Vice President Calls Jusuf Kalla a Mentor, Communication Expert Appreciates Political Maturity of Gibran

JAKARTA - Political communication expert at the University of Indonesia (UI) and Executive Director of Nusakom Pratama Institute, Ari Junaedi, appreciates the communication of Vice President (Wapres) Gibran Rakabuming who calls the 10th and 12th Vice President Jusuf Kalla (JK) as his senior, mentor and idol. Ari assessed that the statement showed Gibran's political maturity which was getting more mature.

"In recent times, Vice President Jusuf Kalla's statement has been so "annoying" about the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo. This is inseparable from the report to the police after giving a lecture at the UGM Mosque, Yogyakarta," said Ari in his statement, Thursday, April 23.

Ari also assessed that Gibran's political communication was inseparable from his efforts to dampen the "heat" of political tensions lately. At a time when the people are affected by price increases such as non-subsidized fuel, non-subsidized LPG and plastic prices due to global geopolitical influences, instead of providing solutions or providing shade, JK's reporting efforts to the police and JK's statements that are counterproductive so reduce the spirit of unity and unity.

"In communication theory, Gibran's efforts are like wanting to break the spiral of silence. From Elisabeth Noelle Neumann, a political expert from Germany, Gibran seems to want to break the dominance of the mainstream public opinion about himself and his family," said Ari, who is also a lecturer in political communication in the postgraduate program at several universities in the country.

Therefore, Ari praised Gibran's statement who remained calm and polite in responding to public questions regarding today's political situation and was not provoked to make the situation hotter.

"Gibran is not provoked by the bait of media questions that if responded to with emotion will only exacerbate the national political atmosphere to become increasingly hot. In this case, Gibran has learned a lot about the right communication pattern," said Ari.

In the past week, statements by the 10th and 12th Vice President Jusuf Kalla (JK) about the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo have been in the public spotlight. This is inseparable from the report to the police after giving a lecture at the Gadjah Mada University Mosque (UGM), Yogyakarta. JK said the effort to report to the police was inseparable from the actions of Jokowi supporters who were called "Termul" or Mulyono's cattle.

The pros and cons of JK's statement about Jokowi's term and finally mentioning Jokowi could become the Governor of DKI and RI-1 for JK's services, continue to echo JK's "hot" old grudge against Jokowi.

If Jokowi only responded with "I am nobody and just a villager", now the public feels shady with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming's statement on the sidelines of his visit to Papua. Gibran called JK a senior, mentor, and idol.

"Yes, thank you for your question. Mr. JK is my senior. Mr. JK is also a mentor. He has a lot of experience. He has a lot of experience and contributions to this country, especially in conflict areas. So he is an example for us all and yes, I am very grateful for the inputs and also the evaluation from Mr. JK. Mr. JK is my idol," said Gibran on the sidelines of his working visit to South West Papua, Wednesday, April 22.