Political Talks Held by the Laboratory of Political Science of UMM Released the Survey Results of Voters throughout East Java

Author : Humas | Thursday, August 10, 2023 08:00 WIB

Political Talks and the Release of Survey Result of Public Opinion in East Java, held in the Senate Conference Room at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM). (Photo by Lintang PR of UMM)

All survey results, including political ones, may be wrong. Still, they cannot lie, as asserted by the Principal Expert Researcher of the National Research and Innovation Agency, Prof. Dr. R. Siti Zuhro, M.A., in a National Political Talks and the Release of Survey Results of Public Opinion in East Java. The formal agenda was organized by the Laboratory of Political Science of the University Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) in the Senate Conference Room.

The survey was conducted in East Java and obtained various correspondents. On the same occasion, a political observer and professor at the University of Airlangga (UNAIR), Prof. Dr. Kacung Marijan, MA. Ph.D. attended the meeting as a speaker. The interactive discussion also invited several representatives of Indonesian political parties, such as PDIP, PKB, Demokrat, PKS, etc.

Furthermore, Zuhro emphasized that she dislikes political surveys. Moreover, survey institutions are often not transparent with who is funding them. Zuhro is also interested in the survey result by the Laboratory of Political Science of UMM since it is dominated by the people of Nahdatul Ulama (NU).

“Most correspondents seem to want to say that Muhammadiyah must also retire and should be able to emerge in the political arena. Recently, the name Muhadjir Effendy appears to be the candidate for vice president. He can, indeed, be said to be one of the leaders in East Java. Thus, it is natural that his name is quite well-known through this survey,” said Zuhro.

Unfortunately, Muhadjir is considered too calm and should be more agile. As Zuhro assesses, Muhammadiyah does have many human resources, who can compete, but their names do not appear in the political field. Therefore, according to her, this survey can encourage Muhammadiyah to perform in the sphere and to contribute more.

The data from the survey also presents that the votes of presidential candidates are, in fact, not determined by the party the candidates are associated with but depend on the figure concerned. Zuhro thinks that in a direct election system, popularity is the thing that greatly influences the choice.

“I also appreciate UMM for bridging this agenda to avoid misunderstanding by inviting political observers and party representatives. Last, I want to say that Indonesia has a society that always maintains harmony, which we need to preserve. If we wish Indonesia to be fine, we should seek and choose leaders who intend to make Indonesia more advanced,” said Principal Expert Researcher of the National Research and Innovation Agency.

Meanwhile, Kacung Marijan said that the phenomenon of split-ticket voting in elections often occurs, which is the concept of voter behavior when faced with diverse choices in an election. It happens when a connection between the party and the president’s choice does not exist. This phenomenon is likely to occur again during the 2024 election.

“For example, in the 2019 presidential election, we can see that not all PDIP members elected Jokowi. Likewise, with Prabowo, not all Z generation voted for him,” concluded the political observer and professor of UNAIR.

Another interesting perspective was conveyed by another political observer, Dr. Asep Nurjaman, M.Si. From the survey, he considers that the community’s desire for Muhammadiyah cadres emerges to the political surface. One going trending is Muhadjir Effendy.

“I feel there is a public longing for candidates who have devotion and sincerity to the nation. This feeling should be cultivated to prevent the phenomenon of money politics,” asserted he.

Asep also shares another idea about the political survey. In other countries, sampling-based surveys have been abandoned and switched to artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. We can gain more advantages, like a more accurate mapping of candidates, because there are no data limitations. Hence, he hopes that political parties and survey institutions can also immediately utilize relevant technology. (imh/wil)

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