The independence celebration should be an opportunity to reflect and make decisions on overcoming the various problems and challenges to advance Indonesia towards its centenary on Aug. 17, 2045.
By
AZYUMARDI AZRA
·4 minutes read
The 73rd year of Indonesian independence: Aug. 17, 2018. While enjoying the fruits of independence that opened Indonesia to opportunities for progress, the country faces many challenges. Therefore, the independence celebration should also be an opportunity to reflect and make decisions on overcoming the various problems and challenges to advance Indonesia towards its centenary on Aug. 17, 2045.
Figures from past history can testify to the journey this nation-state has taken towards progress. Struggling to uphold independence and facing many difficulties in the early decades of independence, their feelings seem mixed today: a witness to progress, but along with other citizens, confused about where Indonesia is today and will be in the future.
One of the causes of this confusion is the increasingly widespread economic inequality and poverty. According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), for the first time since 1999, Indonesia’s poverty rate hit the single-digit figure of 9.82 percent in March. However, the poor population remains large at 25.95 million.
The other serious and confounding matter concerns the reality of the 2018 and 2019 political years. Many nerves settled when the simultaneous local elections on June 27 in 171 regions were held safely and smoothly.
However, still another source of anxiety remains: Will the 2019 legislative and presidential elections proceed safely and smoothly? If history can be used as a moral example, the three direct presidential elections that have been held since 2004 ran safely and smoothly. There was hardly any violence, and disputes were settled amicably through the Constitutional Court.
History could divert from its pattern, but this was diverted at the outset when the two presidential candidate pairs of Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno, who registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Aug. 10, agreed to urge peaceful elections (Kompas, 11/8/2018).
Indonesians who care about the future of this nation-state desire peaceful elections in 2019. Whether the citizens’ hopes will be met depends much on the two presidential candidate pairs and the political, social and religious elites. Political tension and grassroots unrest usually emerge and escalate upon statements from the political, social and religious elites. The elites should not heat the situation by issuing statements that are not based on accountable facts and data. Unfortunately, such statements are commonly found on social media.
Moreover, the volatility can increase with the use of identity politics concerning ethnicity, religion, race and intergroup (SARA) issues. According to various surveys, more than 40 percent of citizens worry about the use of SARA issues, especially religion, in the 2019 general elections (Kompas, 13/8/2018). Even the majority of residents in the Kompas poll, expressed concern (55.5 percent “concerned” and 14 percent “very concerned”) that SARA issues would incite horizontal conflicts.
Even though the political and religious elites continue to exploit SARA issues, especially religion, identity politics has never been effective in Indonesia\'s political process. Their ineffectiveness is related to the socio-religious development over the past four decades, which has blurred religious boundaries, including in identity politics and political flow.
Nevertheless, anticipatory measures are still urgently needed for symptoms of disruption to a peaceful election. At the most basic level, the institutions responsible for monitoring social media should increase their efforts to prevent the spread of damaging content. The public is waiting for concrete action from the Nusantara task force, which the National Police recently formed, to prevent hoaxes, hate speech and black campaigns using SARA issues.
No less important is the role of civil society. Safe and peaceful elections can be realized through continuous advocacy from an active and vibrant civil society. Further, civil society organizations should contribute ideas, concepts and programs to the two candidate pairs. Indeed, a kind of public dissatisfaction exists over the two candidate pairs, but this disappointment should not become manifest in electoral disengagement or political apathy that could only harm the nation-state.
Celebrating independence goes hand in hand with celebrating democracy. The political process of democracy should not interfere with accelerating the fulfillment of Indonesian independence in progressing well towards Aug. 17, 2045.
Azyumardi Azra, Professor at UIN Jakarta; Member of AIPI Culture Commission