Boyke LW, Fardah, Jakarta – A survey by the Indonesia Elections and Strategic (indEX) Research uncovered that the public lauded the government's handling of the spread of COVID-19.
Findings of the indEX survey showed the level of public satisfaction with Jokowi was above 60 percent, Indonesia Elections and Strategic (indEX) researcher Hendri Kurniawan noted in a press release here on Thursday.
"As the surge in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, the level of public satisfaction with Jokowi remained at 60.8 percent," he noted.
Indonesia managed to chart a way out of the second wave relatively faster than neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, he remarked.
According to Hendri, President Jokowi had chosen to sacrifice popularity in order to save the people from the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government has lately reopened various business sectors while enforcing health protocol measures and necessitating COVID-19 vaccination.
The public could breathe a sigh of relief, although the pandemic was not yet completely over, the researcher noted.
Kurniawan remarked that concerns still loomed large over the emergence of a third wave. Hence, the people should not become complacent about implementing health protocols, he added.
"The community is expected to not slack off in implementing the health program, and the government should further intensify vaccinations," he affirmed.
The Index Research survey was conducted on September 21-30, 2021, with 1,200 respondents representing all provinces in Indonesia, by telephoning the participants selected randomly from earlier surveys since 2018. The margin of error was give or take 2.9 percent, at a confidence level of 95 percent.