Between political legacy and the pandemic

Posted on by Sembrani

Indonesia is swimming in Covid-19. The curve rocketed significantly in the past two months, added with the news that a doctor opposed the handling of the pandemic.

The original article was published in the New Straits Times, Malaysia, on 25 July 2021. Pictures added separately.

This is exacerbated by vaccination hoaxes and the denial of a new Covid-19 variant, and it was only handled by the government after it got attention on social media. Too little, too late. This led to increased criticism against President Joko Widodo’s government.

The rapid spike of cases and the “collapse” of the healthcare system is even worse than what happened in India. Several factors have exacerbated the latest outbreak. The government never imposed a full lockdown in fear of paralysing the economy and impoverishing millions of informal workers, who cannot work from home.

The restrictions imposed were poorly enforced. One example was during last Ramadan and the Aidilfitri festivities: around 1.5 million people eventually spurned the homecoming travel ban. Labelled as “herd stupidity”, those travellers contributed to the spreading of the ‘Delta’ variant, which now makes up 90 per cent of the Covid-19 cases in Indonesia.

The article in the New Straits Times (Malaysia) 25 07 2021.

On the criticism, there are opinions that some political figures are deliberately opposing the policies imposed by Jokowi’s government, as if they are preparing to increase their own electability for the 2024 presidential election.

One of the critics says Jokowi stood as an obstacle, which prompted prospective presidential candidates, like Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil to distance themselves from him.

While certain polling showed that Anies dan Ridwan were seen as two of the strongest candidates for the 2024 presidential election, both governors’ “concealed” meetings last June were interpreted as a sort of preparation for the election.

Ridwan himself has recently announced the postponement or cancellation of the construction of many infrastructure projects, which has been Jokowi’s economic policy keystone since 2014, and reallocate the funds for Covid-19 treatments in his province.

Meanwhile, Anies proclaimed that Jakarta’s Covid-19 mitigation has been more successful in implementing test-and-trace compared with other provinces; even eight times higher than the World Health Organistaion’s standard. The efforts of Ridwan and Anies to distance themselves from Jokowi suggested that the president and his administration are “liabilities” due to their flop in controlling the pandemic.

It is also clear that when Jokowi leaves the office in 2024, his legacy will not be any signature infrastructure projects, but by how well he handled the pandemic.

Regardless of the debate, Anies and Ridwan may refuse to admit it, with a reason to save their citizens, and defend themselves. Anies has always emphasised that the actions taken by the Jakarta government are based on scientific reasons, even since last year.

But, I tend to view that Anies opted to regard Jokowi. Recently, he asked the public to follow the president in the fight against Covid-19 and put political differences aside. In a recent TV interview, he maintained that “Jakarta residents must unite… under the direction of President Joko Widodo, who is leading us all in implementing the (latest) emergency public activity restrictions”.

As usual in the political realm, actions may be separate from opinions. His critics may suspect Anies is hiding his real motives, perhaps seeking to boost his image ahead of the 2024 presidential race, while his supporters may be disappointed by the governor’s about-face.

Like it or not, Anies has apparently made peace with it. As governor, Anies must collaborate closely with the central government, especially the president, to accelerate the vaccine rollout. The city must inoculate 7.5 million people (of its 10 million population) to achieve herd immunity, predicted to happen next month.

The current pandemic situation in Jakarta shows that Anies cannot protect the city single-handedly. A recent survey found that one third of Jakartans rejected the central government-sponsored vaccination programme.

This vaccine hesitancy may be a reverberation of the 2017’s polarised gubernatorial election, when Anies triumphed over Jokowi’s ally, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama. Ties between the two deteriorated after Jokowi dismissed Anies as his education minister in 2016.

Anies visiting vaccination program at JI Expo at Kemayoran, Jakarta, 11 July 2021.

But now the nation needs to unite more than ever. Like what Anies said, politicisation of the pandemic will only aggravate the contagion. His rapprochement with Jokowi seems a display of statesmanship. Putting aside political differences, including the agenda for 2024’s election, will allow elite politicians and citizens to focus on coping with this deadly virus.

Rather than defending his electoral interest, it seems that Anies will need to work together with all parties to deal with this difficult situation, given that Jakarta is the pandemic epicentre and the capital city of most Indonesians’ mobility.

Based on Jakarta’s crisis handling, his government has added health facilities, provided more support for medical staff, facilitated public access to healthcare and vaccination, and also ensured health protocols have been observed well.

For Anies, if he successfully manage the outbreak, he has a great chance of winning the 2024 presidential election.

Success in Fighting the Pandemic: Hopes from Jakarta

Posted on by Sembrani

Note: Since first time it was published, this article has been updated from time to time, so that readers can have better comprehension in the reading. [Sejak awal diterbitkan, tulisan ini mengalami perbaikan dari waktu ke waktu, agar pembaca mendapatkan informasi terbaru.]

AFTER 18 months of the Covid-19 pandemic, it still seems not easy to get a clear picture of the outbreak in Indonesia. We still do not know whether we will be weaker in the near future or get stronger. As we all can see, Indonesia has become one of the epicentres of the global pandemic in recent weeks, with positive COVID-19 cases leaping fivefold in the past five weeks.

Worse still, in the middle of unsuccessful recent lockdown, it is weird (for many) to see the government only seeks to simplify curbs regime with another name change. No wonder that (or because of that) the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday (22 July 2021) urged this country to implement a stricter and wider lockdown to combat surging COVID-19 infections and deaths, just days after President Joko Widodo flagged the easing of restrictions, as reported by Reuters in The Jakarta Post recently.

Lately daily deaths hit record highs over 1,300, among the highest tolls in Asia, or even in the world. In its latest situation report, the WHO said strict implementation of public health and social restrictions were crucial and called for additional “urgent action” to address sharp rises in infections in 13 of Indonesia’s 34 provinces.

“Indonesia is currently facing a very high transmission level, and it is indicative of the utmost importance of implementing stringent public health and social measures, especially movement restrictions, throughout the country,” it said.

Under Indonesia’s partial lockdown, social restrictions such as work-from-home and closed malls are limited to the populated Java Island, and Bali, as well as small pockets in other parts of Indonesia. Large sectors of the economy deemed critical or essential are exempt from most, or some, of the lockdown measures.

Recently President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo identified an easing of restrictions from next week, citing official data showing a fall in infections in recent days. “If the trend of cases continues to decline, then on July 26, 2021, the government will gradually lift restrictions,” President Jokowi said.

