D

espite recent surveys that view Jakarta as having significant safety and traffic issues, it seems Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama is still in favor.

Ahok has been deemed the best regional leader in a survey conducted by Jakarta-based pollster the Populi Center, involving 1,200 residents across 34 provinces.

The respondents were interviewed between Jan. 22 and 26.

'€œAhok received the most positive response from respondents, with 22.3 percent [approving of him as a leader],'€ Populi Center head Nico Harjanto told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Monday.

He said respondents were asked various questions regarding their satisfaction with the performance of their regional leaders and administrations.

Nico said Ahok was followed by Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini with 18.2 percent, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan with 8.4 percent and Banten acting governor Rano Karno with 6.8 percent.

Further, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo received 6.2 percent, followed by Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil with 5.2 percent, North Sumatra Governor Gatot Pujo with 2.2 percent and Bogor Mayor Bima Arya with 0.4 percent.

In addition, 2.5 percent of respondents chose other leaders while 20.9 percent did not answer.

Despite Ridwan'€™s popularity on Twitter and Instagram, where he interacts with residents, he trailed the popularity of Ahok and Risma in the survey.

'€œAlthough Ahok has been in the spotlight for only three years, residents are satisfied with his performance. They feel Ahok'€™s achievements are visible and many residents can feel the changes that he has made,'€ Nico said.

Ahok was President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s deputy governor before Jokowi became governor of Jakarta and later successfully ran for the presidency.

Ahok'€™s tough stance on corruption and underperforming civil servants has won him the hearts of many residents.

His main tasks as governor include reforming the bureaucracy and improving infrastructure to tackle flooding and reduce traffic congestion.

Meanwhile, Nico said, many respondents could not connect with Ridwan'€™s policies, as most were targeted at specific communities.

Ridwan, he said, also did not have as much media coverage as Ahok.

The Bandung mayor'€™s policies have been popular among Bandung'€™s youth and the city'€™s creative communities. For example, Ridwan has developed parks for the city'€™s young residents.

'€œBeing different from Ahok, not all residents can connect to Ridwan'€™s policies. Therefore Ridwan was less popular in the survey,'€ Nico said, adding that all regional leaders should look up to Ahok and Risma.

Responding to the survey, Ahok said he was unaware of the result and brushed it off.

'€œIt'€™s only a survey,'€ he said.