Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s approval rating has dropped following the floods '€” among other issues '€” that hit the capital, a survey has found.

In its latest poll, the National Survey Institute (LSN) found out that only 47.5 percent of Jakarta residents surveyed were satisfied with the governor'€™s performance, down from 68.3 percent in October last year.

'€œ[In October] only 25.4 percent of Jakarta residents surveyed said they were unhappy with the governor'€™s performance. Now it'€™s 46.9 percent,'€ LSN researcher Dipa Pradipta said as quoted by tempo.co over the weekend.

Despite the dredging projects and the building of percolation pits in flood-prone areas, almost all roads hit by flood in previous years were also inundated during the peak of the rainy season in December 2013 and January 2014. Although lower in scale than January 2013, the floods displaced more than 89,000 residents and at least 23 people died.

The Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) revealed the city administration was found to be less prepared for the floods, especially its emergency response.

On health and education issues, however, residents'€™ satisfaction reached 70.5 percent and 69.2 percent, respectively. The numbers were slightly lower than those in October 2013, which were 78.2 percent and 78 percent, respectively.

The drop, according to Dipa, was the result of a series of problems surrounding the implementation of the free healthcare program (KJS) and the free education program (KJP).

On the issue of flooding, three months ago, 59.7 percent of Jakarta'€™s residents said they were satisfied with Jokowi'€™s performance but the figure dropped to only 24.8 percent in this most recent survey.

Regarding traffic jams, 52.7 percent of Jakartans surveyed three months ago approved of the governor'€™s approach but that number dropped to 34.6 percent, according to the LSN.

For the survey, LSN interviewed 790 respondents between Jan. 10 and 24 in Jakarta'€™s five municipalities and regencies.

Despite the survey, residents still have faith in their governor.

'€œI do think that his performance as a governor is declining, but I still admire the man'€™s honest and transparent attitude,'€ motorcycle taxi (ojek) driver Doni said.

When asked if the governor was ready for the presidential nomination this year, Doni said he doubted the governor'€™s experience in national politics.

'€œRight now, I don'€™t think he has done anything significant to be considered as a presidential candidate. He has yet to fulfill campaign promises, which he should prioritize first,'€ he added.

Meanwhile, Kemanggisan resident Nur Hasanah said that most criticism leveled at Jokowi was based on unrealistic expectations.

'€œHe has the right attitude to run a city like Jakarta. Of course, he is doing his best, better than past governors. People should not place such expectations upon a human being,'€ she said.

Similarly, dentistry student Pratama Adi Prasetya said that the root of people'€™s disappointment stemmed from unrealistically high expectations.

'€œI feel that [the complaints are] mainly because Jakartans feel let down as their problems are not being solved at the speed that had hoped for. I don'€™t blame Jokowi for the floods or the road congestion because they are simply not his fault,'€ Pratama said.

When asked about the survey, Jokowi responded lightly, '€œI am working my socks off from early morning to midnight, then from morning to morning again.

'€œI take the survey as a message for correction but this is the year of politics '€” some surveys were real, some others might have hidden agendas. To me, the most important thing is to keep working hard,'€ he said. (dyl)

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