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In our efforts to better serve our readers, The Jakarta Post
is working with Roy Morgan Research to look at various aspects of
Indonesian consumer needs. Debnath Guharoy from Roy Morgan is writing a
series of reports for the Post, based on Roy Morgan Single Source, a
national survey with 25,000 respondents annually, covering 90 percent
of Indonesia's population over the age of 14. The following is the
first article of the series, which will appear every Tuesday.
Regardless of whether we are talking as consumers, professors,
politicians or marketers, we all too often preface our comments with
phrases like "Most Indonesians are ..." or "most women in Indonesia
believe ..."
We do this instinctively, as if we have some innate knowledge that
gives us the confidence to make these sweeping statements. Fact, as we
all know, can be stranger than fiction sometimes.
This report dwells on who Indonesians are as a society and what
Indonesians believe on key issues affecting life as it is lived in the
cities and villages of this vast archipelago. The information is based
on Roy Morgan Single Source.
The fact that Indonesians are charitable by nature is reiterated by
nine out of ten people believing that "a piece of everyone's income
should go to charity".
What will come as a relief to the Cabinet is that eight out of 10
people agree that "obedience and respect for authority are the most
important virtues children should learn".
That puts rioters and bomb-throwers in the absolute minority. The
neighbors Down Under and their "War on Terror" allies, the U.S. and the
UK, should all feel equally reassured, especially in the knowledge that
Indonesians are far more charitable and much more respectful of
authority than they themselves are as peoples.
Adding another layer of assurance is a society that is respectful of
the community at large, as only 26 percent believe that "my rights are
more important than society's rights".
On the other hand, with 50 percent of the country believing that
"terrorists deserve the same rights as criminals", one wonders just how
much of the sentiment is based on everyone's right to a fair trial.
Another dimension of interest in this context is the belief that
"globalization brings more problems than it solves", a view shared by
60 percent of Indonesia. The contrasts with Australia, the U.S. and the
UK are borne out by Roy Morgan Single Source in those countries too.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is doing better than he probably
thinks he is, in the eyes of the electorate. That's despite the
tsunami, oil price hikes and the second Bali bombings.
Before she fell, President Megawati Soekarnoputri had an approval
rating of 53 percent with only that many people in March 2004 believing
that her government was "doing a good job." At the time, almost half
the country didn't "trust the government".
In contrast, President Yudhoyono raced in with a 79 percent approval
rating by Oct.-Dec. 2004, with only 21 percent not trusting his new
government. With the honeymoon well and truly over, results from the
second quarter of 2006 show that those scores have dipped from 79 to 60
percent.
But on tackling corruption, one of his key promises, his score has
improved, with 87 percent today, in comparison to Oct.-Dec. 2004's 92
percent, believing that "corruption is one of the major problems
affecting this country".
Overall, "democracy is working" in the hands of this government, a view
shared by three out of four, almost equally at all levels of education.
Despite the ups and downs, disasters both man-made and natural, this is
among the most noteworthy of the collective achievements in Indonesia's
history.
The contributor is an advertising professional turned researcher and
consultant who is now based in Melbourne. He has lived and worked
across the Asia Pacific region, including Indonesia.
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