But we worry about this, since, as epidemiologists said, the decrease has been driven by a drop in testing from already low levels. Indonesia’s daily positivity rate, the proportion of people tested who were infected, has averaged 30 percent over the past week even as cases numbers have fallen. A level above 20 percent meant “very high” transmissibility, the WHO said. Apart from Aceh, all Indonesia’s provinces had a positivity rate above 20 percent.

However, looking from Jakarta’s way in fighting the pandemic, we can put better expectation. Although the number of cases has recently increased, there are hopes that Jakarta is going to win the war soon. This can be seen, at least, through the way its governor, Anies Baswedan, implemented and controlled the policy of harsher ‘lockdown’ in the capital.

Cases in Jakarta show good indication of decrease. After its peak on July 12 (with 14619 cases), daily case in Jakarta went down to 12415 (16 July), 9128 (18 July), and to 6213 on 20 July. Although in volatile time like now cases are up and down from time to time, but at least we have seen a light at the end of the tunnel.

Graph of recent COVID-19 daily case in Jakarta (orange) vs Indonesia (blue) — source: https://corona.jakarta.go.id/en

Last July 6, for instance, Anies Baswedan has made it known that he is leading the charge to enforce a full work from home (WFH) policy following the implementation of the Emergency Enforcement of Restriction on Public Activities (PPKM), as many offices in the capital remain open when they should not.

Governor’s actions.

On his Instagram, Anies posted stories of him performing unannounced inspections at an office building in the center of the capital, where he found that the offices of Ray White, a real estate agency, and an insurance firm (Equity Life) remained open. They were judged as violating the PPKM, which mandates that all workplaces in non-essential sectors must close and implement a full WFH policy.

“Your company is not being responsible. This isn’t about profit or loss, this is about people’s lives. People like you are so selfish,” Anies scolded the woman in the video, who is a human resources staff at one of the companies. Media portal Coconuts reported that the governor also reserved some harsh words for an office manager at the other company.

“We are burying people every day, Sir. You take responsibility. We are all stumped. Especially as there is a pregnant woman here. Going into labor is difficult for pregnant women during COVID-19. This morning I was told that one pregnant woman died. Why? Because she gave birth while she had COVID-19,” he said.

Watch this Kompas TV sequence, when Anies reprimanded the human resources staff at a Jakarta office:

Anies said employees at both offices were told to go home and that the police will sanction those responsible with possible violations of the Health Quarantine Law and the Criminal Code (KUHP).

The office was not taking the public beating lying down. The insurance company said it should be exempted from the full WFH policy, which gives concessions to companies in the finance and banking sector to enforce a 50 percent WFH policy.

As things stand, both offices have been ordered to close for the entire duration of Emergency PPKM, which is set to last until at least July 20.

There have been concerns that many companies in Jakarta were not fully complying with the WFH policy, with one indicator being the traffic gridlocks on some of the capital’s major roads. Employees in non-essential sectors who were forced to work at the office were encouraged to report their employers through the smart city mobile app JAKI.

In recent action, Anies Baswedan has issued a new gubernatorial decree concerning the PPKM Level 4, which in essence extending the public mobility restrictions policy (previously called Emergency PPKM) from July 21 to 25.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Jakarta has suggested two policies — early detection and a regional quarantine — but it was soothed by the central government. In the end, the central government provided all local governments with “large-scale social restrictions”, but since February, this has changed into seemingly half-hearted “micro-scale public activity restrictions” across Java and Bali.

When Jakarta was named the epicentre for Covid-19 transmission, its administration immediately asked all employees in the city to work from home, besides shutting down public places as well as school and campus activities.

Governor Anies Baswedan has declared that the pandemic is serious and cannot be eradicated instantaneously. That is why he has always refrained from making assumptions or giving false hope that the outbreak will only be temporary.

It has not been easy for the city of almost 11 million people to handle the highest spike in cases a few weeks before the end of last year. Before the spike in June and July 2021, the situation also became worse in the first week of January.

In April 2020, the governor ordered people to use face masks, particularly while using public transport which has also been restricted. He suggested that people wear washable masks due to the scarcity of disposable ones in the market, where prices for a box jumped by 300 to 1,000 per cent.

Since last year he has disciplined the city’s bus drivers and required the Jakarta mass rapid transit operator to only allow passengers with masks to board, a policy which was subsequently adopted by the national rail services.

The capital administration also carried out real time reverse-transcription PCR tests — which, according to the deputy governor, is eight times higher than the WHO standard — showing a serious step to obtain accurate and reliable data. While waiting for the RT-PCR equipment to arrive, city administrators focused on providing more doctors and health workers to serve the people.

Then, before the Idul Fitri (“lebaran”) long holiday there were the two-week Christmas and New Year holidays that led to a surge in Covid-19 cases. The daily active cases, which was 13,082 in Dec 22, soared to 15,376 on Jan 5 and further to 21,679 on Jan 17 before topping 26,029 on Feb 5.

Learning from this incidence, the governor urged Jakartans to stay home during the three-day Chinese New Year holidays, which started on Feb 12. And it was effective: daily active cases, which was 20,662 in Feb 12, dropped to 16,986 on Feb 15, then further to 12,065 on Feb 23, 9,913 on Feb 27, and finally, to 7,179 on March 3.

Counting daily active cases, comprising people under treatment in hospitals plus the ones in home isolation, is an important parameter for preparing medical facilities to cater to the pandemic.

All the above information is available on a Covid-19 site (corona.jakarta.go.id). The Jakarta administration keeps the data open to maintain public trust. Any government does have a limited playing field to assert its authority.

When it comes to private lives, it is up to the people to decide whether to continue practicing safe procedures against the virus, or to leave them out on the streets. It is undeniable that transparency and truth will lead to surprises.

Stealing thunder.

But it will be desirable if we handle the crisis with transparency and goodwill. Apparently, the Jakarta administration has been responsive to suggestions by communication experts like Timothy Coombs.

When an organization, as an information source, is open about an occurring crisis, there will be less reputation damage if other sources deliver the vital information. This is known as “Stealing thunder strategy“.

The authorities are advised to be open from the early stage, especially with regards to accuracy and consistency, to win public trust. In contrast, inaccuracy destroys credibility and creates confusion among the public.

The Jakarta way in handling the outbreak shows that if we rely on analysis and policies based on information from health and communication scientists — rather than economists and military men only—we may expect better results in handling the pandemic.

The Bigger Threat the Better in Pandemic

Posted on by Sembrani

With the new wave threatening countries like Indonesia after the Idul Fitri long holiday (May-June 2012), it is paramount for the Indonesian government to emphasize the ‘bigger threat perception’ strategy to the citizen. This article, written in The Jakarta Post last February 24, 2021, tell us why.

