Ijoel Receives Numerous Complaints About Jakarta Facilities: Yet I'm Just an Ordinary Citizen

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Content creator who frequently spotlights public facilities in Jakarta, Ijoel, admits to receiving numerous requests and commissions from netizens to viralise various problems in the capital. Although Ijoel dedicates himself to monitoring and repairing damaged roads, he is often asked to handle other issues. “Even when I upload something like that, sometimes people say, ‘Discuss other problems, please’, or ‘Visit this area’, like that. Yet I’m just an ordinary citizen too,” Ijoel told Kompas.com by telephone on Friday (10/4/2026). Although pleased and respectful of netizens’ requests, he does not want the public to continue depending on a specific individual to voice their respective complaints. “We should all be citizens here, right? They should be able to speak out too; let’s all voice it together,” he said. Nevertheless, Ijoel also realises there are reasons behind citizens’ reluctance to report directly to the government. According to him, bureaucracy at the grassroots level often shows favouritism and is slow to respond to complaints from ordinary citizens. In fact, illegal levies (pungli) are not uncommon, causing reports to stall without lubrication money. “But in reality, if that person has an account but few followers, or low viewership, it’s not responded to well. It ultimately comes back to the response from the local government office, which is indeed selective,” Ijoel stated. In front of the Deputy Governor and department heads, Ijoel candidly criticised public services that often pass the buck. He exemplified the many citizen reports that go to the kelurahan, then get passed to the One-Stop Integrated Service (PTSP). However, even after arriving at PTSP, citizens are often told to report again via the JAKI app. “PTSP is supposed to be a one-stop service, but it’s passed on: ‘This must go through JAKI’. Meanwhile, sometimes the matter is urgent and needs immediate follow-up. Many citizens with low incomes can’t download the JAKI app or don’t understand it,” he said.