Telan Dana Rp2.5 Miliar, Pembangunan Statue Jokowi Di Sumut Dinilai Mubazir

JAKARTA - The statue of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is planned to be built at the highest peak of Liang Melas Datas, Karo Regency, North Sumatra, as high as 7.5 meters. The construction of the Jokowi statue is estimated to cost IDR 2.5 billion.

Political observer at Esa Unggul University, Jamiluddin Ritonga, assessed that the construction of the Jokowi statue was a waste of money. Moreover, the current national economic condition is still very difficult.

"A budget of that size is certainly redundant only for a statue. Especially in an economic situation that is still difficult, building a statue is certainly not appropriate," said Jamiluddin when contacted by VOI, Tuesday, November 7.

"If the local community has such a large fund, it is better to use it to repair public facilities. Including of course widening roads in the area, this will be more beneficial for the local community," he continued.

Jokowi, continued Jamiluddin, ideally rejected the creation of a statue of himself. Because, he said, such statues were commonly made during the reigns or in countries that were not yet democratic.

According to Jamiluddin, a statue was made to pass on the greatness of the leader to the next generation. In that era, the manufacture of statues was still reasonable because it was one of the efforts to pass on the achievements of the leader.

"In this modern era, the achievements of leaders can already be documented through various communication media. Therefore, without a statue, the achievements of leaders will be recorded to be passed on to the next generation," said Jamiluddin.

If you want to pass on Jokowi's achievements, Jamiluddin added, it is enough to use modern communication media that do not need to use large funds. Inheriting the president's achievements through a statue is time to be abandoned because it is outdated.

"This method is also an effort to stimulate someone. Of course it is not in accordance with democratic understanding," concluded Jamiluddin Ritonga.