Although there has been an increase in COVID-19 cases, Indonesians may be content with the new health minister, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, as he has established a better scientifically based approach to testing and tracing.  “The test should target ‘suspected’ persons, not someone who wants to travel, or, like Budi Sadikin, who is to meet the President,” Budi said, claiming that he took five swab tests a week, each as part of protocols to enter the Presidential Palace. 

The new infection surge in Indonesia: the bigger threat perceived the better for lessening the case.

He recently likened the pandemic to World War I and II, as both claimed millions of lives. The ministry has therefore adopted a surveillance strategy through prudent testing and tracing, and aiming to vaccinate more than 181 million Indonesians within one year.

“This is a war and we have to annihilate the enemy. That’s why we involve the police and military. They do not brandish guns but syringes,” Budi told the media.

Although Budi is not a physician, his managerial experience at various national banks has sparked new hope for many, especially medical workers to whom he has shown his sympathy for their hard work. He does not belittle threats of COVID-19 either, unlike his predecessor. Perhaps Budi aims to replicate the methods in place and successful in Singapore and New Zealand. The government announced the first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 2, 2020, although epidemiologists had seen it coming in January and warned the government of it.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo admitted that the government had deliberately hid some information so as to not create panic among the nation’s 270 million people. This reminds us of then-United States president Donald Trump, who chose to cover up the real number of Americans contracting the virus. After almost a year into the pandemic and 34,691 dead (as per Feb. 23) in Indonesia, what has often featured in government communications is the high recovery rate. Unsurprisingly, many Indonesians have not taken the pandemic seriously. 

From the beginning, however, the reliability of the government’s data has been questionable, so the point that it could not form the basis of an accurate epidemiological curve. Luckily Budi has acknowledged the problematic data and promised to fix it. The data discrepancy may have resulted in an underreported mortality rate.

What interests us is the fact that Jakarta applies a different standard for calculating the number of deaths. In the capital city, the mortality number is divided into two categories. The first includes those who died with positive swab test results. This is the data that has always been reported to the central government. But Jakarta has also counted all bodies laid to rest under COVID-19 procedures, regardless of whether tests had been performed.

The reason is that the cause of death was similar or related to COVID-19 symptoms. No wonder the number is higher than that reported to the central government. Rationally, this approach provides more accurate data as the foundation of policies and COVID-19 response. It also gives the Jakarta administration and its residents a sense of readiness. Jakarta is not alone in this regard. 

The Economist (Sept. 26, 2020) reported that in many countries, the number of deaths and confirmed cases were undercounted. One way to prove the practice is finding what is called the “excess mortality” rate by comparing the number of deaths in 2020 to the predicted mortality number. Between March and August 2020, countries in Western Europe, some Latin America nations, the United States, Russia and South Africa documented 580,000 COVID-19 deaths but there were 900,000 excess deaths.

This means that the true toll of their share of the pandemic appears to have been 55 percent higher than the official data. While such an approach, which shows the magnitude of the threats and risks of the pandemic, may create panic rather than calm, it prompts society to respond to the crisis more seriously and therefore strictly comply with the health protocols.  From the viewpoint of crisis communication, such a strategy has proven to be more effective in dealing with any threat of risk.

Communication expert Kim Witte (2001) explained how the threat could be a good way to generate proactive, healthy and protective actions by those who received the message of risk. We can argue that to persuade people to act, it is suggested that messages should be given so that people are aware of threats and strengthen their self-efficacy to act in mitigating threats.

When people think that the threat is low, they will not respond to the message. However, when someone perceives a serious threat, they will usually be motivated to take action. Witte said the greater the threat in one perception and the more sensitive a person is to the threat, the more likely they are to take action to avoid the negative feeling about their fear.

That’s why epidemiologist Syahrizal Syarif has suggested that the government adopt stricter measures. Learning from the Jakarta case, micro-level quarantines in place need revision. The University of Indonesia scholar opined that COVID-19 cases in Jakarta and other regions could not be controlled without implementing a lockdown or regional quarantine for 28 days (tempo.co Feb. 9). With the positivity rate reaching 20 percent, many people who have been infected are not traced and they may have transmitted the virus to the surrounding communities.

The micro-level quarantines come too late and there is no guarantee they will work properly.

Read also:

  • The Best Way to Manage Large Gathering during Long Holiday such as “Mudik” After Idul Fitri: another post in this blog.

How Jakarta Fights the Pandemic

Posted on by Sembrani

Syafiq Basri Assegaff *)

AFTER a year of the Covid-19 pandemic, it still seems not easy to get a sheer picture of the outbreak in Indonesia.

But its capital, Jakarta, is showing transparent data including the way it is treating the situation. What Jakarta has been doing in responding to the pandemic seemingly is based on scientific knowledge.

Governor Anies Baswedan has declared that the pandemic is serious and cannot be eradicated instantaneously. That is why he has always refrained from making assumptions or giving false hope that the outbreak will only be temporary.

Read the original article in The New Straits Times March 16, 2021.

It has not been easy for the city of 10.77 million people to handle the highest spike in cases a few weeks before the end of last year. The situation also became worse in the first week of January. Up to March 4, Jakarta recorded 345,816 positive cases with 332,758 (96.2 per cent) recoveries and 5,657 (1.6 per cent) deaths.

Nationally, the country logged 1,361,098 cases, with 1,176,356 (86.4 per cent) recoveries and 36,897 (2.7 per cent) deaths.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Jakarta suggested two policies — early detection and a regional quarantine — but it was soothed by the central government. In the end, the central government provided all local governments with “large-scale social restrictions”, but since February, this has changed into seemingly half-hearted “micro-scale public activity restrictions” across Java and Bali.

When Jakarta was named the epicentre for Covid-19 transmission, its administration immediately asked all employees in the city to work from home, besides shutting down public places as well as school and campus activities.

In April last year, the governor ordered people to use face masks, particularly while using public transport which has also been restricted. He suggested that people wear washable masks due to the scarcity of disposable ones in the market, where prices for a box jumped by 300 to 1,000 per cent.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan: serious steps

He also disciplined the city’s bus drivers and required the Jakarta mass rapid transit operator to only allow passengers with masks to board, a policy which was subsequently adopted by the national rail services. The capital administration also carried out real time reverse-transcription PCR tests — which, according to the deputy governor, is higher than the WHO standard — showing a serious step to obtain accurate and reliable data.

While waiting for the RT-PCR equipment to arrive, city administrators focused on providing more doctors and health workers to serve the people.

