Analyst Appreciates Cabinet Secretary's Communication Style, Counters Narrative of Being Distant from the People

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Political communication analyst Hendri Satrio (Hensa) has appreciated the communication style employed by Cabinet Secretary (Seskab) Teddy Indra Wijaya, as it demonstrates the government’s attempt to connect with the people.

It is known that the Cabinet Secretary was hunting for old books in the Blok M area, South Jakarta, on Sunday (19/4). That moment was captured and uploaded by the official Instagram account of the Cabinet Secretary @teddy_hq, showing Teddy sorting through collections of second-hand books among the traders’ stalls.

“There are no various claims, no political phrases attached, just going to buy books at the weekend like ordinary people. If this pattern is continuously implemented, I think the public will gradually feel the difference,” said Hensa in his statement in Jakarta on Monday.

Hensa also does not view the term “image-building” negatively. For him, building a positive image is a legitimate part of a public official’s public communication.

He reminded that what needs to be maintained is the boundary in carrying out such image-building.

“I always say, positive image-building is part of a public official’s job, not something that needs to be hidden. What makes it problematic is if the image-building is for personal interests, not the institution. These two things may look similar, but the difference is quite clear if one looks at it honestly,” he said.

Hensa assessed that in the uploaded content, the Cabinet Secretary only appears as someone enjoying his hobby in the same place as ordinary citizens. According to him, that is sufficient to convey a message of closeness to the people.

However, Hensa reminded that one positive post is not enough to permanently change public perception. According to him, consistency is the true test of public communication.

“I don’t want to say too quickly that this is good, but if this pattern is consistently implemented, not just once and then disappears, public trust will form by itself,” he said.