Benjamin Franklin once bequeathed a classic adage: \u201cWell done is\nbetter than well said.\u201d Real work is far more valuable than mere sweet\nwords. However, what was conveyed by one of the founding fathers of the\nUnited States seems to have become a paradox in the current era. Is mere\n\u201creal work\u201d truly sufficient in this noisy digital age? The answer can\nbe highly relative, especially when drawn into the landscape of\ngovernance and public policy in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In the era of social media, society is vulnerable to heuristic\nbias\u2014the psychological tendency that makes us more easily absorb and\nbelieve negative information that triggers emotions. As a result, public\ninformation channels more often give a platform to actors spreading\ncynical sentiments.<\/p>\n
Conversely, many positive breakthroughs are deliberately distorted\nand twisted into frightening misinformation. Recall the Covid-19\npandemic era; vaccines, which scientifically are the key to saving\nhumanity, were instead narrated as foreign propaganda for mass murder.\nOr in the world of state corporations, when there are positive efforts\nto streamline loss-making subsidiaries for efficiency, the narrative is\ntwisted into \u201ca bankrupt state auctioning off assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reality of social media today is so brutal. Many parties end up\ninfected with the \u201cNot to impact, but to impress\u201d syndrome\u2014working not\nto deliver fundamental impact, but merely to seek validation, a stage,\nand artificial popularity metrics.<\/p>\n
Amid this noise, we must reinterpret the phenomenon of the \u201csilence\u201d\nof accomplished individuals. This is what is called The Art of Silence.\nSilence here does not mean passivity, but rather an incubation space for\nstrategic execution. Because, after all, the true principle of a policy\nis to give birth to benefits, not merely to polish an image.<\/p>\n
We need to encourage more stories about these silent workers to\nsurface. This is crucial to counter the misinformation narratives often\nspread for narrow political interests. Indeed, at the beginning of\nPresident Prabowo Subianto\u2019s administration, there is still homework to\nbe done here and there. However, objectivity demands that we see the\nmajor achievements being forged, particularly in shifting from\nartificial economic growth to fundamental growth.<\/p>\n
As a concrete example, let\u2019s look at the track record of Agriculture\nMinister Amran Sulaiman, the architect of food self-sufficiency. He has\nmade history because, amid a world haunted by crisis and the threat of\nhunger, Indonesia is slowly but surely able to build its food\nresilience. This is not just a claim, but technical work in creating new\nrice fields, improving fertiliser trade systems, and optimising\nirrigation.<\/p>\n
There is also the figure of National Police Chief General Listyo\nSigit Prabowo, who has consistently proven himself to be a leader who\nworks more than he speaks. The improvement in the image and performance\nof the Indonesian National Police can be directly felt by the wider\ncommunity. Without much drama in front of the camera, Listyo Sigit has\ncarried out thorough internal clean-ups without favouritism, promoted\ndigitalisation of police services (such as electronic ticketing\/ETLE)\nthat minimises extortion, and prioritised restorative justice that truly\ntouches the sense of justice at the grassroots level. He has turned the\nIndonesian National Police into a shock absorber amid social upheavals,\nnot a creator of commotion.<\/p>\n
The same goes for Dony Oskaria, Head of the State-Owned Enterprises\nExecutive Agency (BP BUMN). He is a perfect example of applying The Art\nof Silence in corporate management. As the architect of BUMN\ntransformation, he has carried out massive consolidation that reduced\nthe number of BUMN entities from 1,077 overlapping companies to just 257\nfocused and competitive companies.<\/p>\n
Dony\u2019s real performance is also strongly recorded during the disaster\nthat struck Sumatra at the end of 2025. Without much rhetorical\npublication, he orchestrated the strength of BUMN to restore conditions,\ncollaborating to build thousands of residents\u2019 homes in a very short\ntime. Dony proved how the art of working navigates crises without\nneeding to speak much in the media.<\/p>\n
His fundamental work character is also reflected in his firm policy\nin reorganising BUMN financial reports. If previously there was a\ntendency to \u201cmake up\u201d reports (cook the books) to look impressive\nartificially, Dony dismantled that culture. He mandated absolute\ntransparency. His principle is simple and bold: if the performance and\nreports are poor, that BUMN must transform. Conversely, if the reports\nare good, it becomes the minimum standard to be maintained and improved.\nThe ban on \u201ccooking the books\u201d practices is a fundamental step, because\ndata honesty is the main foundation for creating real work value rather\nthan just speaking.<\/p>\n
In the end, there is a common thread that binds the leadership styles\nof Amran, Listyo, and Dony. They prove that hard work always speaks\nlouder than mere sweet words. Without over-claiming or excessive\nimage-building, that performance is presented concretely and becomes a\nresounding answer for the public questioning the direction of the\nPrabowo administration.<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u2019s not just these three. There are still many officials\nin this cabinet who have carved out real achievements outside the\nspotlight of the camera. On the other hand, we also do not deny there\nare ministers with excellent performance who are indeed vocal and\ncommunicate well in public, such as Erick Thohir or Bahlil\nLahadalia.<\/p>\n
The collaboration between these \u201csilent workers\u201d and \u201cmaster\ncommunicators\u201d ultimately becomes the best shield to counter\nmisinformation and propaganda deliberately spread by certain individuals\nto discredit the government.<\/p>\n
Propaganda may always be noisy on social media. But in the real\nworld, grassroots society ultimately feels the direct impact of those\npolicies. Like an ancient proverb: \u201cTak<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prabowos-warriors-when-real-work-speaks-louder-1777045963", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }