President Of SBY Criticizes Jokowi About Jakarta's Minimum Wage In Today's Memory, April 8, 2013

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) and President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) meeting in 2017. (Twitter/@SBYudhoyono)

JAKARTA Memories of today, 10 years ago, April 8, 2013, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) criticized the steps taken by the Governor of DKI Jakarta, Jokowi Widodo (Jokowi). SBY said Jokowi's move to increase the minimum wage should not be explored for political purposes.

Previously, the election of Jokowi and Ahok as Governor and Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta often drew criticism. The leadership style of the two is considered too attractive. Jokowi, especially. His blusukan style is often considered a leader who lacks work.

The presence of Jokowi and Ahok as leaders of Jakarta for the 2012-2017 period is considered like a new hope. Both of them are predicted to be able to bring Jakarta in a better direction. They also tried to perpetuate a new breakthrough.

The old ways that made the distance between leaders and the people long abandoned. Jokowi-Ahok then began to adopt a new style. The Jakarta leader often goes directly to the community to record existing problems. The goal is that the DKI Jakarta Government can issue a policy product that side with the people.

People call this style blusukan. Every day Jokowi made blusukan a lesson. The move was appreciated by many parties. However, not a few called Jokowi's blusukan far from effective words.

This is because blusukan activities are carried out almost every day. In fact, a leader should be able to carry out other activities that are more useful. For example, immediately working on rules that favor the people. Instead of being creative, many call Jokowi's blusukan style a lack of work. Alias, wasting time.

"On the other hand, Jokowi's blusukan also invites a lot of scathing criticism from various levels of society. ranging from politicians, state officials, observers, special staff of President SBY, to former DKI Governors to criticize Jokowi's blusukan. Jokowi's blusukan is considered an error in ordering Jakarta," explained Hadi Satyagraha in the book Keliruan Manager (2015).

Jokowi's blusukan activity is not the only thing that provokes criticism. Other political steps are often considered controversial. Mainly, when Jokowi raised the minimum wage for Jakarta from IDR 1,525,000 to IDR 2,200,000. The increase was considered by many parties as a political step.

Criticism also emerged from Indonesia's number one person, SBY. He said that the matter of increasing the minimum wage should not be exploited with political purposes. Moreover, the increase made reached 43.87 percent. Jokowi should have been wise. He is advised to refer to economic factors, not politics.

In response to the increase in the provincial minimum wage in Jakarta, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seemed to criticize Joko Widodo at the Apindo National Congress on April 8, 2013, commenting that the minimum wage should not be exploited for political purposes in terms of that the minimum wage is used as a populist issue.

One day later, in the same forum, the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Hatta Rajasa, gave the same statement. Both argued that the determination of the minimum wage must involve considering economic factors but not politics with the understanding that politics has influenced Jokowi," said Surya Tjandra in the book Citizenship in Indonesia: Struggle over Rights, Identity and Participation (2019).