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Public trust in govt dips amid COVID-19 handling: Survey
The latest Edelman Trust Barometer survey reveals that Indonesian citizens by and large have lost trust in their government and look to business leaders to provide accurate information and assistance amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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University students gather on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta on Oct. 28 to voice their objection to the Job Creation Law. One protester holds up a headband that reads #MosiTidakPercaya (motion of no confidence). JP/Dhoni Setiawan (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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ndonesians have lost some trust in the government following several missteps in handling the pandemic last year, such that trust in scientists and businesses is greater, a new survey shows.
The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that the portion of respondents trusting the government dipped 5 percentage points to 70 percent last year, based on the survey conducted by public relations advisory firm Edelman.
The barometer surveyed around 1,150 Indonesian adults between October and November last year. The respondents comprised 200 middle-upper class citizens with post-college education and 950 others described as the “mass population”.
“To be fair, no government was ready for a pandemic of this scale. However, with regard to Indonesia, I have to admit the initial approach taken by the government may have caused the decline of trust from the public,” said Charles Honoris, deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission IX overseeing health.
Charles, speaking at the survey’s virtual dissemination on Thursday, went on to note that the current administration had downplayed the COVID-19’s severity during the onset of the outbreak in Indonesia.
He went on to say that Indonesian policies to implement restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of the virus had “always been one step behind”.
A case in point in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s decision in March 2020 to refrain from full lockdowns — in which the government is required to provide aid to people — and instead opt for large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) or partial local lockdowns at a time when many other countries were implementing full lockdowns.
