Building a Government Sensitive to Public Signals
In modern governance, major problems rarely arrive without warning. Price increases are usually preceded by complaints from traders and consumers. Disruptions in public services can be identified through recurring grievances.
Social conflicts often begin with minor tensions at the local level. Dissatisfaction with policies can also be read through changes in public conversation, media coverage, and reports from field officers.
The challenge is whether these various signs are read early enough. A sensitive government is not one that always follows the loudest voice, but one that is capable of identifying problems before they develop into a crisis.
Government sensitivity needs to be built as a working system, rather than depending on the intuition of an official. Such a system must connect the processes of listening, verifying, determining priorities, taking action, and explaining the results to the public.
The inauguration of the Head of the Government Communication Agency, Syahganda Nainggolan, provides momentum to strengthen this system. Syahganda’s background as an activist accustomed to delivering critical views can serve as an important asset. The public does not only need information about what the government has accomplished, but also a space where their anxieties are heard.
Syahganda’s commitment to building two-way dialogue, utilising artificial intelligence, and making communication a tool for national unity is worthy of appreciation. The next challenge is translating these ideas into measurable cross-governmental work patterns.
The Government Communication Agency, or Bakom, should not function merely as a messenger of policy. Bakom needs to become the government’s radar. This means the agency is tasked with capturing public signals, connecting them with the relevant ministries, and ensuring the public receives explanations regarding the follow-up actions.
Indonesia actually possesses many channels for listening to the public. These include SP4N-LAPOR!, the Ombudsman, ministerial call centres, local government complaint channels, mass media, social media, surveys, public consultation forums, and reports from officials at the village and sub-district levels.
The Ombudsman received more than 23,000 public complaints throughout 2025. Data of this magnitude should not merely be treated as a collection of individual cases. If analysed properly, these complaints can indicate which services are most problematic, which regions require attention, and which policies need improvement.
The first required work pattern is building a centre for public issue analysis. Bakom can integrate complaint data, news coverage, digital conversations, surveys, and field reports into a national dashboard. Artificial intelligence technology can assist in grouping complaints, finding recurring patterns, reading sentiment changes, and detecting rising issues quickly.
However, social media must not be the sole metric. Not all important issues become viral. The grievances of farmers in remote areas, the difficulties faced by persons with disabilities in accessing services, or the problems of fishermen obtaining fuel may not generate millions of interactions. The government must still hear them.
Therefore, digital analysis must be paired with human networks. Local governments, universities, community organisations, religious leaders, professional communities, and local journalists can serve as initial information sources. They often know about problems long before they become national discussions.
The second work pattern is rapid verification. When news emerges regarding rice shortages, the government cannot simply read social media sentiment. Data on stocks, distribution, inter-regional prices, trader reports, and consumer conditions must be checked. If there are complaints regarding hospital services, the government needs to examine waiting times, medicine availability, healthcare capacity, and patient experiences.
The same applies to education. Complaints regarding illegal levies, school damage, or teacher distribution must be compared against government data and field conditions. In this way, the government’s response is not merely reactive to virality, but grounded in reality.
The third work pattern is determining priority scales. Every issue can be assessed based on its impact on safety, the number of affected people, economic loss, involvement of vulnerable groups, potential for escalation, and its connection to the fundamental rights of citizens.
High-risk issues should be categorised as ‘red’ and handled immediately. The ‘yellow’ category requires monitoring and prevention, while the ‘green’ category can be resolved through regular service mechanisms. Such classification helps the government allocate attention objectively.
The fourth work pattern is establishing accountability. One source of public frustration is complaints being passed from one agency to another. Once an issue is declared a priority, there must be a lead ministry or agency, a responsible official, a completion deadline, and a progress reporting schedule.
Bakom does not need to take over the technical duties of ministries and agencies. In matters of food prices, action lies with the relevant ministries and bodies. In matters of security, the National Police (Polri) conduct investigations and law enforcement.
In disaster situations, BNPB, BMKG, Basarnas, and local governments serve as the primary executors. Bakom ensures that all agencies use the same data and communicate developments consistently.
The fifth work pattern is providing an initial response. The government does not have to wait for a problem to be resolved before speaking. In the first few hours, the public needs to know that the issue has been received, is being verified, who is handling it, what initial steps are being taken, and when the next update will be provided.
An initial response is not a solution…