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Netizen approval of Jokowi falls over COVID-19 response
An algorithmic analysis has found that the President's approval ratings are dropping among internet users in Indonesia.
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President Joko Widodo adjusts his mask with gloved hands during a visit to the Kemayoran Athlete's Village makeshift emergency hospital in Jakarta on March 23, 2020. The facility, which was built to host participants of the 2018 Asian Games, has been converted into a referral hospital for treating COVID-19 patients. (AFP/POOL/Hafidz Mubarak A )
T
he internet has spoken: Indonesian netizens do not approve of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s approach in handling the COVID-19 epidemic, as seen in a report from a data and analytics consultancy.
Statqo Analytics gathered data on negative comments targeting the President from March 23 to 30 using a web crawler, and then drew its conclusions using machine learning and algorithmic predictions.
“Around 59 percent of coverage and discussions on online media and news sites using the keyword ‘Jokowi’ received negative responses from the public,” Statqo Analytics said in its report.
It also found that positive responses had increased over the last week for the #diRumahAja (#StayAtHome) social media campaign encouraging self-quarantine. Meanwhile, the use of the keyword “volunteer” had surged across the web, indicating a public will to contribute to disease prevention and control.
Read also: Indonesian netizens warm to idea of lockdown to contain COVID-19
President Jokowi has repeatedly rejected the idea of imposing a lockdown on Jakarta, the epicenter of Indonesia's COVID-19 epidemic.
Authorities reported nationwide figures of 1,528 confirmed cases, with 136 deaths and 81 recovered cases on Tuesday. The cumulative figure included 747 confirmed cases in Jakarta alone, of which 81 were medical workers treating COVID-19 patients. Jakarta also reported 83 deaths.
Both supporters and detractors had called on the President to ramp up the nations' efforts to contain the outbreak, as Indonesia had recorded the highest number of deaths in Southeast Asia.
The President on Monday imposed "large-scale social restrictions" and “civil emergency policies” to try and bring the growing spread of COVID-19 under control.
Responding to rising tensions between the central and regional governments over the outbreak, Jokowi declared a public health emergency on Tuesday, effectively banning regional administrations from imposing localized lockdowns.
