The poll by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) put Prabowo’s approval rating at 51.1 per cent, down from 81.2 per cent in November and 66.4 per cent in March, while dissatisfaction with his performance rose from 16 per cent in November to nearly 47 per cent in July.
“This decline in public satisfaction levels is closely related to the decline in positive sentiment towards economic, political and law enforcement conditions,” Deni Irvani, executive director at SMRC, said on July 29 during the release of the survey, which polled 749 respondents from July 5 to 19.
The slide matters beyond domestic popularity, as Prabowo took office in October 2024 promising faster growth, stronger sovereignty and big-ticket social programmes in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
If a presidential election were held today, the survey suggested Prabowo would trail West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi, with only 14.5 per cent of respondents saying they would vote for him compared with 35 per cent for Dedi.