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New West Java chief's grassroots approach stirs up debate
West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi's public engagement tactics, both in person and on social media, have raised some eyebrows as to whether this approach, reminiscent of ex-president Jokowi's "man of the people" public image, will have as favorable an impact in the current political climate, let alone five years from now.
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West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi smiles on Feb. 20, 2025, following the mass inauguration of 961 governors, mayors, regents and their deputies at the presidential palace complex in Jakarta. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
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ince taking office as West Java governor on Feb. 20, Dedi Mulyadi has been out and about in public and online, interacting directly with the grassroots to offer solutions to their problems, stirring up debate over if such an approach is still relevant in today’s political landscape.
His most recent public engagement effort took place after severe flooding hit various parts of the province in early March, including Bogor regency and Bekasi city.
The governor quickly took to social media, saying he had ordered state-owned plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) to stop land conversion in Bogor’s tourist haven Puncak, blaming the practice as a cause of flooding.
On March 7, he uploaded a video clip in which he becomes emotional while inspecting a tourist attraction in a forested area of Puncak, saying it was causing flooding in the province.
The viral footage has been watched 1 million times on various platforms and garnered nearly 60,000 likes on Instagram as of Monday.
He uploaded a separate video to his YouTube channel the following day, which shows him helping workers clear garbage from the Cipalabuhan River in Sukabumi regency. He can also be seen jumping into a deep section of the river, ordering other officials to join him.
The video had nearly 2 million views as of Saturday, and went viral on other social media platforms.