Then, there were the two-week Christmas and New Year holidays that led to a surge in Covid-19 cases. The daily active cases, which was 13,082 in Dec 22, soared to 15,376 on Jan 5 and further to 21,679 on Jan 17 before topping 26,029 on Feb 5.

Learning from this incidence, the governor urged Jakartans to stay home during the three-day Chinese New Year holidays, which started on Feb 12. And it was effective: daily active cases, which was 20,662 in Feb 12, dropped to 16,986 on Feb 15, then further to 12,065 on Feb 23, 9,913 on Feb 27, and finally, to 7,179 on March 3.

Counting daily active cases, comprising people under treatment in hospitals plus the ones in home isolation, is an important parameter for preparing medical facilities to cater to the pandemic.

All the above information are available on a Covid-19 site (corona.jakarta.go.id). The Jakarta administration keeps the data open to maintain public trust. Any government does have a limited playing field to assert its authority.

When it comes to private lives, it is up to the people to decide whether to continue practising safe procedures against the virus, or to leave them out on the streets. It is undeniable that transparency and truth will lead to surprises.

But it will be desirable if we handle the crisis with transparency and goodwill. Apparently, the Jakarta administration has been responsive to suggestions by communication experts like Timothy Coombs.

When an organisation, as an information source, is open about an occurring crisis, there will be less reputation damage if other sources deliver the vital information. This is known as “Stealing the thunder strategy“.

Read Coombs’ blog on Stealing Thunder (click here).

The authorities are advised to b e open from the early stage, especially with regards to accuracy and consistency, to win public trust. In contrast, inaccuracy destroys credibility and creates confusion among the public.

We may need to “steal” the thunder.

The Jakarta way in handling the outbreak shows that if we rely on analysis and policies based on information from health and communication scientists — rather than economists and military men only—we may expect better results in handling the pandemic.

*) The writer is a medical doctor who teaches at the LSPR Communication & Business Institute in Jakarta.

Benahi Program Vaksinasi

Posted on by Sembrani

Pemerintah perlu untuk segera mengevaluasi dan mengubah pendekatan program vaksinasi agar dapat lebih cepat menjangkau lebih banyak warga. Ketertiban berlebihan dalam pendataan jangan sampai mengganggu kelancarannya.

Opini ini aslinya telah diterbitkan harian Kompas, 26 Matet 2021; dan dimuat juga dalam situs Kompas.id berikut ini (klik di sini).

Program vaksinasi terbesar dalam sejarah sedang berlangsung. Hingga 20 Maret, Bloomberg mencatat lebih dari 420 juta dosis sudah disuntikkan di 133 negara, dengan kecepatan hampir 10 juta dosis sehari. Negara padat populasi seperti China sudah menyuntikkan 65 juta dosis bagi 2,3 persen penduduk, India 41 juta dosis (1,5 persen penduduk), dan Brasil 15 juta dosis (3,7 persen penduduk). Sejauh ini, Indonesia baru menyuntikkan 7,3 juta dosis bagi 1,4 persen penduduk.

Namun, kita belum bisa memastikan Covid-19 akan sirna. Sebaliknya, penyakit ini akan bertahan selama beberapa tahun ke depan dan tampaknya akan berubah menjadi endemi di sebagian negara—bukan lagi pandemi (yang mendunia). Vaksin bisa menyelamatkan kita, menghambat wabah serta konsekuensinya sehingga memberi kesempatan untuk melonggarkan pembatasan atau lockdown.

Baca juga : Menyikapi Varian Baru Covid-19

Walakin, urusan virus korona dengan kemanusiaan belum selesai. Virus ini akan tetap bersirkulasi secara luas, khususnya setelah diketahui bahwa sang virus tampaknya akan menjadikan manusia sebagai ”domisili tetap”-nya.

Maka, apa yang akan terjadi dalam ”perang” ini di depan tergantung respons pemerintahan di dunia. Pertanyaannya, bagaimana dunia bisa membuat vaksin dalam jumlah cukup dan mendistribusikannya untuk melindungi 7,8 miliar penduduk dalam waktu secepat-cepatnya? Sebuah tugas raksasa. Sebagian negara khawatir, jika program vaksinasi lambat, manfaat suntikan pertama keburu hilang sebelum booster (suntikan kedua) diberikan (The Economist, 1/2/2021).

Sementara, 85 persen negara di dunia baru akan memulai program vaksinasi mereka. Hingga miliaran orang di dunia nantinya disuntik, yang diduga baru bisa selesai setelah 2023, berarti virus itu masih bebas berkeliaran di planet kita.

Alur Vaksinasi (Infografik Kompas).

Bukan penerima bantuan sosial

Di tengah itu semua, program vaksinasi di Indonesia sendiri wajib dibenahi. Yang terjadi sejauh ini, orang didata, disaring, dibeda-bedakan dengan dasar yang kadang membingungkan, penduduk diteliti KTP dan identitasnya secara ketat, dan seterusnya. Proses panjang itu perlu waktu lama. Pasalnya, kecepatan rata-rata vaksinasi kita masih rendah.

Menurut Bloomberg, kita baru mampu menyuntikkan sekitar 320.000 dosis vaksin per hari, masih di bawah Brasil (370.000 dosis), dan jauh di bawah China (960.000 dosis). Yang hebat India, sekitar 1,8 juta dosis per hari. Agar meraih kekebalan kelompok, waktu yang diperlukan untuk menyuntik 181 juta penduduk Indonesia 568 hari (termasuk akhir pekan), alias 1,5 tahun.

Baca juga : Vaksinasi dan Ancaman Mutasi Virus

Sejauh menyangkut petugas kesehatan, pelayan publik, TNI dan polisi, kita bisa memahaminya karena mereka ujung tombak pelayanan bagi orang banyak di garis depan sehingga layak diutamakan.

Namun, selain kepada mereka, seharusnya yang dilakukan adalah minta siapa saja untuk datang ke tempat vaksinasi, baru kemudian mendata mereka setelah disuntik. Artinya, orang disuntik dulu, baru kemudian dicatat datanya. Ini berbeda dengan yang dilakukan sekarang, ketika orang dicatat dulu, didaftarkan, baru kemudian divaksinasi.

Pasalnya, penerima vaksinasi bukan penerima bansos, yang harus ditertibkan agar bisa dicegah penerimaan bantuan berulang oleh orang yang sama. Dalam setiap tahap vaksinasi ini, memang siapa yang ingin disuntik berkali-kali, misalnya dengan cara menipu petugas?

