Members Of The House Of Representatives From Gerindra Are Considered Inappropriate Insinuating Sumatra Disaster Donations From Residents

Political communication observer at Esa Unggul University, Jamiluddin Ritonga regretted the statement by Member of Commission I of the DPR RI from the Gerindra faction, Endipat Wijaya, who compared government assistance worth trillions of rupiah with only billions of people's donations, during a Working Meeting with the Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi).

According to Jamiluddin, Endipat's statement shows a lack of suspicion about the movement of residents, especially in helping victims of the Sumatran disaster.

"As members of the DPR, we should be grateful that residents still have social solidarity. This is shown by the donation from residents of Rp. 10 billion to ease the burden on their relatives," said Jamiluddin in Jakarta, Tuesday, December 9.

"Therefore, it is not appropriate to compare government assistance with trillions and donations from only billions of people," he continued.

According to Jamiluddin, of course, it is normal for the government to control all resources to spend trillions of dollars on disaster victims.

"While residents who can collect billions in a short time, should be appreciated, not underestimated let alone rejected," said Jamiluddin.

"Although it must be admitted, Endipat vented this apparently because he was disappointed with the Minister of Komdigi Meutya Hafid. The government's weak public communication made the public not know that the government had disbursed trillions of disaster victims in Aceh, Sumur, and West Sumatra," he continued.

Nevertheless, Jamiluddin assessed that Endipat's disappointment with the Minister of Komdigi should not widen by underestimating the assistance of residents to disaster victims. Endipat, he said, should be sufficient to criticize the Minister of Komdigi, and if necessary ask him to resign.

"This is logical because public communication has been quite weak so far. At least it has been seen since the Komdigi was led by Meutya Hafid and the Director General of Public Communication and Media (KPM) led by Fifi Aleyda Yahya. The two figures do not have a public communication background. They have only worked on TV, which is not the same in designing public communication," he said.

"So, the government's performance in disaster management in Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra was not seen due to weak public communication. Komdigi did not seem to have played a major role in informing the disaster victims what the government had done," he continued.

Jamiluddin said that Komdigi had actually failed to contribute to informing all policies and actions carried out by the government. Komdigi, according to him, actually lost to influencers in informing Sumatra's disaster, including handing over aid from residents to disaster victims.

"So, Enditpat is more fitting to ask Meutya Hafid and Fifi Aleyda Yahya to resign from his position. This is wiser than rebuking and underestimating the donations of billions of people," he concluded.