President Joko Widodo (third right) and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (fourth right), accompanied by (left to right) State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Syafruddin, First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo, Second Lady Mufidah Jusuf Kalla and Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki, inspected the location of the bomb attack at the Transjakarta bus station in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, on Thursday (25/5/2017).
Since the era of President Abdurrahman Wahid, Kompas’ Research and Development division (Litbang Kompas) has periodically held government evaluation surveys involving respondents in 32 Indonesian provinces. This period’s survey results are presented in today’s and tomorrow’s papers. Enjoy reading.
In the last six months, the performance of President Joko Widodo and his cabinet in resolving the nation’s various problems tended to decrease. However, at the same time, many are praising his leadership. Jokowi’s electability as the nation’s leader has increased.
The April-May 2017 survey results show that 63.1 percent of our respondents are “satisfied” with the government’s performance. This is a slight decrease from the October 2016 survey result, in which 65.9 percent of respondents expressed their satisfaction. Decreasing public appreciation occurred in almost all areas of the economy, social welfare, and politics and security. The exception was in corruption eradication efforts. This decreasing appreciation can be read as a message from the people, indicating how the country’s leadership has been seen as weakening in the past six months.
However, the decreasing appreciation trend could have other meanings as Jokowi’s leadership score actually increased during the same period. The survey results show that Jokowi’s electability as president is currently at 41.5 percent, higher than the 37.7 percent he enjoyed in October 2016. This means that his decreasing public appreciation does not indicate decreasing presidential legitimacy. Instead, many more people are pinning their hopes on the President and see him as a legitimate leader.
Nevertheless, the survey results also show there are figures other than Jokowi with significant leadership scores. Prabowo Subianto secured the runner-up position, with mentions form 22.1 percent of respondents. Interestingly, Prabowo also enjoyed a surge in electability, after securing only 16.3 percent of respondents’ mentions in the October 2016 survey. Prabowo’s increasing electability could mean he is seen as offering alternative solutions to the nation’s problems.
These results should be seen as a political message from the people to President Jokowi, midway through his presidential term.
