Want To Be A State Official, The First Requirement Must Be Ready To Accept Criticism

Photo by Fajar Grinanda on Unsplash

JAKARTA - The large number of people being sued for criticizing state officials and government policies has made people hot. Even so, there are still a number of state officials who are not anti-criticism.

"Overall, receiving criticism is an important part of the role of state officials as public leaders," said Political Communication Analyst Silvanus Alvin, Wednesday (26/4/2023).

Alvin said that the public and state officials could learn from the many cases of criticism of TikToker named Bima Yudho Saputro against Lampung Province regarding poor development. As a result of the viral video, Bima admitted that he received threats until his parents were intimidated. He was also reported to the police on suspicion of hate speech, although in the end the legal case did not continue.

According to Alvin, state officials or administrators should be open to criticism because they can strengthen their relationship with the community. By showing that they listen to input and criticism from the public, officials are considered to be able to build trust with the people and communicate that they prioritize the public interest above their own interests or certain groups.

"In this context, Puan Maharani has shown and proven herself not to be anti-critic. She realizes that there are still many things that need to be improved, because there is no perfect human being," said Alvin.

The author of the book Political Communication in the Digital Age: from Big Data, Influencer Relations & Kekuatan Selebriti, Until Politics Tawa sees Puan always responding to the criticisms leveled at her elegantly. Because, said Alvin, Puan did not repressively respond to the many criticisms against her.

"Various criticisms directed at Puan have never been responded to emotionally and aggressively. As far as I know, no one has been policed or brought to the court personally by Puan," said the lecturer at the Faculty of Communications, Universitas Multimedia Nusantara (UMN).

Alvin reminded that state officials are responsible for serving the community and fulfilling the public interest. Puan is considered to have used the criticism she received as a form of input from the public.

"It is very important for officials to accept criticism from the public and listen to the input given," said Alvin.

Dan pejabat negara tidak bisa melihat kritik dari satu sisi saja. Dalam kehubungan Ilmu Komunikasi, terdapat level edukasi seseorang maupun variable lainnya yang tidak termukur yang dapat menjadi dasar penyusunan kritik," sambungnya.

Seeing the viral case of Bima's criticism for the Lampung Provincial Government, Alvin considered that criticism could be issued because he was carried away by emotions. In the video, Bima does seem to express his annoyance because of the lack of development in Lampung so that it is detrimental to the community, especially in terms of street infrastructure.

"It could be, because in a squeezed and emotional situation, unconscious criticism is not prepared politely. Officials should still be able to respond calmly and find a core problem," he said.

According to Alvin, criticism can help state officials correct their decisions or actions, as well as see the situation clearer.

There can be no smoke without fire. It is unlikely that people will criticize without any problems. In addition, criticism can also help avoid mistakes and create transparency and accountability in the decision-making process, "said Alvin.

Furthermore, state officials are asked to understand the digital era as a new land for the public. Even so, Alvin regrets that not everyone owns or understands digital literacy which is very important in this digital era.

This is exacerbated by the presence of elements of anonymity of social media users. When a person has good digital literacy, he is able to understand that negative comments can have a big impact on others and society," explained the British University of Leicester master graduate.

Alvin invites the public to grow up in social media. Because despite the viral criticism of the Lampung Provincial Government, which has received a lot of netizen support, not a few public officials are often accused or criticized without valid data.

People who are not skilled in digital literacy tend not to consider relevant sources of information and facts, so they may make inaccurate or unreasonable comments, "explained Alvin.

Related to this, Puan is known to often accept accusations or criticism that do not match the facts. Alvin also praised Bung Karno's grandson's attitude, which remained calm and more focused on carrying out his duties as a state official.

"So far, what Puan has done is right, focusing on work programs and not defensively serving criticism. Not dealing with criticism doesn't mean not hearing criticism," he concluded.