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Jokowi’s approval rating improves amid doubts

Nearly two years after taking office, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s approval rating has improved from last year, despite doubts over the administration’s performance

Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, July 25, 2016

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Jokowi’s approval rating improves amid doubts

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early two years after taking office, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s approval rating has improved from last year, despite doubts over the administration’s performance.

A survey released on Sunday by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) found that 67 percent of 1,027 respondents were satisfied with Jokowi’s performance in his nearly two years in office. Thirty percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied.

However, the improved approval rating was still lower than his rating of 75 percent found by SMRC in October 2014.

The survey also found that 72 percent of respondents in the survey, conducted between June 22 and June 28, said they believed in Jokowi’s leadership, while 22 percent expressed doubts in Jokowi’s leadership skills.

Thirty-two percent of respondents would vote for the President if an election was to be held today, while 9.4 percent would vote for Jokowi’s 2014 election rival, Prabowo Subianto. The President’s predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, would gain votes from 2.6 percent of survey respondents.

Jokowi’s charm appeared to have worn off last year, with the public beginning to express dissatisfaction over his lackluster performance, with SMRC’s survey released in last October having found that only 52 percent of the 1,220 respondents believed that Jokowi had done a good job during his first year in office. Jokowi’s approval rating at that time was lower than the 66 percent gained by Yudhoyono after his first year in office in 2005. At that time, SMRC also found that fewer respondents thought Jokowi had good leadership skills, or 62 percent of respondents in October last year from 75 percent in October 2014.

However, the survey also found that the public had taken into account the government’s lack of achievements in providing more affordable basic necessities, reducing the number of poor people and the unemployment rate, as well as in creating jobs.

Only 26 percent of respondents said Jokowi’s administration had ensured affordable basic necessities. The remaining 29 percent said the government’s performance in that sector had worsened, while 44 percent said the government had not made any changes to improve conditions.

“Therefore, although his performance is considered [by the public] as positive, his administration should pay extra attention to efforts to reduce poverty, create more jobs and ensure basic goods are affordable to the public,” SMRC program director Sirojudin Abbas said.

A number of observers have previously urged Jokowi to focus on implementing more comprehensive and strategic development measures, instead of making sporadic moves every time a problem occurs, as a good development agenda needs balanced and real results in terms of input, processes and outcomes.

Only 38 percent of respondents believed the economy had improved, while 34 percent of respondents said they had seen no changes, and 22 percent said economic conditions had worsened. Yet, 55 percent believed next year’s economy would improve, 20 percent said they would not see any changes and 8 percent believed in a worse future.

The survey results were released amid speculation that a Cabinet shake-up was imminent, as a number of ministers had shown a lack of coordination almost a year since Jokowi carried out his first reshuffle.

However, presidential spokesman Johan Budi has insisted that Jokowi, who is evaluating his ministers, “is focusing on how to bring welfare to the people and improvements in various sectors”.

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