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Millenials ask Jokowi questions, their way
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has urged vocational schools (SMK) to provide new subjects related to digital industry, such as vlog, application and animation courses. (Shutterstock/File)
E
ven for some of the world’s most popular politicians on social media, communication is one way. US President Donald Trump is known for his manic early morning tweets from his handle @realDonaldTrump. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, another world leader popular on social media, meanwhile, posts generic information about his agenda for the day.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will interact on social media, specifically with tech-savvy millenials, differently.
On his official Facebook account, Jokowi invited on Saturday his followers between the ages of 13 and 20 years old to shoot 30-second videos to ask him about any issue. A link to a video, which must be uploaded onto YouTube no later than Feb. 25, must be sent to Jokowi’s Facebook inbox with the hashtag #JokowiMenjawab (#JokowiAnswers). Jokowi will pick some of the questions and respond to them by uploading his own videos.
Jokowi’s Facebook announcement had been shared by more than 12,000 users and raked up more 42,000 likes as of Sunday afternoon.
Bagus Nandiswara, a 20-yearold college student from Denpasar, Bali, posted his video the same day Jokowi made the announcement.
“Mr. President, is it possible for a contract teacher to become a permanent teacher based on their merits, without bribing officials at the local education agency?” said Bagus in the video, which was shot from his smartphone from inside his bedroom.
When contacted by The Jakarta Post, Bagus said he asked the question because he was concerned that many unqualified individuals in his city could get a teaching job after paying a certain amount of money to local officials.
Widi Rohana, 20, a housemaid from Pekalongan, Central Java, posted her video on Saturday with the hope it would be among those that received a response from the President.
“Sir, can you create better job opportunities for those of us whose highest education level is junior high school? It is very hard for us to find jobs that offer a decent salary,” Widi asked Jokowi.
(Read also: Jokowi turns to social media to maintain popularity)
In the video, Widi revealed that she had to drop out of junior high school five years ago and migrated to Jakarta to work as a housemaid.
Others interested in asking the President a question may have to wait.
Theresia Taa, 16, a senior high school student from Nabire, Papua, said poor internet connection had made it difficult for her to follow through with her plan to upload a video.
“Uploading a video to YouTube is a complicated process here, since the internet connection is so slow, but I will find a way around it,” said Theresia, who planned to quiz the President about his signature programs, such as the Indonesia Health Card (KIS) and the Indonesia Smart Card (KIP) and ask why the two were not available in Nabire.
Political communication expert Zaenal Budiyono of the Jakartabased Al-Azhar University saw the #JokowiMenjawab campaign as a savvy public relations move from the President’s social media team.
“This is good for [boosting] Jokowi’s popularity,” Zaenal said.
He said Jokowi’s reach out to millenials was a smart move, as more than 17 percent of the population are between the ages of 15 and 24 and are mostly digital natives, making them a sizeable voting bloc in the 2019 presidential election.
Jokowi opened his official YouTube account earlier this month and posted his first vlog detailing his excitement about watching live broadcasts of the President Cup 2017. Two days before posting the vlog, at the Indonesian Rectors Forum and Conference, the President also urged vocational schools to offer digital skills such as vlogging.(hol)
