SMRC: 87% of the Public Disagrees with the Issue of a PKI Revival

The issue of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) resurgence is gaining traction in the mass media and social media, along with a surge in requests to screen the film "Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI." However, the majority of the public disagrees with this issue. This is evidenced by the results of a national public opinion survey by Saiful Mujani Research & Consulting (SMRC), which shows that 86.8 percent of respondents stated that they disagree that a PKI resurgence is currently happening. Meanwhile, only 12.6 percent agreed, and 0.6 percent of respondents did not know/did not answer (DK/DA).

SMRC Program Director, Sirojudin Abbas, stated that politically, the issue of the PKI resurgence is insignificant because it is not felt by all citizens. The issue, aimed at weakening public support for Joko Widodo (Jokowi), has no impact on the public. The survey results also show that only 5.1 percent of the public believe Jokowi is involved or associated with the PKI. The majority (75.1 percent) do not believe so.

The SMRC survey, conducted from September 3-10, 2017, used a multistage random sampling method of 1,220 respondents aged 17 years or older, or who were married. A total of 1,057 respondents (87 percent) were successfully and validly interviewed. The average margin of error for the survey is approximately ±3.1 percent with a 95 percent confidence level.