Jakarta – The inauguration of Deddy Corbuzier to the Defence Ministry as a special staff member for social and public communications adds to the long list of celebrities in government.
Then Yovie Widianto who was trusted to serve as the Presidential Special Staff member for economic affairs. The most highlighted is Raffi Ahmad as the President's Special Envoy for the Young Generation and Arts Workers.
Why does the government trust them to work for the state? How professional are celebrities amidst their busy lives in the entertainment world?
The decision to bring celebrities into the circle of power has attracted criticism. What's more, the appointment of Corbuzier some time ago was carried out in the midst of economic difficulties so that budget efficiency cuts were applied in many sectors.
Indonesian Political Opinion (IPO) Executive Director Dedi Kurnia Syah believes that the government could be experiencing a crisis of confidence in facing a wave of public criticism. This makes the focus of its work no longer governance, but image management.
"Work can be perfunctory, but information manipulation is being done to the maximum, this method is uncommon except for [election] campaign periods", Syah said when contacted by CNN Indonesia on Wednesday February 12.
Syah said that the methods adopted by the current government emulate what the previous president was doing, namely President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. At that time, Widodo often involved celebrities and influencers in his public activities.
"This is actually bad, because the government only seems good in the store window area, while the substance of the government's work is suffering a lot of deterioration", he added.
He considered the presence of celebrities with a large influence among the Z Gen could manipulate opinion. On the other hand however, this is clearly a waste of the budget which has no impact on the public.
"In this situation, the government will experience pseudo [work], only as if they have worked for the people, have built things, while what happens can be the opposite, it's manipulative", said Syah.
"The biggest risk, is that the government in the next period will find it increasingly difficult to work properly, because it has made it a tradition to prioritise image rather than work", he continued.
Problem of policy socialisation
Trias Politika Strategis Director Agung Baskoro sees that there is a problem of policy socialisation behind the phenomenon of involving celebrities in the government. Institutionally, he said, the decision to appoint Corbuzier as a special staff member is also not quite right because the government is promoting budget efficiency cuts in many sectors.
"If viewed in terms of urgency, indeed today there is a problem of policy socialisation. With the appointment of Deddy Corbuzier or artists, the problem of socialisation can be resolved because it is assisted by artists and influencers who up until now have indeed played a role", said Baskoro.
Baskoro said that so far, the government's public communication work in explaining policies that have given rise to opposition has not yet run optimally.
"The hope is that in the future when artists and celebrities are appointed, this can clear up public communication between the government and the public so that unnecessary pros and cons or uproars are not needed, won't happen again", he said.
In relation to policy socialisation, the Ministry of Defence has said that one of the reasons for appointing Corbuzier was his ability, being considered competent in communicating on social media.
The Defence Ministry's Defence Information Bureau Head (Karo Infohan Kemhan) Brigadier General Frega Wenas says that Corbuzier has expertise in the field of communication and extensive social media reach (engagement). This is considered a plus point to help socialise national defence policies.
"He has expertise in the field of communication, especially in social media, and has quite extensive engagement, so it is hoped that he can help socialize defence policies down to the lower level so that they are easier for the public to understand", said Wenas when contacted on Tuesday February 11.
Aside from this, he said, the most important thing is that existing regulations also accommodate a minister having a maximum of five special staff members.
"This is in accordance with Presidential Decree 140/2024, ministries are allowed to appoint five special staff, indeed we are only implementing the presidential decree, there is room for ministers to appoint a maximum of five people", he said.
Meanwhile, Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said that one of the reasons for choosing Raline Shah as a Special Staff for Global Partnerships and Digital Education at the ministry was also related to the need for socialisation on social media.
Hafid said another reason Shah was chosen was not just because she is a public figure, but because she is considered to have extensive connections internationally and encourages the contribution of women.
"Another task is digital education, we really want our children to be educated on how to use the internet wisely, which is beneficial and I don't think there is a need for ministers to explain one by one but perhaps figures who are familiar with the public can be heard more by our younger generation regarding the better use of digital space", he explained.
Baskoro concedes that he did not have a problem with the government's decision to involve celebrities as long as it does not burden the budget. For that reason, he hopes that Corbuzier et al will not take salaries for the work of socialising government policy.
"But if they actually receive incentives, facilities are attached, then yes, this is in fact unfortunate, because the hope is that they will serve the republic", he said.
The president's public face
Although the appointment of special staff is the authority of the minister, Andalas University political observer Asrinaldi warned that the impact could be detrimental to the president.
"We know that not all celebrities understand the function of the ministry's duties, meaning that they are merely popular. However, whether they focus on the duties given, I think it is impossible for them to focus because of their busy lives as celebrities, then they have to carry out the duties of the ministry that they are not familiar with", said Asrinaldi.
"Of course, President Prabowo [Subianto] must pay attention to the ministers' special staff with all considerations, of course", he continued.
Asrinaldi also suspects that the presence of celebrities withing the circles of power is preparation to dampen negative narratives by the public who often protest government policies.
"It seems that the Prabowo government is indeed paying more attention to the narratives that appear on social media because public criticism is mostly conveyed via social media. Well, one of the things he wants to achieve is to straighten out all those negative narratives", he said.
"And when celebrities speak, usually they have many followers, it can create an echo effect in the public space on social media. That's among the targets", continued Asrinaldi. (ryn/wis)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Fenomena Seleb jadi Stafsus, Hati-hati Pseudo Kerja untuk Rakyat".]
