The May 22 riots explain the breakdown of deep social cohesion, which is intertwined with issues of politics, law and society. The breakdown of social cohesion is one of the challenges of the President\'s work program in Nawacita (nine-point development agenda) II.
By
Sulistyowati Irianto
·6 minutes read
The 22 May riots explain the breakdown of deep social cohesion, which is intertwined with issues of politics, law and society. The breakdown of social cohesion is one of the challenges of the President\'s work program in Nawacita (nine-point development agenda) II.
Building human resources means ensuring people are law-literate, capable of conducting polite politics and have character. It is a requirement to be able to advance the development of Indonesians who are knowledgeable, master technology and are cultured, great capital for Indonesia\'s future. What should be done?
Distrust
The 22 May riots were not inseparable from a series of other events, especially the election, which were capitalized on so that they were expanded by actors and factions. Not only politicians but academics served as a flashlight for the people. The following debates are centered on tensions between the enforcement of the rule of law, democracy and human rights.
The three aspects should be in line because the rule of law requires democracy and human rights standards. However, in the process of law enforcement, especially in riots, there is always tension like this. The police are mandated by law to maintain security, uphold the law and provide protection and service to the public. Obedience to the legal and system texts is everything for the police, especially now when an event is indicated to be related to the threat of terrorism and radicalism. Meanwhile, human rights activists question the fall of victims and procedural mistakes.
Actually, the unspeakable cause is the accumulation of distrust as a result of the inherent attachment of the police to power in the past. This distrust should be overcome by understanding that every event has a context, not black and white. However, the National Police institution has undergone reform, as reflected in its various policies and programs. If there is a limitation, it is better to open a conducive dialogue room.
When the police arrest people, where is the "fence boundary" of human rights between freedom of opinion and broadcast of hatred or treason? Which ones are allowed and which are considered criminal? This diversity of legal interpretations is important to clarify because it determines the application of articles and has the potential to impact on political and social commotion in the community. However our goals for the state are the same, realizing the constitutional mandate in every aspect of the nation\'s life.
Legal development and the community
Learning from the failure of past legal development and reflecting on 22 May riots, development in any field, including the development of human resources, will not succeed without legal development. The failure of past legal development was caused by the fact that the program design was made without community participation. Today\'s demand for legal development is access to justice for the community (especially marginalized groups).
Comprehensive Indonesian man
The realization of access to justice is a prerequisite for developing human resources. Here it is important to formulate what kind of human beings Nawacita II wants to produce? The proverb that advocates learning up to China is still up-to-date today because China will become the giant of Asia in the Asian Golden Century in 2050. China\'s economy controls the world because it has succeeded in building the qualified human resources.
In Indonesia, character education has often been echoed, but policies have not been heard to reform the education system so as to enable it to produce Indonesian people with a character. Taking into consideration that population demographics will be dominated by productive age, it seems that the characteristics that must be possessed by our young generation are: the ability to work together and be compassionate, have integrity, and be civilized; which in principle is to love the Motherland and humanity. This character will be a solid foundation for mastering science and technology. Multiplying scholarships or increasing intellectuality is not enough without being accompanied by character education.
There are several important things if the education system reform will be carried out. First, bridge the gap based on regions and social classes. The Industrial Revolution 4.0 can only be actualized by those who are digital literate and able to apply it in scientific and economic activities such as online business. Meanwhile, in many regions there are still many people whose mastery of technology is limited to understanding culture and simple thinking to fulfill the needs of the day. This situation can be found, among others, in the community managing forest resources, farms, agriculture, and craftsmen. They have not thought about the importance of producing quality commodities in order to obtain international certification and have multiple added values and improve welfare levels.
Second, building a civilized character is a must. The breakdown of social cohesion has produced humans without civilization. Many people use the harshest, dirtiest and cruelest words in social media for people with different political choices without control.
Third, encouraging the creation of connectivity between universities and the government, industry and society, which currently remains very weak. It seems that the universities run on their own, the corporations make their own universities; and the government makes its own research. The universities seem slow in responding to the changes demanded by society. In fact, philosophically the presence of universities must be felt by all citizens of all ages, at least in the areas around the universities. In addition, it is important to clean the universities from radicalism and intolerance movements which have been left for decades and for its replacement promote a culture of tolerance.
The president has a golden opportunity in his second term to lay the foundation for the long-term development of human resources, through legal development and educational reform. In Nawacita II, it is necessary to formulate a clear vision for Indonesian people as a whole. It seems that building Indonesian people with character is a necessity to be able to become knowledgeable, master the technology, and be civilized. The role of Indonesia for Asia\'s progress is highly anticipated, especially in welcoming the 2050 Century of Asia. If we fail to build Indonesian people as a whole, we will become a mediocre, ordinary nation.
Sulistyowati Irianto, Legal Anthropology Professor, School of Law, University of Indonesia