Seorang penulis (mantan wartawan) lansia yang juga dosen sebuah perguruan tinggi di Jakarta bercerita. Ia juga seorang dokter yang tak praktik lagi. Tempat tinggalnya di Kelurahan Cisalak Pasar, Kota Depok, yang tak termasuk 10 kelurahan prioritas vaksinasi tahap pertama Depok sehingga ia tak bisa ikut mendaftar. Belum ada giliran vaksinasi bagi pendidik di kampusnya di Jakarta.

Sebagai (mantan) wartawan, artinya orang yang banyak bertatap muka dengan publik, belum juga ada giliran baginya. Secara logika, ia memenuhi beberapa kriteria untuk dapat prioritas: sebagai lansia, sebagai penulis, dan sebagai dokter (meski tak praktik), tetapi sistem yang ada mengharuskannya menunggu sampai gilirannya tiba.

Baca juga : Respons Cepat Varian Baru Virus Korona

Namun, bayangkan risiko yang ada: sang dosen tinggal bersama delapan anggota keluarganya, termasuk istri yang juga lansia, dua cucu dan dua pembantu (yang rutin berbelanja ke pasar di kelurahan lain).

Dua dari tiga anaknya dan satu menantunya juga sering ke Jakarta, mencari nafkah, yang berarti membuka peluang terjadinya transmisi dalam keluarganya. Beruntung ia dan keluarga serta para tetangga di kompleks perumahannya taat melaksanakan protokol kesehatan.

Meski harus bersabar menunggu giliran, dokter itu berpikir keras: apa yang salah dalam program vaksinasi yang dilaksanakan para sejawatnya? Dari pendekatan logika kesehatan, khususnya saat darurat di tengah wabah, seharusnya sistem yang dilaksanakan itu tak terlalu mementingkan predikat, jabatan, ataupun identitas yang disandangnya.

Tak peduli apakah seseorang punya KTP setempat, ia bisa juga tertular dan jadi sumber penularan, karena virus korona (dan semua patogen lain) tak pandang bulu calon korbannya. Bahkan, jika ada orang asing yang tinggal di Depok tanpa identitas apa pun, umpamanya, seharusnya juga ikut divaksinasi, apalagi mengingat ia juga berpotensi membawa virus varian baru yang 70 persen lebih menular.

Vaksinasi Lansia (foto Kompas).

Pendekatan dari bawah

Pelaksanaannya mudah saja, lewat pendekatan dari bawah ke atas. Misalnya, sekitar 10.000 puskesmas yang ada di semua kelurahan (berdasarkan data Kementerian Kesehatan, 2018) langsung saja melaksanakan vaksinasi itu. Puskesmas bisa menggandeng lembaga lain, seperti sekolah, di sekitarnya.

Baca juga : Vaksinasi Mandiri: Strategi Jitu atau Keliru?

Melalui instruksi camat kepada lurah, lalu dari lurah kepada ketua RW, warga di seluruh RW dan RT bersangkutan diberi tahu. Ketua RW mengatur urutannya, misalnya, berdasarkan nomor RT tertentu: warga bisa datang dalam jumlah sesuai kuantitas vaksin yang tersedia pada pekan itu, dan tetap membuat skala prioritas sebagaimana mestinya.

Puskesmas tak perlu mendata dari awal, tak penting mencocokkan KTP atau kartu keluarga, tetapi segera setelah vaksin tersedia, langsung saja suntik semua penduduk (yang memenuhi syarat divaksin) di situ, dilandasi oleh urutan prioritas (misal lansia lebih dulu) dan sebagainya. Pelaksanaan tentu harus memperhatikan kaidah medis, termasuk pemeriksaan sebelum penyuntikan, monitoring pascavaksinasi, dan sebagainya. Warga yang sudah disuntik dicatat, dan datanya diberikan kepada kelurahan.

Cara seperti ini tampaknya bisa membantu mewujudkan niat baik Menteri Kesehatan Budi Gunadi Sadikin untuk melejitkan kecepatan penyuntikan jadi 1 juta per hari.

Di samping itu, seharusnya keran vaksinasi mandiri bagi swasta juga dibuka. Sebagaimana program vaksinasi yang lain bagi anak-anak selama ini—yang menyediakan program gratis dan program mandiri (dengan membayar)—semestinya pemerintah menggandeng swasta.

Baca juga : Vaksin dan Vaksinasi Covid-19

Biarkan mereka yang punya uang, malas mengantre, atau kurang percaya pada program gratis pemerintah datang secara mandiri ke pelayanan kesehatan swasta. Yang penting semua yang sudah divaksin masuk pendataan yang terpusat, tak peduli KTP, atau tempat domisilinya. Langkah ini juga memudahkan bagi mereka yang tak punya ponsel atau gagap teknologi, yang selama ini sulit masuk ke dalam sistem digital yang disediakan.

Apa masalahnya kalau nanti catatan di kelurahan, misalnya, berbeda dengan data baru dari puskesmas; bukankah selama ini sebagian pendataan kita terkadang memang kacau? (Masih ingat program satu data (single identification number) yang disimpan dalam cip di e-KTP yang sempat jadi ajang korupsi?)

Tak usah khawatir ada yang menipu minta divaksin lagi, karena ini, sekali lagi, bukan pembagian uang kontan atau sembako.

Akan tetapi, dalam urusan wabah ini, yang penting puskesmas berhasil mengimunisasi sebanyak mungkin warga, tak peduli KTP-nya, asalkan ia berdomisili di tempat itu. Jika jumlah vaksin belum cukup, mereka bisa menunggu dan diatur lewat koordinasi petugas setempat. Tak usah khawatir ada yang menipu minta divaksin lagi, karena ini, sekali lagi, bukan pembagian uang kontan atau sembako.

Kalau model ini tak dilaksanakan, kita khawatir pemerintah hanya sibuk dengan data melulu, sementara target mengejar kekebalan kelompok tak segera tercapai. Sambil meningkatkan penelitian terhadap mutasi virus, dan persiapan penerapan suntikan kedua, serta pengobatan mereka yang terpapar, hasil terbaik tampaknya hanya terwujud jika angka imunitas di tengah masyarakat meningkat secara cepat dan pesat.

Kita tahu pemerintah ingin tertib. Namun, jangan lupa, sering kali ketertiban berlebihan bisa mengganggu kelancaran. Saat tsunami mengancam, kita harus melarikan penduduk ke atas bukit. Kian banyak dan cepat orang sampai di bukit, kian besar jumlah yang bisa diselamatkan.

