Is the JIS Renovation Driven by Political Interests? This is What Residents Think.

The renovation of the Jakarta International Stadium (JIS) has recently come under scrutiny for alleged political motivations.

Several parties have criticized the suitability of the stadium, built during the Anies Baswedan era, ranging from the quality of its grass to its public transportation access. This criticism emerged after Anies was declared a prospective presidential candidate in the 2024 election.

So, what is public opinion on this matter?

According to a survey by Kurious-Katadata Insight Center (KIC), a majority, or 42%, of respondents agreed that the JIS renovation had political motivations. Specifically, 26.2% of respondents agreed and 15.8% strongly agreed.

On the other hand, 40.4% of respondents disagreed that the JIS renovation had political motivations, comprising 18% who disagreed and 22.4% who strongly disagreed. Furthermore, 17.5% of respondents said they didn't know.

Previously, the Chairman of the All Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), Erick Thohir, called on the public to stop arguing about the JIS renovation. He argued that the renovation was carried out to ensure the stadium met Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) standards.

"(The JIS renovation) shouldn't be made into a polemic. When our nation progresses and wants to achieve something appreciated by the world, we instead fight amongst ourselves. Later, we'll regret it. More blame, more politics," said Erick, as quoted by Detik.com on Friday, July 7, 2023.

The JIS renovation is now being expedited after FIFA decided that the stadium would be one of four venues for the 2023 U-17 World Cup matches. The three other locations are the Si Jalak Harupat (SJH) Stadium in Bandung, the Manahan Stadium in Solo, and the Gelora Bung Tomo (GBT) Stadium in Surabaya.

The Kurious-KIC survey involved 633 respondents spread across Indonesia, with 45% male and 55% female respondents.

More than half of the respondents were from outside Jakarta in Java (64.04%), followed by respondents from DKI Jakarta (14.2%) and Sumatra (12.3%). The proportion of respondents from Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Bali-Nusa Tenggara, and Maluku-Papua ranged from 0.6% to 3.8%.

Most respondents were from the 35-44 age group (32.7%), followed by the 25-34 age group (30.6%) and the 45-54 age group (21.8%).

Data was collected from July 11-18, 2023, using the computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) method, with a margin of error of approximately 3.89% and a confidence level of 95%.