Jokowi’s Image Remains Strong : Is It True?

The survey by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) reveals that Jokowi remains in a stronger position compared to other candidates. Although Prabowo Subianto, Jokowi’s competitor in 2014, is still the tough challenger, his favourability has tended to stagnate.

According to the survey conducted from Sept 3 to Sept 10 among 1,057 respondents, Jokowi’s approval rating stands strong at 68% despite increasing political, racial and religious tensions that have hampered his administration.

When the respondents were asked who they would vote for if the election was held today, 38,9 percent of them favored Jokowi. This approval rating increased by 7,8 percent in a similiar survey held by SMRC in March 2016.

This is the second survey that shows Jokowi’s robust popularity after a similiar poll conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in September shows he remains popular among Indonesian voters, with his approval standing at 68 percent and his electability at 50 percent.

With the exception of economic development, in which the President scored only 30 percent or quite low, respondents surveyed by SMRC are satisfied with Jokowi’s overall performance in his three-year administration.

Jokowi scored the highest in infrastructure, with 74 percent of respondents expressing confidence that he has done the right thing when it comes to infrastructure development. They say the sector has developed well during Jokowi’s administration.

Jokowi has been quite busy this year, especially with easing religious tensions and sectarian rallies that have escalated since Jakarta’s gubernatorial election, during which then incumbent Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama aka Ahok was accused of blasphemy and declared guilty in a hearing in May.           However,political turmoil has not affected Jokowi’s popularity much, the survey says.

Prabowo has not gained significant gorund on Jokowi in terms of credibility. The Gerindra party chairman’s electability stands at 12 percent, down from 12,6 percent in SMRC’s similiar survey in March 2016.

The survey also reveals Jokowi’s current favorability is fast better than former Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s approval rating two years before the latter ran for his second term in 2009.

Yudhoyono’s favorability decreased to 58 percent in September 2017 from 67 percent in September 2006 at that time, while Jokowi’s rating remains robust at 68 percent in September 2017, only slighly lower from 69 percent in September 2016.

However, SMRC’s survey is too earlier to decide that Jokowi’s administration has been made happy everybody in Indonesia, because most of observer including an economic observer has been predicting that Jokowi’s administration has enough failed to boost, to spur and to make national economic stability.

Previously, President Joko Widodo had repeatedly said that the state budget can only fund arround Rp 1.5 quadrillion ($ 110,7 billion) of the total Rp 4.9 quadrillion needed for infrastructure development within five years.

For many of an economic observer, “the big funding gap” in infrastructure development program, could be triggered Indonesia into a accute and severe foreign debt trap if the next Indonesian government might have failed to pay all of foreign debt during Jokowi’s administration especially for infrastructure development, because several strategic infrastructure development has been offering to the potensial foreign investor from several countries such as United States, Japan, Chinese, Australia, Canada, South Korea etc.

Essentially, the most of infrastructure development plan which have been doing in the Jokowi’s tenure, its have been too much to finish it just only in 5 years Jokowi’s administration. Because of that, the government must be selected infrastructure development, which have been finished during Jokowi’s tenure if we don’t want the next Indonesian government will be headache to pay all of foreign debt and its does not a good legacy for youth generation.

Economically, the share of core infrastructure investment such as transportation, energy, telecommunications and irigation financed by the private sector has steadily declined in the past few years.

Similiar condition has been happened at renewable energy investments. A lack of fiscal insentives coupled with the pressure to keep electricity rates affordable, may make investors hesitant about developing Indonesia’s renewable energy sector at a time when the country is strongly pushing for such development.

Meantime, state electricity firm PLN has stated that it still needs additional financing worth Rp 468 trillion (US $ 34.5 billion) to develop various infrastructure for the government’s flagship 35,000 megawatt (MW) program amid rising concern over the company’s debt.

Politically, if little of infrastructure development program under Jokowi’s administration couldn’t be finished during his tenure, it would be politicized by Jokowi’s opponent to downgrade performace and image on the public. So, earlier surveys just only make, Jokowi’s opponent have been found the newest and strongest strategy and tactics to beat him in next presidential election in 2019.

*) Airla, Director of Strategic Assessment, Jakarta.