JakartaPost-Aug 3, 2026
International awards honoring Indonesian public opinion pollsters, including one recently publishing a poll showing a decline in President Prabowo Subianto’s popularity, have highlighted the importance of opinion surveys in keeping the government in check. Saiful Mujani, founder of pollster Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), received the Lifetime Achievement Award 2026 from the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) Asia Pacific during a three-day conference in Jakarta from July 27 to 29. The conference was hosted by the Indonesian International Islamic University’s (UIII) School of Social Sciences. Recognized as “one of the early pioneers of scientific public opinion research in Indonesia”, Saiful was acknowledged for helping establish methodological rigor in the country’s polling, according to the award citation signed by WAPOR Asia Pacific president Matthew Gray. The association also recognized Saiful’s lasting contribution to advancing public opinion research in Indonesia through his role in leading pollster institutions, particularly during his leadership in Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) between 2003 and 2008 and SMRC. The Indonesian Association for Public Opinion Surveys (Persepi) saw that Saiful, who is also a political professor at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta, has also helped promote public policy accountability and an independent academic culture amid the growing need of credible data in shaping public policy. The conference’s opening ceremony also featured the presentation of the Persepi Media Award for Litbang Kompas, the research arm of Kompas, for its consistent efforts to promote research-based journalism by integrating surveys, data and research methodologies. Public opinion surveys have grown alongside Indonesia’s democratic transition, as public sentiment has become increasingly important in shaping elections and evaluating policies, according to political scholar Philips Vermonte. “Surveys are a tool not only to serve as a check mechanism on governments, but also to understand public sentiment and views, whether they support democracy or not,” said Philips, who is also the dean of UIII School of Social Sciences. Read more at:
