Indo Barometer surveyed 1,200 respondents from 34 provinces between Jan. 9 and 15 to determine public perceptions of Jokowi's performance at the beginning of his second term.

The survey, released on Sunday, found that 70.1 percent of respondents were satisfied with Jokowi’s performance, up from 57.5 percent during the early days of his first presidential term in 2015.

Overall, Jokowi’s approval ratings have climbed steadily over the past years, from 57.5 percent in 2015, to 66.4 percent in 2017 and 70.1 percent in 2020.

While the President’s approval rating was high, Vice President Ma’ruf Amin’s approval rating stood at only 49.6 percent, lower than the 53.3 percent approval rating of Jokowi’s former vice president, Jusuf Kalla, at the beginning of his term in 2015.

While the majority of respondents appeared to be satisfied with Jokowi’s performance, the survey also suggested that the public continued to see the country as being riddled with the same problems as under Jokowi’s first administration, namely the economy and corruption.

In the survey, 32.1 percent of respondents said the economy was the most pressing problem facing the country, followed by employment at 15.8 percent, the prices of basic needs at 11.3 percent and corruption at 7.8 percent.

In the 2015 poll, respondents also identified the economy, prices of basic necessities, corruption and job availability as the most important matters the country was facing.

“Similar to his first term in office, the issues Jokowi is facing in his second term are dominated by economic problems,” Indo Barometer executive director Muhammad Qodari said on Sunday.

Rokhmin Dahuri, a politician from the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that the President’s high approval rating was expected.

“But as people who want to keep moving forward and leave a platinum legacy, we must not be complacent,” he added, citing the stagnant economic growth the country faced.

Rokhmin defended Ma’ruf’s low approval rating, saying that Ma’ruf had less public exposure than Kalla, who had been vice president twice when he was rated. Rokhmin said that Ma’ruf, however, was a “quick learner”.

The 2020 poll also showed an overall higher approval rating for the Jokowi-Ma’ruf Cabinet — 54.4 percent compared to 46.8 percent for the Jokowi-Kalla ministers in 2015.

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, Jokowi’s rival in two presidential elections, was considered by most respondents to have had the best performance in the Cabinet; 26.8 percent of respondents cited him as the best-performing minister, followed by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati with 13.9 percent and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir with 12.6 percent.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD came in fourth with 7.3 percent, followed by Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim with 5.2 percent.

Prabowo, a former military general, was likely most widely considered the best-performing minister because respondents saw him fitting the ministerial role as a result of his proven capacity in defense, in addition to his assertive personality and commanding leadership style.

The survey also found that Prabowo was the best-known minister in the current Cabinet with 18.4 percent of respondents naming him as the first Cabinet member to come to mind.

Qodari said that Prabowo had maintained his political standing and relevance since taking office as a minister under Jokowi. (mfp)

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