The inconsistency and weak government regulation in dealing with Covid-19 gave disappointment to social media users or netizens. Moreover, it added =with the non-compliance of some people with the health protocol.
This conclusion recorded in the findings of the Research Center for Politics and Government Department of Politics and Government, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada through the Big Data Analytics Laboratory, PolGov DPP UGM conducted observation through conversations on the Twitter platform from 14-18 May 2020.
UGM PolGov researcher, Wegik Prasetyo, said the two problems sparked disappointment for most medical staff. After all, there were no results of public or government commitments, discipline, and consistency from the medical team's hard work so far in tackling Covid-19.
"The public amplified disappointment of medical personnel expressed through social media in May 2020 through the hashtags #indonesiaterserah and #tererahindonesia," Wegik said in releasing the results of a recent study.
Wegik said that the conversation was interpreted as a problem picture of public trust and cynicism towards the government's inconsistency in handling Covid-19 in Indonesia. Besides, there was also public anxiety about the direction of community behavior development that began to ignore existing health protocols.
The public on social media Twitter shows various examples of policy inconsistencies and asynchronous between policies issued by the government. One of them is related to the implementation of Large Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) which are often considered not in harmony with other policies, such as policies related to going home, transportation, the prohibition of the crowd, and so forth.
Conversations with the hashtags #indonesiaterserah and #tererahindonesia first appeared on Thursday, May 14, 2020, in response to the opening of domestic flights, which led to the piling up of prospective passengers at Soekarno Hatta Airport. This queue is considered as a form to ignore the health protocol. The conversation on Twitter shows that the Soekarno Hatta airport incident is not in line with the policy of restrictions on land transportation between provinces, especially on the island of Java. The policy inconsistency created a gap used by some people for not complying with the health protocol.
"These public concerns and disappointments are reflected in the escalation of tweets' frequency on Friday, May 15, 2020, which reached 3,758. The hashtag #indonesiaterserah and #tererahindonesia, which had become a trending topic on Twitter social media," he said.
Analysis of the two hashtags during May 14-18 2020 managed to record a total of 10,581 tweets. Most of the tweets identified in five provinces in Java occupying the top rank, namely West Java (650 tweets), East Java (590 tweets), DKI Jakarta (570 tweets), Central Java (420 tweets), Yogyakarta (350 tweets) and followed by Banten (100 chirps).
Wegik said that public trust in the government played an important role so that the policies taken related to the handling of Covid-19 received broad support. Consistency is fundamental principles, and synchronization between systems in the handling of Covid-19 and strong public support will help increase the effectiveness in suppressing and breaking the chain of COVID-19 distribution.
Conversely, inconsistencies, and failures in synchronization between policies and government elements not only prolong the pandemic period. This event has the potential to deepen the economic and health crisis.
Based on the research results, UGM PolGov proposed several recommendations to strengthen public confidence. First, the government needs to respond to public criticism by producing integrated, directed, and consistent policies with certain basic principles. Thus, we need one necessary regulation that becomes the essential foundation in handling Covid-19. This necessary regulation lays down the basic principles that serve as a reference for all derivative and sectoral rules.
"This principle, for example, concerns openness, public participation, coordination, and data-based policies," he said.
Second, there must be openness of flexible space for policy evaluation so that the government can adapt to the latest developments. This requirement is needed considering the problems brought by the Covid-19 pandemic are very complex. Even though the policy adaptation space has been opened, the basic principles that remain must be upheld.
Third, it is necessary to adopt policies to existing developments that must be based on robust and accountable data.
"Changes in existing policies also need to be communicated widely and continuously with arguments easily understood by the public," he concluded.
Author: Ika
Photo: twitter.com/helwatshlhh
Translator: Natasa A