The Government Must Immediately End Bad Political Communication So That People Don't Get More Apathy

JAKARTA Political communication that tends to be outspoken is even considered niretic is often shown by a number of Indonesian officials. Recent statements by public officials cannot be separated from President Prabowo Subianto's communication which is considered rude.

Since being sworn in in in October last year, the Red and White Cabinet led by President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has been in the spotlight. At first, it was only because it was referred to as the fattest cabinet since the New Order era because it contained 48 ministers and 56 deputy ministers. That was still added by five heads of agencies.

Over time, the public has also focused on the communication style of officials, even including Prabowo himself. President Prabowo once said 'nammu' in his speech at the Gerindra Party's peak anniversary event in Sentul, on February 15.

In Javanese, 'nammu' means your head. In a certain context this word can sound rude or demeaning because it is an expression of distrust, satire, or ridicule.

Prabowo Subianto said that he was responding to criticism of the Free Nutrition Eating program or MBG, which was one of his campaign promises.

"Our country is very big. We have started a number of hundreds of people, there are still not many comments. If there are no journalists, I say thank you," said Prabowo.

"There are smart people who say that this cabinet is fat, too big... against you," he said again, to respond to criticism of the cabinet structure which was considered inefficient.

But this style of eccentric communication is not only done by Prabowo, but also by a number of other public officials.

Chairman of the National Economic Council, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, once said the phrase 'you are dark!' to respond to the hashtag #IndonesiaGelang, which was made as public criticism regarding the increasingly difficult condition of the country.

Communication styles are also shown by Deputy Minister of Manpower Immanuel Ebenezer Gerungan regarding the hashtag #KaburAjaDulu in mid-February.

Immanuel invites people who want to leave Indonesia. But he appealed to those who go not to return to the country. 'Want to run away, just run away. If necessary, don't come back again,' said Immanuel.

Recently, two names of public officials were in the spotlight. The first are the Head of the Presidential Communication Office Hasan Nasbi and the Head of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) Dadan Hindayana.

Hasan Nasbi seemed nirempati when asked for comments by a number of journalists about the terror of the pig head at the Tempo editorial office. He questioned the truth of the pig's head terror by saying, 'Is it real or justjokes?' before saying, 'Just in time, just cooked'.

Meanwhile, Dadan Hindayana said that the defeat of the Indonesian National Team in several matches was due to the low nutritional quality of the players.

"So don't be surprised that PSSI is difficult to win because playing 90 minutes is tough. Why? Because the nutrition is not good. Many soccer players were born from the village," he said.

Political observer from the Indonesia Political Opinion (IPO) Dedi Kurnia Syah said the communication style surrounding a number of public officials was affected by the president himself. According to Dedi, this style of communication is very terrible.

"The president certainly influenced his circle, the poor communication between the President was replicated by the elite Palace, so this is worrying, not only about the information received by the public being bad, but it could be that the poor communication between the President and the elite circle illustrates the poor capacity and performance," said Dedi when contacted by VOI.

He also specifically highlighted Hasan Nasbi who showed his uncertainty when the Tempo editorial office was terrorized. Dedi even called Hasan Nasbi the worst spokesman in history.

"Hasan Nasbi failed to understand his role, he seemed to have the power to convey anything from a personal point of view, even though he should have carried the Pandan point of view of the head of government as well as the head of state," he explained.

Prabowo deserves to fire Hasan Nasbi as part of his public apology, "Dedi added.

Former spokesman for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Dino Patti Djalal, also commented on this. He said the government's attitude in responding to issues circulating in the community was important and crucial.

According to Dino, the government must be able to seize public empathy, not even worsen the conditions that cause problems. Spokesperson, said Dino, should not be defensive or blame when responding to an issue.

"It must be explained with reasons, arguments, and so on. Anyway, don't be defensive," said Dino.

Controversial statements from a number of public officials made people shake their heads. According to them, the poor public communication is in line with their poor performance and capacity.

Political analyst Hendri Satrio explained three poor communication patterns from government officials that continued to repeat themselves. First, the confidence of officials was too high in the early days of office with the remains of the euphoria of victory during the 2024 Presidential Election.

Second, according to Hendri, officials are no longer sensitive to the suffering experienced by the people. The statements made by public officials seem insensitive and lose empathy.

"It feels like it's gone. As officials, they no longer understand what the people are doing," added the man who is familiarly called Hensat.

Finally, Hendri also agreed with the assumption that Prabowo's subordinates' statement followed the president's communication style rawally without adjusting to the conditions in society. For example, when the president said 'ndasmu' which was greeted with laughter.

"If there are ministers or staff who say they are against you, that will be a problem. The ways of communicating with the president cannot be equated with subordinates," he said.

Hendri emphasized that the government's poor political communication pattern must be ended immediately. Because if this phenomenon continues, it is not impossible to hinder the running of Prabowo's government programs.

The communication bridge between the state and its citizens must be addressed immediately so that it does not widen. Public officials must learn to convey messages clearly, especially about sensitive issues.

"In accordance with the context so that people's trust does not erode," said Hendri again.