Challenge of Horizontal Social Conflicts

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The 2018 Indonesian Democracy Index (IDI) improved slightly compared to the previous year. However, the index also indicates worsening social friction.JAKARTA, KOMPAS — One of the horizontal social conflicts emerging due to excessive political contestation needs serious attention from stakeholders in Indonesia. Not only does prolonged social friction cause the fabric of democracy to deteriorate, but it also threatens the social cohesion of Indonesia.

The Indonesian Democracy Index (IDI) for 2018, which Statistics Indonesia (BPS) released on Monday (29/7/2019) in Jakarta, shows that Indonesia\'s democracy has improved slightly. On the other hand, the IDI 2018 also indicates worsening social friction.

This and other things can be seen from the decline in the indicators on the use of public threats and violence in hindering freedom of opinion and expression (down 5.51 points from 2017), as well as freedom of association (down 7.91 points). On the other hand, the indicators on the use of public threats and violence in gender, ethnic and societal group-related issues have improved. The tight electoral competition is believed to have contributed to an increase in social friction.
KOMPAS/ SYAHNAN RANGKUTI
Ahmad Yani (in Spider-man costume), a resident of Tangkerang Timur subdistrict in Bukit Raya district, Pekanbaru, Riau, stands with Rizky, dressed as mythological hero Gatotkaca, encourage voters to cast their ballots in the 2019 elections at polling station (TPS) 01, RT 02/RW 01 in Pematang Kapau, Tangkerang Timur. Many polling stations across the country adopted unique themes to attract voters to participate in the 2019 presidential and legislative elections.
"It must be admitted that the 2019 elections were rather fierce, especially because of the emergence since 2018 of hoaxes (deceptive information) that could not be verified. As a result, unwarranted friction occurred in the lower layers [of society]," said BPS head Suhariyanto.
Signs of social fragmentation also appeared in the 2018 Fragile States Index. Of the 12 indicators in the index, Indonesia has recorded an increase in three indicators – factionalized elites, group grievance and demographic pressures (Kompas, 27/4/2019) – signifying that conditions have worsened from the previous year.
According to Gadjah Mada University sociologist Arie Sujito, social fragmentation is inseparable from political education, which has tended to be minimal, in influencing perceived differences among society. The simultaneous 2018 regional elections and the 2019 general election, accompanied by sharp political polarization, had exacerbated the potential for conflict in a poorly educated society.
On the other hand, the political elite had contributed to exacerbating social conditions by exploiting potential social divisiveness for practical politics. The democratic fabric would deteriorate if social friction were maintained.
After presenting the IDI 2018, the National Development Planning Agency’s politics and communication director Wariki Sutikno said that the government would focus on political education. "Through political education, it is expected that society can exchange ideas, because ignorance is at the bottom of community violence," he said.
Internal political coordination deputy minister Wawan Kustiawan, at the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister, said that the policy on managing social friction was covered in Government Regulation No. 2/2015 on Managing Social Conflict.
"Regional governments are obliged to resolve inter-community violence, and we have regulations that can be used as references. Public awareness of democracy is also highly decisive in addressing differences," he said.
Not yet substantive
The country has a total score of 72.39 on the IDI 2018 on a scale of 0-100, edging up 0.28 points from 2017, with higher scores indicating better performance. According to the BPS’ measurement, democracy is said to be good at scores of more than 80. Indonesia remained moderate (60-80) from 2009 to 2018.
The indicator that contributed most to the increase in the IDI 2018 was democratic institutions, which increased from 72.49 (2017) to 75.25 (2018). Meanwhile, political rights declined from 66.63 to 65.79 and civil freedoms declined from 78.75 to 78.46.
These scores showed that Indonesia’s democracy was still basically a disruptive democracy, said the head of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences’ Center for Political Research, Firman Noor.
"Political participation and freedom of opinion, which should be givens in a substantive democracy, are distrupted. Therefore, the increase [in the index] is confined only to institutional matters. [Indonesia is] a procedural democracy, not substantive," said Firman.
KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA
Muslim, Christian and Catholic residents of Thekelan hamlet, Batur village, Getasan district, Semarang regency, Central Java, line up to greet their Buddhist neighbors during Waisak on 19 May 2019. The community joined hands in a gesture of mutual forgiveness during the event, which coincided with the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Firman said that substantive democracy could not be achieved as long as civil rights were weak and the people\'s freedom to argue was restricted. “A free civil society provides control over government in order to preserve the spirit of democracy," he said. (REK/AGE)

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