Jakarta – The official Twitter account of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry was flooded with angry comments on Tuesday after it gave a tone-deaf response to a Twitter user's complaint about a power outage.
Replying to a now-deleted tweet by Lucky Rafael Alouw on his account @Rafel_Juve0905, the ministry argued that complaining about a 10-hour blackout was inappropriate, as many Indonesians in remote areas did not even have electricity.
Lucky has made his account private but wrote on his profile that he lives in Manado, North Sulawesi, which suffered an hours-long blackout over the weekend.
"You should be grateful Pak Lucky that the blackout only lasted 10 hours. [Some of] our brothers and sisters in remote areas can't even enjoy electricity. Minergi [the ministry account's administrator] is sure that our friends over at @pln_123 have tried their best. If there are shortcomings, please understand. Thanks," @KementerianESDM replied to Lucky on Sunday.
The ministry was referring to state-owned electricity company PLN and its official Twitter account.
The response triggered angry comments from Twitter users who said the administrator should have been more considerate.
"The response shouldn't be like that [...] If there is no electricity in remote areas, then it's the duty of the state to give the area electricity [...] But if blackouts often occur in cities, then fix it, don't compare it to other areas," wrote Twitter user @kar_tono90.
Another Twitter user @hermansaksono said: "This is not a competition over who has the toughest life."
Meanwhile, @dsswibawa replied: "This is why Indonesia is perceived as a friendly nation. Its people are always grateful and if they complain they will be regarded as ungrateful. In fact, complaining is a way to demand a service agreed upon between consumers and providers."
A lengthy power outage occurred in Gorontalo and North Sulawesi on Sunday because of a disturbance in the interconnected electrical system.
According to iNews, PLN spokesman for the Suluttenggo area, Jantje Rau, said the system would soon be back to normal. "We are sorry for this inconvenience. Please [wish us luck] for a smooth maintenance process," Jantje said on Sunday. (spl)