The Wadas Incident Affects Ganjar's Image And PDIP's Reputation
JAKARTA - The attitude of the Governor of Central Java, Ganjar Pranowo regarding the siege of Wadas Village residents by law enforcement officers with full weapons is regrettable for some parties. The reason is, Ganjar did not firmly protect his people from fear and instead apologized for the events that occurred in the village.
Political communication observer at Esa Unggul University, M. Jamiluddin Ritonga, assessed that as governor, Ganjar should not allow his citizens to be surrounded by law enforcement officers with full weapons. Because, Wadas Village residents are not people who commit crimes that endanger security.
"The residents of Wadas Village only maintain their land ownership rights for the survival of their families," said Jamiluddin in Jakarta, Wednesday, February 9.
According to Jamiluddin, in such a condition, citizens should have protection from their leaders. Unfortunately, Ganjar as governor did not do that. "Ganjar actually does not talk and protect his people when facing problems related to his livelihood. Ganjar's partiality to the people is completely invisible," he said. Jamiluddin considered that Ganjar's attitude had erased all his image so far. Ganjar's impression of a person who is close and cares about the people is not proven at all. "The community is shown the true figure of Ganjar. Ganjar's weak leadership actually stands out in the case of the Wadas Village residents," you said. With such a Ganjar figure, Jamiluddin predicts that he will change the public's perception of the PDIP cadre. The public will judge Ganjar as not an ideal figure to lead Indonesia. "So, the case of the residents of Wadas Village has a great chance of eroding Ganjar's electability. Political parties, including PDIP, will also think long about carrying Ganjar in the 2014 presidential election," he said.
According to Jamiluddin, his party rival, Puan Maharani, will benefit from Ganjar's attitude regarding the Wadas incident. "Puan Maharani seems to benefit from this case. PDIP seems to be more determined to carry her in the 2024 presidential election," said Jamiluddin.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of Indonesia Political Opinion (IPO) Dedi Kurnia Syah, assessed that it was not only Ganjar Pranowo, the government's repressive attitude to deploying the police to carry out land measurements for the Andesite mine also had an impact on PDIP.
According to Dedi, PDIP is currently in a dilemmatic position because PDIP in Central Java is electorally very strong. At the same time, the violence that occurred in Wadas Village, Bener District, Purworejo Regency did not significantly affect Ganjar's reputation. "Ganjar will face political consequences, including the difficulty in increasing the quantity of his loyalists. Especially among middle class voters who defend public rights in Wadas," said Dedi, Thursday, February 10. According to Dedi, as the strongest party in Central Java, PDIP must also immediately save its political reputation. One way is that PDIP will not prevent Ganjar from entering the presidential candidate market.
Similarly, the Director of the Indonesian Political, Legal and Policy Research Center (PRPHKI), Saiful Anam, said that the event was predicted to erode PDIP's vote in the 2024 presidential election.
As anticipation, PDIP Chair Megawati Soekarnoputri was advised to be firm with Ganjar Pranowo as the Governor of Central Java who is also a cadre of the white-nosed bull party. However, with the Wadas incident, it might erode the PDIP vote not only in Central Java, but in most of the national vote in general.
"Because the Wadas incident is very detrimental to PDIP, especially since the news is massive. I think it's time for Megawati to take a firm stand against Ganjar Pranowo as the governor from PDIP," said Saiful, Thursday, February 10. Because if not, continued Saiful, the assets of PDIP's great voice in Central Java could continue to be eroded by the incident regarding Wadas. For that, the PDIP General Chairperson must be firm in addressing all of this," said Saiful Anam.