The Importance of Civility

KOMPAS/DEFRI WERDIONO

Muhammadiyah executive board chairman Haedar Nashir (seventh left), Education and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy (fifth left) and People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Deputy Speaker Ahmad Basarah (sixth left), pose for a group photograph with interfaith leaders on Sunday (12/8/2018), following Haedar’s national speech at the University of Muhammadiyah in Malang, East Java.

As the legislative and presidential elections of 2019 draw ever nearer, we frequently hear calls to maintain peace and welcome the elections with cheer and gratitude.

On Monday in this daily, we read such a call as conveyed by Haedar Nashir, the chairman of the nation’s second largest Muslim organization, the Muhammadiyah. He said that he hoped all Indonesians would uphold civility, unity, peace, tolerance and be virtuous (Kompas, 13/8/2018).

We are certain that the elites participating in the country’s political contestations ­ in the case of the presidential election, the incumbent and his rival – are statesmen and stateswomen blessed with the wisdom to place the interests of the nation above personal political victories. However, we must also be aware that, in political contests, there will always be those (of various backgrounds) who seek personal victories without any care for the adverse effects their actions might have on the nation.

In other words, in seeking victory, we should remain elegant and noble in spirit and behavior in accordance with the dignity of the positions being contested. Herein lies the true meaning of civility and virtue.

All parties are urged, if not demanded, to uphold civility and virtue. For example, the journalistic community in Surakarta, Central Java, announced on Aug. 6 its declaration of (dignified) civility in covering the legislative and presidential elections. The intention behind their declaration is to support a high-quality election.

We believe that other good will emerge from civility and virtue, particularly peace and unity. Here, we wish to reiterate the Muhammadiyah chairman’s message that political contests should not lead to division or conflict, let alone enmity between the nation’s components.

The warning may sound hackneyed, but therein lies an important message. Calls for peace and unity are relevant these days, when the hard facts show that we are faced with a variety of complicated challenges, especially in the economy, trade and industry.

Disruption and Industry 4.0, two jargonistic terms we hear frequently today, are not empty words. There has been too much news on companies shutting down, millions of jobs lost and new technologies – ever more sophisticated and efficient – having more relevant roles in our daily lives.

In facing such shifts, we will not be able to respond properly if we waste our energy and constantly undermine our unity. The best response will be for the entire nation to unite and use their collective mind to solve the nation’s biggest problems.

We end this note by reemphasizing Haedar Nashir’s statement that political contestations are not exclusively about gaining power. Of no less importance is to realize our shared ideals, fundamental values and noble dreams as our founding fathers had imagined decades ago. The Muhammadiyah chairman’s hopes are our hopes as well.