Alya Nurbaiti, Jakarta – A recent survey of "opinion leaders" has named three popular governors the best regional respondents to the COVID-19 crisis within a limited group of candidates.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo emerged prominent among the seven governors in the survey, which was conducted by Indikator Politik Indonesia.
The pollster surveyed 304 "opinion leaders", including academics, NGO members, journalists and businesspeople, to evaluate the leaders' COVID-19 responses.
"[This is] because this group is expected to have quality information to be more critical of authority," Indikator Politik Indonesia executive director Burhanuddin Muhtadi said during the release of the survey on Thursday.
According to the survey, which was conducted in July, Anies had the greatest "sense of crisis" and Ridwan had the best public communication. Ganjar trailed close behind his fellow governors, Burhanuddin said.
The pollster chose seven governors considered potential candidates for the 2024 presidential election, namely Anies, Ridwan, Ganjar, Banten Governor Wahidin Halim, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi and South Sulawesi Governor Nurdin Abdullah.
Anies earned a score of 72.9 out of 100 in the "sense of crisis" category, followed by Ridwan (72.1), Ganjar (72.0), Khofifah (64.5), Nurdin (64.4), Wahidin (63.5) and Edy (62.6).
Ridwan earned a score of 73.4 out of 100 in "public communication", followed by Ganjar (73.2), Anies (72.1), Khofifah (65.7), Nurdin (64.1), Wahidin (62.4) and Edy (62.4).
Ridwan also earned the highest score in "coordination", which involved maintaining communication among different parts of the state apparatus and business sectors, with a score of 72.4. He was followed by Ganjar (71.9), Anies (71.6), Khofifah (64.5), Nurdin (64.0), Wahidin (63.6) and Edy (63.1).