Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – As the inauguration of President-elect Joko Widodo draws near, the challenges that commonly plague a country's top executive already have him surrounded.
The latest survey released by Jakarta-based pollster Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) showed that a whopping 73.17 percent of Indonesians are opposed to the idea of Joko raising subsidized fuel prices in the first six months of his term.
After garnering immense popularity with his humble demeanor and people-power approach to politics as Jakarta governor, Joko has seemingly taken a non-populist stance with his take on Indonesia's ongoing problem with subsidized fuel.
The former Solo mayor announced last week that his government would not be against raising the price of subsidized fuel, a move many fear would trigger inflation and therefore cause prices to soar.
"We work for the development of this nation and also for the people's welfare. We don't work for popularity," said Joko, who was accompanied by Vice President-elect Jusuf Kalla when he participated in a dialogue with Metro TV last week.
"For us, subsidy is not a bomb. Raising the price of subsidized fuel is a bold move [that would] make room in the state budget for infrastructure, schools, public housing, agriculture and books... That's what we're going to work on later," Kalla said.
Joko echoed his deputy's statement, saying that funds that had originally been earmarked for subsidies will be reallocated to develop other sectors, which are more productive, so they may spur economic activity.
Joko was confident that the Indonesian people would gradually understand why he had come to the decision. "If we explain [the policy] properly and comprehensively, I think our people will accept it," he said.
The LSI survey, which involved 1,200 participants, showed that some 70 percent of the respondents held higher expectations of the outgoing Jakarta governor that they did for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when he assumed his second term in 2009. The figure would also suggest that those who did not vote for Joko in the July presidential election are also pinning their hopes on him.
LSI researcher Ruly Akbar pointed out that the public's high hopes for Joko could be seen as support. However, that support could quickly turn into disappointment if he failed to deliver.
No matter how much Indonesians admired him before, if Joko – better known as Jokowi – goes ahead with his plan to slash subsidies and subsequently raise the price of subsidized fuel, his popularity would immediately decline, according to Ruly.
"On one side, Yudhoyono doesn't want to leave office with a legacy of price hikes, but as a consequence, Joko will have to take over the unpleasant task from his predecessor," Ruly said.
Raising the price of fuel has long been a sensitive issue for Indonesia. Yudhoyono himself experienced a backlash on the matter several times during his administration. In an ironic twist of fate, Joko's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), a political opposition to Yudhoyono's leadership, had always rejected the president's policy on price hikes.
Earlier this month, lawmakers had given the outgoing administration the green light to increase the price of subsidized fuel in an effort to ease pressure off the state budget and slow fuel consumption.
However, the state chose to maintain fuel prices but failed to control distribution, essentially throwing the burden onto Joko's shoulders to manage the subsidy in next year's state budget, which is set to increase to Rp 29.1 trillion ($25 billion) from Rp 246.5 trillion this year.
Should Joko raise the price of subsidized fuel in his first months in office, he would first have to clearly explain the unpopular policy to the public – particularly those in rural areas – in ways they can understand. "In addition, Joko could balance it by issuing other strategic policies," Ruly said.
More beneficial
Hamdi Muluk, a political communication expert at the University of Indonesia, agreed with the president-elect, saying that a subsidy cut is needed, but argued the move would not have a significant effect on Joko's performance.
"Everybody knows that raising the price of subsidized fuel is never a popular policy. However, our people don't understand the fact that by cutting fuel subsidy, the government would finally have the chance to implement programs that would be more beneficial to them," he said.
In the past, he added, the government failed to introduce the reasons behind the policy in layman's terms, which "eventually led to a negative mindset about fuel price hikes."
Hamdi was referring to the two occasions Yudhoyono chose to increase the price of subsidized fuel during his 10-year term: in 2005 with a 140 percent price jump, and in 2013 with an additional 33 percent increase.
"But hopefully the next government will be able to do explain their decision in a way that the general public can understand and eventually accept," he said. "Anybody who issues such policies will certainly be unpopular, but it's [necessary] for the sake of this nation."
The LSI survey also cited several problems that would likely hamper Joko's administration over the next five years.
"People are worried that Joko's administration would not be able to work effectively due to his slim coalition; they are concerned that [Prabowo Subianto's] Merah Putih coalition, which controls the majority of parliament seats, will try to block Joko's programs," Ruly said.
According to the poll, 45.60 percent of respondents believed that Joko could face obstacles in gaining legislative approval on his proposed policies, while 31.09 percent claim they are confident the president-elect's programs will run smoothly.
Hamdi pointed out that Joko's coalition could change. "He has said he would be willing to accept whose who want to join his camp. Several parties have also shown signs they would jump to his side. So people don't have to worry about his performance in parliament."
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jakarta/jokowi-presidential-woes-start-now/