Charm of the ‘Indonesia-ness’ Hug

The public\'s longing for long-held national unity was channeled by the sincere and authentic instincts of young gold medalist from the silat (martial arts) branch, Hanifan Yudani Kusumah, who instinctively and spontaneously embraced Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto.

ANTARA FOTO/KUMPARAN/INASGOC/ADITIA NOVIANSYAH

President Joko Widodo (left) and his opponent in the 2019 presidential race, Prabowo Subianto, embrace Indonesia pencak silat gold medalist Hanifan Yudani Kusuma (center, hidden) at the 2018 Asian Games on Aug. 29 at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah park in Jakarta.

The fascination and romance of the success of the 2018 Asian Games is not only limited to the admiration of the international public for Indonesia\'s ability to hold such a grand event, but the event became a story of heroism, pride, greatness and a stimulation of romanticism and a sense of the longing on the part of the citizens to express their love for their homeland, nation and state.

The public\'s longing for long-held national unity was channeled by the sincere and authentic instincts of young gold medalist from the silat (martial arts) branch, Hanifan Yudani Kusumah, who instinctively and spontaneously embraced Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prabowo Subianto.

Broad coverage related to the story has yet to dry up, such as the welcoming of the medalists in the regions, human interest stories, bitter struggles and sorrows among the athletes that also caused a sense of pride. The echo was even more blaring because sports activities in the regions are also increasingly bouncing, both by the private sector and the local governments in the regions.

Romantic notions for the homeland and the nation must be maintained and managed to formulate a public policy agenda that enhances the welfare of society. Therefore, the Asian Para Games, which will be held on Oct. 6-13, and will be attended by around 40 countries and thousands of athletes, need to be used as an opportunity to further strengthen the unity of the nation.

Empirically, the results of the Kompas survey that confirms the pride in the achievements of Indonesian athletes nearly touches the absolute number (97.9 percent). Meanwhile, Jokowi-Prabowo\'s hugging moment shows a sense of unity that must be maintained. The belief that Jokowi and Prabowo are able to maintain national unity during the presidential election and the positive energy of Indonesia\'s achievements in the Asian Games are a positive source of confidence for the 2019 general election. And the ability of the political elite to be mature in politics is also quite high: respectively 87.4 percent, 77.5 percent, 80.2 percent, and 65.0 percent (Kompas, 10/9).

Moreover, on social media, several viral stories related to the Asian Games have manifested the pride and greatness of the Indonesian people. The refreshing narrative regarding the 2019 general election and presidential election has been felt more significantly. The story of the 2018 Asian Games romance must be maintained, not only for the sake of next year\'s general election and presidential election, but also to form a political agenda in the future in managing the life of the nation and state.

The strengthening of the sense of “Indonesia-ness” provides an opportunity for the campaigns to be filled with rational discourses that can control the spirit of debate for the sake of winning and provides opportunities for the public to explore and enjoy the substance of the debates. That effort requires a hard struggle, because the "school" of communication today, due to technological revolutions, is very fast, shallow and increasingly impersonal.

Freedom of opinion and speech is more dominated by egoistic rhetoric debate, with the goal to simply defeat the competitor. In a more excessive level, rhetoric accompanied by power will be a force against the public. Alternatively, discussion should be dialogical so that the truth of the speaker contributes to the substance of the issue being discussed. Armed with social capital, the 2019 elections are widely believed to be more dignified than the 2014 presidential race 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. One of the encouraging symptoms is that there is a gradual shift in the issue that initially has emotional sectarian nuances towards a more rational economic debate.

The appointment of Erick Thohir  as the chairperson of the campaign team for the Joko Widodo-KH Ma\'ruf Amin pair, who is the old friend of Sandiaga Uno, Prabowo\'s vice presidential candidate, will help cool the political competition so that the quality of public discourse becomes healthier. Sharp and measurable criticism and alternative policies toward government economic policies today are very much needed. Dialectic synthesis from two camps can be the initial capital for the future government. Whoever wins.

The agenda’s urgency is to prepare a comprehensive thinking in formulating a presidential system that is effective, strong and with proportional public control. This issue is very complex and complicated because it deals with political interests. Therefore, it requires competency, dedication, consistency, accuracy, sincerity and the strong will of stakeholders, especially political elites, academics, community activists and civil society circles.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

J. Kristiadi

The complexity of the agenda includes synchronizing several paradigms of the nation and state in regulatory policies that can be implemented. For example, a scheme that can integrate the principle of a unitary state with the reality of a very pluralistic society in governance.

Another schedule is education, which in essence is that the state policy is to improve sensibility, the sense to feel among the younger generation toward the main values in a common life. One of the options is a sports education. This education instills sportsmanship and the mindset to obey rules, and fosters self-esteem, dignity and a sense of togetherness. It was said that the gymnastics lessons in ancient Greece were not only to produce champions of sports, but also to improve the younger generation\'s sensibility towards noble values.

J. Kristiadi, Senior researcher, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)