Kompas R&D Says Golkar Voters Are Not Social Media Literate, Digital Use Will Be Boosted

JAKARTA - Golkar Party politician Emanuel Melkiades Laka Lena responded to the results of a Kompas Research and Development survey which stated that the majority of Beringin party voters were not social media literate.

With the survey results, Melki emphasized, Golkar will boost the use of social media to better reach young voters.

"Chairman Airlangga Hartarto as the main driver of the 4.0 revolution in Indonesia continues to encourage the use of digital in party management, in various affairs. We also encourage the use of social media in greeting, explaining performance, and gathering support from constituents," Melki said in a statement to journalists, Tuesday, February 21.

However, continued Melki, his party will not ignore old voters either. According to him, Golkar has prepared two strategies to respond to the old and new voter segments without any distinction and will continue to accommodate both.

"This is a combination of guarding, caring for the old, and also reaching out, and inviting new ones to get involved to become Golkar voters. Of course with various programs in accordance with the ideology of the Pancasila-based Golkar Party and the Karya Kekaryaan doctrine," he said.

Melki said his party was on the right track under the command of Chairman Airlangga Hartarto to win the 2024 elections, both the presidential and legislative elections.

"We believe that all the efforts of the Golkar Party led by Mr. Airlangga Hartarto can optimize these 2 approaches to win the 2024 election," he concluded.

Previously, the results of a Kompas Research and Development survey conducted on January 25-February 4 2023 stated that the majority of Golkar Party and PDIP voters were not like PKS constituents who were literate in social media.

"Several parties whose constituents are relatively less present in the virtual realm are the Golkar Party, PPP, PKB, and PDIP," wrote Kompas Research and Development, Tuesday, February 21.

The survey assesses that it has not become urgent for Golkar to build a strong campaign strategy in cyberspace. This is because less than a quarter of its constituents make social media their first choice.

It's the same with those who tend to choose online news as their main choice, which is 4 percent. When compared, this figure is far below the number of Golkar voters who prefer traditional media, such as newspapers and TV, at around 64 percent.

PDI-P also experienced a similar phenomenon. Based on survey results, less than a third of the party's voters make social media their main choice.