T

he Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) has found in its latest survey that most people are reserving their judgment on the Working Cabinet formed by President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo until they see the ministers'€™ performance.

In its latest public opinion poll, LSI found that 16.83 percent of the respondents were dissatisfied
with the figures appointed to the Working Cabinet and only 4.46 percent said that the Cabinet lineup was satisfactory, while another 74.75 percent said they would wait three to six months to make any judgment.

LSI interviewed 1,200 respondents in 33 out of 34 of the country'€™s provinces between Oct. 27 and Oct. 28 and held a focus group discussion in seven major cities.

'€œThe Cabinet was only inaugurated a few days ago. At this point, most people just want to see the ministers'€™ concrete actions,'€ LSI researcher Rully Akbar said at a press conference to announce the survey results on Thursday.

'€œBased on our survey, people who live in the cities and have a strong educational background want to observe ministers'€™ performance before jumping to conclusions,'€ Rully said.

Rully said that those who were satisfied with Jokowi'€™s selection of ministers were those who trusted Jokowi and considered him a clean and pro-people figure, while those who disapproved of his selection thought that politics was behind the vetting process.

Also during the press conference, another LSI researcher, Dewi Arum, said that to garner public support, Jokowi and his ministers should optimize pro-people programs, such as the Indonesia Health Card (KIS) and the Indonesia Smart Card (KIP), which provide free health insurance and education to the poor.

'€œWe are aware that Jokowi is likely to raise the subsidized fuel price in the near future. He should show the people that funds from the subsidy will be allocated to more important sectors such as education and health,'€ Dewi said.

She said that most people would likely blame Jokowi if he raised the price of subsidized fuel without also rolling out a populist policy.

The new government has signaled that it will increase the price of subsidized fuel, but has underlined that the policy will need meticulous planning to prepare for a potential inflation hike and increased poverty levels.

Coordinating Economic Minister Sofyan Djalil said that the government was '€œfully aware'€ of the uncertainty caused by the ongoing debates on the plan to raise the prices of petroleum-based fuels.

However, he suggested that the issue would be resolved soon. '€œJust wait, there will be an announcement from the government [related to the fuel-price hike plan] in the near future,'€ said the minister.

Jokowi'€™s economic advisers had previously indicated that the fuel-price hike could be implemented as early as Nov. 1, with the price of Premium likely to increase by Rp 3,000 per liter from the current price of Rp 6,500 per liter. (idb)