, no less than 62 percent of respondents have a positive image of the Indonesian National Police (Polri). Other law enforcement agencies also enjoyed an improved image, such as the prosecutor's office, KPK and the Supreme Court, among almost two-thirds of respondents.

All of this appreciation became strong social capital for President Jokowi's ministerial Cabinet in completing various work programs left during his leadership tenure.

The growing public satisfaction toward law enforcement performance is in line with the improvement in the image of legal institutions in this country.

However, from another point-of-view, the high level of public satisfaction also needs to be read as a challenge for the government. Particularly in political issues, there are no less complex challenges. Based on the results of this survey, for example, latent problems in people's daily lives are beginning to emerge.

Indications of widening differences that have built up between respondents with different political backgrounds are starting to be felt. For those classified as Jokowi-Amin supporters in the 2019 elections, for example, satisfaction seems to be higher. No less than 83.4 percent expressed satisfaction. However, to the contrary, satisfaction actually decreased to 45.5 percent for those who were not Jokowi-Amin supporters. This widening disparity in satisfaction between political groups has the potential to build a sentiment of political identity split.

On the other hand, the challenges in building a solid government are even more problematic. As the Cabinet is nearing its end and the political activity of ministers is getting more intense ahead of the 2024 General Election, the President's efforts to remain positive in improving government performance are at stake. (Kompas Research and Development)

This article was translated by Kurnia Siswo.