Baca juga : Pentingnya Membangun Gerakan Sosial PPKM Terpadu

Terakhir, pendidikan tentang perilaku masyarakat sehari-hari untuk menerapkan protokol kesehatan harus digencarkan. Sebagaimana terjadi pada setiap wabah, masyarakat harus disadarkan: ketimbang harus melaksanakan pembatasan ketat dan menutup sekolah berbulan-bulan, para ketua RW dan RT diberi tanggung jawab besar mendidik warganya, bukan cuma disibukkan dengan urusan pembatasan skala mikro (PPKM).Mereka harus tahu bahwa kebiasaan ”memakai masker” dan ”menjaga jarak” bakal menjadi kegiatan hidup sehari-hari, mungkin hingga beberapa tahun mendatang. Jika tidak, kita khawatir awan hitam pandemi (atau endemi) yang suram terus menggelayut di tengah kita.

*) Dokter, Dosen di Institut Komunikasi dan Bisnis LSPR, Jakarta.

Price Determines Customer Loyalty in Ride-Hailing Services

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The following is an article that was published in the American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research (AJHSSR), Volume 4- Issue 3 (March 2020) — please see number 57). It is an international, blind peer-reviewed, open access online journal. Please see the following link to access full article (click here).

 

“Price Determines Customer Loyalty in Ride-Hailing Services.”

Syafiq Basri Assegaff and Stanley Oktavianus Pranoto.

gojek-vs-grab-5cb5847995760e07e66d9d82
ride-hailing in Indonesia: Gojek and Grab.

ABSTRACT: Not long after Uber left the business in Indonesia in 2018, increasing numbers of ride-hailing users in Indonesia have been dominated by Gojek and Grab, with more than 100 million users downloaded each of their applications. We don’t know how the recent Covid-19 pandemic — when governments urged people to work from home and applying social distancing — will affect ride-hailing businesses, but this research aims to find out which dominant factors influence customer loyalty in ride-hailing service in Surabaya, Indonesia. Data have been collected using questionnaires from 400 participants in Surabaya by simple random sampling which then processed using SPSS 25.00. This research applies models of service quality, service benefit, price, corporate image, system quality, consumer (or customer) satisfaction, and consumer loyalty, which are important for the companies to be competitive. Results show that, compared to other four factors, price becomes the most dominant factor that influences customer loyalty. It is hoped that results of this study will give further insight into the ride-hailing services particularly in filling the gap of the relationship between these variables and customer loyalty, as much as they can be useful for business communities to ponder about the importance of customer loyalty in determining better business performance. To enrich the findings, further study can be developed using the above variables to investigate longer users in various other cities.

KEYWORDS: customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, price, public transportation, ride-hailing.

For complete article, please download this link:

Assegaff, Pranoto – Price and Customer Loyalty in Ride Hailing Services – AJHSSR

Otherwise you can also open in:

 

A Note to Terrorists in Ramadhan

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A Note to Terrorists: When Fasting, Do You Remember Islam Says to Harm No One?

My daughter recently asked me: Do terrorists fast, Dad? Did the Sept. 11 suicide bombers fast?  I didn’t know what to say, but the 16-year-old went on: “And what would that fasting mean, when they kill innocent citizens without any justified reason, whereas Muslims all over the world understand that they must not harm anyone?”

Fair enough, I think. Even outside the fasting month of Ramadan, Muslims are taught to be always sensitive, tolerant and forgiving, and to never harm an innocent being, let alone a human being. Islam teaches us that even when we slaughter an animal, we should minimize the suffering. For example, an animal should be given water prior to its slaughter and it should be done swiftly with a very sharp knife.

This (my) article has been published in the Jakarta Globe newspaper last August 2010. With a little retouch and pictures, I am publishing it again this Ramadhan.  Oh by the way, I can assure you that it is still relevant.
Meski sudah lama, kolom opini saya (dalam bahasa Inggris) yang dimuat di Jakarta Globe ini masih relevan untuk dibaca kapan pun, khususnya pada bulan suci Ramadhan ini. Saya memuatnya kembali, dengan sedikit sentuhan dan tambahan beberapa gambar.

But the terrorists might have a different understanding, based on their interpretation of the word “jihad” — which lately has been rendered into a scary term. We remember the terror of 9/11. US foreign policy in Muslim countries did not justify the loss of lives in the attack. This is not what Islam teaches.

 

Bom-bunuh-diri di gereja Surabaya
Terror in Surabaya on 13 May 2018, just two days prior to fasting month of Ramadhan (read the news here)

Consider the wartime instructions of the Prophet Muhammad: He clearly forbade the killing of children, the elderly, women and all noncombatants or civilians. Those who lost their lives in the World Trade Center towers and in the planes were all civilians, some of them Muslims.  Continue reading A Note to Terrorists in Ramadhan

Valentine dan Serigala

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Apa sih sebenarnya Hari Valentine itu? Benarkah ia sebenarnya berasal dari konsep ‘penyembahan dewa atau berhala’ yang bahkan pemeluk Kristiani sekali pun tidak layak merayakannya? Sengaja tulisan lama (tahun 2012) ini kita munculkan kembali (dengan sedikit revisi), untuk mengingatkan orang-orang yang kita cintai, bahwa kasih sayang kita kepada mereka tak lekang sepanjang jaman.

Salah satu simbol kasih sayang yang diperdagangkan saat Valentine Day: cinta atau serigala?
Salah satu simbol kasih sayang yang diperdagangkan saat Valentine Day: cinta atau serigala?

Berbagai negara berpenduduk Muslim seperti Iran, Arab Saudi dan Pakistan, diterbitkan larangan memperingati  Hari Valentine.

Valentine’s day and its symbols are rooted in the worship of false gods and has no Biblical basis. Those who celebrate the holiday and consider themselves believers in the God of the Bible need to take a prayerful look at no longer observing the holiday.

Memang mengherankan, betapa jutaan orang ikut-ikutan tanpa tahu persis apa makna sebenarnya Valentine’s Day. Continue reading Valentine dan Serigala

12 Falsafah Hidup – Pitutur Jawa

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12 Falsafah Hidup – Pitutur Jawa

Berbagai suku di Indonesia punya falsafahnya masing-masing. Dalam dunia komunikasi, para pakar menyarankan agar semua orang yang hendak berkomunikasi dalam promosi atau persuasi apa pun, hendaknya menggunakan ‘kebijakan lokal’, alias local wisdom.
Masyarakat Jawa juga sejak lama dikenal memiliki falsafah yang layak untuk menjadi pelajaran bagi kita. Filosofi leluhur Jawa, misalnya dalam bentuk pitutur, itu diturunkan dari generasi ke generasi. Barangkali di era Google sekarang, ketika masyarakat sibuk menengok ke Barat, penting kiranya bagi kita untuk memahami warisan budaya atau pemikiran salah satu komponen bangsa sendiri.

