By: Haikal Fathan Akbar)*
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) continues to show brilliant performance in carrying out his duties as Head of State. Based on the latest survey results from the Indonesian Political Indicator Institute, 75 percent of Indonesians are satisfied with the performance achieved by the seventh President of the Republic of Indonesia.
The survey, conducted in late September 2024, revealed that the majority of the public appreciated the various policies and achievements made during his two terms of leadership. This further strengthens public trust in the Surakarta-born national leader.
The majority of people who feel satisfied consist of 15.04 percent of respondents who stated that they are very satisfied and 59.92 percent are quite satisfied. This is real evidence that the policies implemented by the President of the Republic of Indonesia who has been in office since 2014 have succeeded in providing a positive impact on the lives of the Indonesian people.
This satisfaction is not only felt in urban areas, but is higher in rural areas, especially in Bali, Nusa Tenggara, Lampung, Central Java, East Java, Sulawesi, and South Sumatra. This positive trend has occurred since President Jokowi’s first term in office and continues to increase to date.
Director of the Indonesian Political Indicator Survey Institute, Burhanuddin Muhtadi, assessed that the satisfaction trend reflects high trust in President Jokowi’s performance.
Significant improvements occurred during the two terms of leadership, both in terms of economy, infrastructure, and efforts to improve social welfare. Communities spread across various regions in Indonesia felt the real impact of various pro-people government programs.
In Burhanuddin’s view, this achievement is not just a statistical figure, but a direct reflection of public appreciation for the transformation that has been realized by the national leader born in 1961.
The public support for President Jokowi seems to be getting stronger along with the concrete steps he has taken in various strategic areas. Deputy for Protocol, Press, and Media of the Presidential Secretariat, Yusuf Permana, emphasized that the high level of satisfaction proves that the first Indonesian President who does not come from the political or military elite has succeeded in carrying out the people’s mandate well. Various strategic policies in the fields of infrastructure, education, health, and handling the pandemic have been felt by the public.
The policies implemented by President Jokowi so far have not only shown real results, but are also designed to be sustainable. Careful post-pandemic economic recovery efforts have had a significant impact, especially on stable national economic growth with an average increase of 5 percent per year.
The government, which is always open to input from various elements of society, has succeeded in building a constructive dialogue bridge to improve people’s welfare.
In addition, the success of Indonesia-centric development policies is one of the factors that greatly influences the level of public satisfaction. The Director General of Public Information and Communication (Dirjen IKP) of the Ministry of Communication and Information, Prabunindya Revolusi, highlighted that the development strategy implemented by President Jokowi focuses on development from the outskirts to the center.
The policy was initially considered risky given the geographical challenges faced, especially in remote areas. However, the strategy turned out to be effective, bringing significant changes in many areas, including in terms of ease of mobility and access to previously limited infrastructure.
Infrastructure development in various remote areas, carried out through an Indonesia-centric approach, has proven how visionary President Jokowi’s policies are in advancing these areas.
The immediate impact of the policy was to improve the quality of life of people in previously isolated areas, giving them better access to health, education and economic facilities. This approach also played a role in strengthening national unity through equitable development throughout the country.
Not only in the infrastructure sector, economic stability is also one of the strong foundations that supports public satisfaction with President Jokowi’s government. Although Indonesia has faced major challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic shocks, the government led by the seventh President of the Republic of Indonesia has managed to maintain stable economic growth. This is one of the main reasons why the public is satisfied with the direction of economic policies implemented during the two terms of leadership.
As Prabunindya said, the achievement shows that under President Jokowi’s control, Indonesia is able to survive amidst the global crisis. The people feel the direct benefits of targeted economic recovery programs that have strengthened the resilience of the national economy.
The economic stability reflected in the average growth of 5 percent per year is real evidence of how the government under the leadership of President Joko Widodo can overcome various challenges wisely.
The public’s strong trust in President Jokowi cannot be separated from his ability to lead the nation with an inclusive, visionary and consistent approach.
Achieving a 75 percent public satisfaction rate is not an easy thing to achieve, but with policies that focus on the interests of the people, President Jokowi has succeeded in bringing Indonesia towards a more advanced and prosperous direction.
)* The author is a contributor to Vimedia