West Kalimantan Governor Responds to Criticism from Two Children on Damaged Roads: There Are Players Involved

A video of two children delivering sharp criticism directly aimed at the governor regarding damaged roads has gone viral on social media. West Kalimantan Governor Ria Norsan has responded. In the video, the two children stand in the middle of a muddy and slippery dirt road in the Bedayan-Libau area, Sepauk. With innocent language, they launch pointed criticism directly at the governor. One of the children even compares the governor’s performance to that of another public figure. Their innocence in voicing the poor condition of roads in their region has garnered sympathy, but it has also raised discussions about the ethics of involving children in criticism against the government. Norsan emphasised that she is not against criticism. However, she regretted the involvement of children in delivering such messages. “I am not anti-criticism and welcome the criticism. What I regret is that children were brought in to criticise, which is not appropriate,” Norsan stated, as quoted by detikKalimantan on Thursday (1/4/2026). Norsan suspects that certain parties are exploiting the situation to build negative opinions against the provincial government. “But if I look at it, the material of the criticism is not just about the roads. There is a moral message being conveyed, even tending to corner the governor. There must be players behind it,” she said.