Berikut ini 12 Falsafah yang saya dapatkan dari sana-sini.

  1. Urip iku Urup: Hidup itu nyala, hendaknya kita memilih hidup yang memberi manfaat bagi orang lain di sekitar kita. Kian besar manfaat yang kita berikan kian baiklah pribadi orang itu. Sangatlah mungkin, filosofi ini merujuk kepada hadis Nabi Muhammad saw yang mengatakan, “Sebaik-baik kalian adalah yang paling bermanfaat bagi orang lain.”  Continue reading 12 Falsafah Hidup – Pitutur Jawa

BBM Naik, Pamor PKS Ikut Naik?

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Rencana kenaikan harga BBM bisa jadi merupakan ‘berkah’ bagi Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS) yang menentang rencana itu.

Maksudnya, lewat sikap yang berbeda dibandingkan partai politik (parpol) anggota Setgab lainnya, partai yang tengah dilanda krisis itu berharap bisa mengembalikan pamornya sebagai parpol yang bersih, santun dan terkesan pro-rakyat.

Mantan Presiden PKS Luthfi Hasan di KPK: bukti absennya integritas pemimpin yang bisa merusakkan reputasi.
Mantan Presiden PKS Luthfi Hasan di KPK: bukti absennya integritas pemimpin yang bisa merusakkan reputasi.

Itu memang sikap logis karena menjelang Pemilu 2014 ini siapa tahu tekad untuk mengesankan diri sebagai ‘partai pembela rakyat kecil’ bisa mendongkrak citra, atau bahkan reputasi, PKS yang merosot.

Tetapi, benarkah sebuah organisasi seperti parpol atau perusahaan bisa menyelamatkan dirinya dari krisis, sebagaimana yang terjadi pada PKS, dengan langkah seperti itu?

Bukan hanya bagi PKS, melainkan juga bagi partai lain seperti Demokrat yang juga tengah dilanda krisis akibat berbagai kasus korupsi. Apakah mereka bisa melakukan penyelamatan nama baik (reputasi) dalam waktu dekat, sehingga bisa memperoleh kembali simpati masyarakat dalam jumlah yang signifikan pada pemilu 2014?

Tentu saja itu tidak mudah. Meraih kembali reputasi memang tidak segampang membedaki wajah dan pasang dasi sebelum naik panggung demi citra sesaat, karena reputasi berbeda dengan pencitraan.

Continue reading BBM Naik, Pamor PKS Ikut Naik?

Berantem Yuk!

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Sengaja judul di atas saya pilih untuk mengajak orang membaca, bukan berkelahi. Adapun judul asli artikel ini adalah, “Inilah Akibat Berita Kekerasan di TV”. Mengapa ditulis dengan gaya mengajak berantem, karena tampaknya banyak siaran TV yang seolah sangat getol mengajak orang ramai-ramai berantem, atau menjadi marah dan beringas. 

Contoh kekerasan dari orang tua (sumber kartun harian Pos Kota).
Contoh kekerasan dari orang tua (sumber kartun harian Pos Kota).

Anda pasti miris melihat berbagai kekerasan dan aksi premanisme di negara kita belakangan ini.

Bukan hanya di kalangan rakyat biasa, artis, dukun, dan tukang santet, tetapi kejadian itu sudah melanda ke tengah keluarga, terhadap anak-anak dan remaja, bahkan di antara petugas keamanan negara.

Tentu semuanya bukan masalah sederhana yang bisa dengan mudah dicarikan solusinya, karena berbagai kejadian itu menyangkut aspek sosial, ekonomi dan budaya mereka yang terlibat.

Tetapi dari sisi komunikasi, kita bisa melihat adanya peran media massa terhadap kekerasan — khususnya televisi (TV). Banyak pendapat soal ini yang dikemukakan para ahli komunikasi; sebagian di antaranya mengedepankan perspekstif bahwa ada kemungkinan bahwa penonton TV secara sadar atau tidak sadar meniru adegan yang ditontonnya di layar kaca.

Opini ini aslinya ditayangkan dalam media online Inilah.Com, rubrik Celah, Kamis 11 April 2013.

Sebagian pendapat lain menyatakan bahwa banyaknya aksi kekerasan di media mendorong munculnya suasana ketakutan di tengah penduduk, sehingga muncullah ketegangan di ‘dunia yang kejam’ dalam benak banyak orang. Beberapa ahli seperti Gerbner dan kawan-kawan menyatakan, bahwa akibat adanya anggapan ‘dunia yang kejam’ itu, maka pecandu TV (heavy viewers, dalam istilah Gerbner) akan melebih-lebihkan tingginya angka kekerasan atau kriminalitas yang terjadi di dunia nyata.

Bila pendapat itu bisa diterima, barangkali kita jadi paham mengapa dalam praktek sehari-hari orang lalu mengambil sikap seperti, ‘berhubung dunia ini kejam, maka jalan terbaik untuk menghindarkan diri dari kebatilan adalah dengan mempersenjatai diri, dan jika perlu menyerang lebih dulu ketimbang diserang orang lain.’

Melawan premanisme: makin menggejala di sana-sini (foto: detik.com)
Melawan premanisme: makin menggejala di sana-sini (foto: detik.com)

Itulah sebabnya barangkali, mengapa saat terjadi kecelakaan di jalan, meski dalam level hanya ‘serempetan’ sekali pun, maka salah satu yang terlibat cenderung buru-buru ‘menyerang’ pihak lainnya, walaupun pihak pertama itu yang sebenarnya bersalah.

Kita belum tahu bagaimana sebenarnya efek program TV di Indonesia terhadap meruyaknya kekerasan, karena hal itu memang patut diteliti secara seksama. Tetapi jika mengamati secara lebih serius, dan Anda bisa membuktikannya sendiri, betapa sering TV kita menayangkan berita kekerasan di sana-sini, bahkan dalam takaran yang terkesan agak berlebihan. Over dosis. Sehingga puluhan teman saya belakangan lebih suka menonton program TV asing yang disediakan TV cable berbayar.

Jangan langsung percaya pendapat ini, tetapi saksikanlah sendiri. Hitung dan kajilah. Perhatikan apa yang sering muncul di layar kaca Anda: penduduk marah dan melabrak petugas Pemda, remaja tawuran, polemik sesama politisi, artis ricuh dengan dukunnya, calon hakim ‘membela’ pemerkosa, orang tua menggagahi anak sendiri, guru ‘ngerjain’ muridnya, suami memutilasi isteri sendiri gara-gara perselingkuhannya terbongkar, ricuh di pengadilan, keributan di lapangan bola, oknum aparat menyerang rekannya, dan preman serta penjahat yang kian nekad.

