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More Indonesians disapprove of Jokowi's handling of pandemic
Public approval of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's handling of the pandemic has dropped over the past six months, a recent survey has shown.
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Police officers set up a road block on Jl. Lenteng Agung in South Jakarta on July 3. (Antara/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
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ublic approval of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's handling of the pandemic has fallen over the past six months along with trust in his ability to handle the crisis, a recent survey has shown, as the country continues to face an unprecedented wave of infections.
The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) study, which polled 1,200 respondents nationwide in late June, before the worst of the current outbreak, found that Jokowi’s approval rating had fallen to 59.6 percent from 68.9 percent in December 2020 and 66.4 percent in November 2020. The June rating, published on Sunday, was only slightly higher than his record low of 57.9 percent in October of last year.
The number of respondents who said they were dissatisfied with his COVID-19 handling increased to 37.2 percent in June from 28.9 percent in December of last year.
The survey was conducted as daily cases began to surpass 15,000 in June, a surge fueled by increased mobility around the Idul Fitri holidays and the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus.
Daily cases rose sharply in the last week of June and overwhelmed hospitals across Java, but the government, for a time, defied calls from experts to impose stricter restrictions. On July 3, the more stringent emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat) were put in place on Java and Bali.
Even so, cases and deaths soared to an unprecedented level, beyond what authorities had predicted, with hundreds of people dying outside hospitals and widespread oxygen shortages. Public compliance with health restrictions remained low, and mobility stayed high. Critics have blamed the failure on the inconsistency of the government’s COVID-19 response from the beginning.
Read also: Jokowi faces rumblings of discontent as pandemic crisis deepens
