Teddy and Raffi Share Moments with Street Buskers, Analyst: Other Officials Should Follow Suit

Political analyst Hendri Satrio has highlighted a moment in a video uploaded by Presidential Special Envoy Raffi Ahmad, showing him and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya mingling with street buskers after watching a 2026 World Cup match. According to Hensa, his nickname, this moment should be emulated by other officials to go down to the grassroots and experience the lives of the people directly. “Copy it. Oh officials, go down to the people, feel what they feel, struggle after struggle. An official who comes without protocol barriers and is willing to mingle demonstrates a more humane form of leadership,” Hensa told reporters on Saturday (20/6/2026). The founder of the KedaiKOPI Survey Institute assessed that the moment was a concrete example of officials sharing in the joy of ordinary people. Therefore, direct experiences like this provide space for officials to understand the emotional and social aspects of people’s lives. “If officials are willing to go down and enjoy simple things with the people, they will know how small the things are that make citizens happy. This is not just about image, it is about tasting the reality experienced daily by millions of people,” said Hensa. On the other hand, he also observed that similar moments are rarely carried out by government officials. He mentioned that concerns about image often hold officials back from appearing as they are in public spaces. Yet, he continued, even though moments like those of Teddy and Raffi have the potential to be labelled as image-building, recordings of such moments often become positive notes that remain long in the public’s mind. “It is better to be accused of image-building for singing together with buskers than to never know what it feels like to celebrate a small victory together. Image-building is fine, as long as the output is positive,” said Hensa. Nevertheless, Hensa reminded of the need for balance, that spontaneous public presence must still be accompanied by responsibility for performance. He hopes more officials will show similar courage, while also emphasising the importance of a deeper commitment to the people’s welfare. “It must be remembered that once you have blended with the people, do not forget your responsibility to improve their welfare. That is important and often overlooked once you have a following,” concluded Hensa.