Sering di antara kekerasan itu dilakukan secara tidak semena-mena oleh pihak yang sebenarnya bersalah — misal PKL yang menempati tanah negara, atau pengusir warga seagama yang beda aliran — terhadap korban yang tak berdosa dengan tegangan amarah sangat tinggi, meledak-ledak.

Warga membakar rumah saudara sekampung di Sampang, Madura: bebas yang kebablasan
Warga membakar rumah saudara sekampung di Sampang, Madura: bebas yang kebablasan

Boleh jadi banyak di antara kejadian itu berkait dengan makin demokratisnya negara kita — sehingga orang merasa bebas untuk melakukan apa saja, termasuk ‘bebas melabrak’ pihak lain, tak peduli apakah pihak lain itu aparat keamanan, teman, atau bahkan keluarga sendiri.

Tetapi dari sisi komunikasi, banyak ahli mensinyalir besarnya peran media, film dan hiburan terhadap berbagai tindak kekerasan dan kekejaman itu. Belakangan, sinyalemen itu juga menuding peran program berita, seperti hard news, buletin dan tayangan ‘current affairs’ kabar berbagai peristiwa.

Di antara ahli ada yang menduga bahwa berita kekerasan – violent news – yang ditayangkan TV menyebabkan meluasnya kekuatiran akan munculnya tindak kriminal. Menurut mereka, ingatan pada tayangan violent news di TV cenderung lebih kuat ketimbang jenis informasi lain, sehingga menjadikan perilaku kriminalitas dan kekerasan kian berperan pada penonton. Sebagaimana dikatakan Johnston & Davey dalam buku ‘Media Psychology’ yang ditulis David Giles (2008), pada level pribadi, berita negatif terbukti meningkatkan kekuatiran personal, meski pun berita itu tidak langsung berhubungan dengan isi program yang sedang tayang.

Secara umum sering muncul kekuatiran adanya ‘copycat violence’ (kekerasan yang dilakukan gara-gara meniru-niru belaka), khususnya yang terkait dengan kericuhan masyarakat. Berbagai kericuhan di jalanan pada beberapa wilayah perkotaan di Inggris, misalnya, seringkali muncul pada saat berbarengan, dan jelas berperan sebagai katalisator bagi kericuhan-kericuhan di wilayah-wilayah lain.

Anak heavy viewers menonton TV dari dekat: copy cat violence?
Anak heavy viewers menonton TV dari dekat: copy cat violence?

Barangkali begitu pula yang terjadi di Indonesia. Entahlah. Yang jelas, di Jerman, hasil penelitian lain menunjukkan bahwa serangan kelompok rasis ‘sayap kanan’ terhadap etnik minoritas kentara sekali memiliki pola yang berkaitan dengan peliputan media terhadap penyerangan-penyerangan sebelumnya.

Dalam kaitan itu, para peneliti juga melihat hasil serangan-serangan yang terjadi. Pada serangan gelombang pertama, misalnya, korban cenderung untuk pindah atau mengungsi ke daerah yang lebih aman – yang boleh jadi merupakan tujuan utama yang diinginkan penyerang. Ternyata, berita tentang pengungsian para korban itu menjadi pemantik bagi gelombang penyerangan berikutnya.

Hal itu sangat mirip dengan yang disebut priming effect, yakni semacam dampak ajakan yang seolah disengaja, saat mana para preman ‘sayap kanan’ di Jerman lebih mungkin melakukan penyerangan terhadap kelompok minoritas jika mereka mendengar adanya serangan serupa telah berhasil memaksa korban untuk mengamankan diri ke tempat lain.

Sejalan dengan yang di atas, Anderson dan Bushman dalam ‘The Effects of Media Violence on Society’ (dan dimuat dalam sciencemag.org) menyatakan, bahwa berbagai bentuk riset secara jelas menunjukkan adanya kaitan positif antara kekerasan yang ditampilkan media dan peningkatan agresi yang terjadi. Studi eksperimental membuktikan hubungan kasual yang nyata. Percobaan laboratorium pun menghasilkan bukti yang jelas. Sementara, eksperimen di lapangan juga mengarahkan adanya dampak sebab-akibat dalam setting yang lebih alami. Selain itu, ini yang tidak kalah penting, studi lintas-cara (cross-sectional studies) menunjukkan hubungan erat antara media violence dengan jenis agresi di dunia nyata.

Masyarakat yang kian beringas: kebanyakan menonton kekerasan di TV?
Masyarakat yang kian beringas: kebanyakan menonton kekerasan di TV?

Memang ada yang meremehkan dampak program berita TV, khususnya karena anggapan bahwa program berita adalah ‘refleksi kebenaran realitas sehari-hari’, dan bahwa ia merupakan kebutuhan masyarakat untuk mendapatkan informasi mengenai kekerasan nyata dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.

Tetapi, bila banyak studi belakangan kian menunjukkan bukti bahwa media violence memengaruhi kekerasan di tengah masyarakat, tidakkah perlu ada usaha pencegahan yang lebih serius terhadap hal itu?

Baca juga:

Mengamati Prabowo dari Dekat

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Nama Prabowo Subianto kian ramai dibicarakan orang. Sebagai bakal calon presiden RI 2014-2019 yang dianggap punya peluang besar, nama mantan Danjen Kopassus dan pengusaha kaya itu belakangan ini makin santer diberitakan. Yang terakhir, misalnya, ia diterima Presiden SBY pada 11 Maret 2013. Pertemuannya dengan SBY itu rupanya memantik beragam spekulasi dan pendapat. Ada penilaian ‘miring’, netral, atau pun positif. …

Selanjutnya lihat di bawah (setelah tanda tiga bintang ***) ].

Pengantar: Tulisan ini awalnya diunggah ke blog ini pada Maret 2013 lalu, tetapi menjelang Pemilihan Presiden 2014 belakangan ini tiba-tiba artikel tentang Prabowo ini kembali banyak dikunjungi orang — grafik dalam statistiknya tiap hari menunjukkan hal itu. Tidak aneh memang, karena bulan Juni 2014 ini adalah bulan kampanye Pilpres, dan kita tahu Prabowo adalah salah satu calon presiden yang bersama Hatta Rajasa akan bertanding dengan pasangan Jokowi – JK pada 9 Juli 2014 mendatang. [Tulisan asli tahun 2013 itu dimulai dari tanda tiga bintang (***) ke bawah ].

Continue reading Mengamati Prabowo dari Dekat