The Tamesis
November 5, 2025
jakarta— Video intends to reveal management at work– Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi fulfills citizens on the ground as they take care of flooding adhering to hefty rainfalls. Yet a failed to remember microphone recorded another thing: an unknown voice claimed “epok-epok keliling,” and a political firestorm was birthed.
The Javanese word indicates “pretend” or “as if” and is various from the Singaporean “epok-epok”, which indicates samosa treat. The information was dripped throughout an online stream from the mayor’s main account in late October and went viral on November 1.
Within a couple of hours, the sound was anywhere. The hashtag #EpokEpokKeliling went viral on TikTok, X and Instagram, bring in hundreds of sights and stimulating a nationwide discussion concerning the credibility and depiction of Indonesian national politics.
The clip lasted just a few secs. Yet in an electronic society where every framework is looked at, that suffices. Numerous Indonesians took the statement as a negative remark, recommending that the mayor’s tasks were presented – “similar to doing points”. Others aware of regional vernacular urge it’s a safe manufacturing term for “simulation” or “remake.”
In a nation that values genuineness in public life, subtlety does not matter. The damages spread much faster than any type of explanation, with movie critics charging the mayor’s group of presenting the scene to make him appear like he was striving.
After that the voice behind words advance. Ms Hening Dzikrillah, a jr participant of the mayor’s media group, tearfully introduced her resignation in a video clip on November 2, claiming: “This is completely my very own individual blunder. I understand this has had a considerable effect on the mayor.”
In October, Surabaya City board replacement audio speaker Arif Fathoni called it “an easy blunder that need to not specify the mayor’s management.” Mr. Ery later on declined her resignation.
” When youths make blunders, do not ruin their personality. Urge them to have self-confidence and come back up,” he claimed.
The case revealed exactly how national politics in Indonesia combine with efficiency, and exactly how, in the electronic age, concepts typically overshadow plan. Throughout the nation, regional leaders have actually required to social media sites to show up friendly and compassionate. Nevertheless, as target markets end up being much more electronically literate, so also do their hesitation.
” Indonesian netizens are ending up being progressively critical and clever, and they have the ability to separate in between image-building and something concrete or actual.
Enda Nasution, interactions expert at interactions company Suvarna.ID, informed The Straits Times: “As a whole, social media sites make use of currently values credibility over refined material, and social assents from netizens can be really extreme if lies are found.”
Indonesia is just one of one of the most linked nations on the planet, with national politics, star society and service effortlessly combining online. A YouGov study released in August 2025 discovered that 81% of Indonesians are energetic on social media sites. Generation Z (those birthed in between 1997 and 2012) make up 58% of day-to-day podcast audiences.
” In a significantly fragmented media landscape, media usage is an energetic, psychological and extremely generational experience,” Mr. Edward Hutasoit, General Supervisor of YouGov Indonesia and India, claimed on 1 September.
For this generation, leaders need to show up, spontaneous and human. The outcome is a brand-new type of national politics– where speeches take on brief movies, and integrity is determined by the variety of sights.
Couple of political leaders show this factor much more clearly than West Java Guv Dedi Mulyadi. His video clips – revealing him moderating area conflicts, talking citizens or falling to filthy rivers – typically go viral. Advocates commended him as a hands-on agitator, while movie critics rejected him as a star on his very own truth program.
Yet Mr Dedi rejected allegations that he did on electronic camera. “Yes, it’s alright to be called any type of name. The essential point is that we can not be active or terrified of being called any type of name,” he claimed. “That’s no worry for me, and thanks for attempting to form popular opinion to ensure that I’m not suched as by the people.”
His social media sites existence once again attracted focus in October when he clashed openly with Financing Preacher Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa over a 2.34 trillion rupee (S$ 18.27 billion) local fund claimed to be still in financial institutions.
” Do not wait till completion of the year,” Mr. Purbaja cautioned. “Rerouting these funds to efficient advancement will instantly profit the area.”
Mr. Dedi resisted– not via a news release yet via an online program. He said that the cash was functioning funding and not still down payments.
” I have actually inspected and there’s absolutely nothing in the down payment,” he claimed. “The area treasury has Rs 3.8 trillion in the type of Giro accounts. These funds have actually been made use of to pay wages, power, traveling and various other functional expenditures.”
Within hours, memes of the dispute swamped social media sites – showing that also completely dry monetary disputes can develop into viral dramatization.
Also nationwide numbers are not immune. At an authorities occasion in Jakarta on October 29, Head of state Prabowo Subianto confessed that he typically takes note of on the internet objection.
” I typically see podcasts during the night, and occasionally I snap, yet I discover (the objection),” he claimed. “Is this real? Am I truly tyrannical? I do not believe so.”
He included: “Objection is excellent. Yet I have an approach that when you offer your nation, you can not be driven by bitterness.”
An October study by the Facility for Economic and Legal Study discovered little self-confidence in his federal government. Mr Prabowo and Vice-President Djibrand Rakhabumin Raqqa got ratings of 3 and 2 out of 10 specifically, with participants claiming project assurances were just partly met.
Former Head of state Joko Widodo likewise encounters continuous analysis, with some participants of the general public examining the credibility of his college level.
Behind the scenes, “buzzers”– an Indonesian term significance paid or volunteer social media sites drivers– remain to form the story for political leaders. Throughout the 2019 governmental political election, Prabowo’s group apparently made use of video clips joking with advocates to soften his picture, while his then-rival Widodo’s camp depended on organized hashtags and well-known material.
Yet study reveals that such approaches mostly enhance existing commitment as opposed to win brand-new commitment. In the age of real-time national politics, presence has actually changed persuasion.
For specialists, the epok-epok debate highlights the expanding delicacy of public trust fund.
” The secret is that material that is efficiently interacted via social media sites and has a favorable influence needs to likewise be based upon real plan or activity by authorities; it can not depend entirely on social media sites disputes or declarations without follow-up activity or plan,” Mr Enda claimed.
The case might discolor from the headings, yet it discloses a bigger fact: In today’s Indonesia, power is figured out not simply by that policies, yet likewise by that regulates the electronic camera.
