Start the Dialogue Immediately

KOMPAS/MUHAMMAD IKHSAN MAHAR

Sixth president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono welcomes the arrival of a number of national figures visiting Ani Yudhoyono, who is receiving treatment at Singapore National University Hospital, on Friday (12/3/2019).

Dialogue among political elites who contested in the presidential election is urgently needed to ease polarization. The elites should be able to give an example to the people at the grassroots level.

SINGAPORE, KOMPAS — The opposing political elites during the recent election must immediately start a dialogue to ease polarization in society. The political division will not only harm the contesting parties but also the people.

The dialogue is believed to be able to shed the tension caused by the polarization that occurred during the elections. Communication can overcome everything, including differences of opinion and understanding.

"If the dialogue can be held routinely it will surely be able to find a solution to cope with the very fundamental differences,” Indonesia’s sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said in a meeting in one of the conference rooms of the National University Hospital in Singapore on Friday.

The statement was made by Yudhoyono during to a meeting with a number of important figures who visited the former first lady, Ani Yudhoyono, who is receiving treatment at the hospital. A number of figures who were present in the meeting included former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid; former chief justice of the Constitutional Court Mahfud MD; former state-owned enterprises minister Dahlan Iskan; and the coordinator of Jaringan Gusdurian, Alissa Wahid.

On May 1, the leaders who joined the Suluh Kebangsaan Movement also met with Indonesia’s third president, BJ Habibie, to discuss a solution to the polarization of the elites and the community due to the elections.

Fragile State Index

The current polarization in Indonesia, among others, is reflected in the 2019 Fragile State Index (FSI) released by the Fund for Peace on 10 April. According to the index, Indonesia has a better resistance in facing various social, political and economic problems that can destabilize the country. It can be seen from the decline in the scores given to Indonesia in the index to 70.4 from 72.3 in the 2018 FSI. The smaller the score a country gets, the more it can stand the pressure.

Of the 12 indicators used in calculating the index, three indicators showed an increase, which means that they are worse compared to the condition last year. The three indicators are factionalized elites (from 7.0 to 7.1), public grievance (7.2 to 7.3) and demographic pressure (from 6.7 to 7.3).

Nine other factors improved. These factors include state legitimacy, public services, human rights and law enforcement, and security apparatus.

Professor Syarif Hidayatullah of the State Islamic University, Jakarta, Azyumardi Azra said the three deteriorating categories for Indonesia were actually interrelated. If elite fragmentation and dissatisfaction in the community can be overcome, Indonesia’s index would improve.

Opportunity

Yudhoyono said the meeting among the opposing leaders during the recent elections was needed in order to break the deadlock caused by their differences in political views. "We still have the space, opportunities, and political resources and they cannot be wasted. We also have the values and spirit of holding a dialog and if we continue to do it, God willing, we can go through this," Yudhoyono said.

During the meeting, which lasted for about an hour, Yudhoyono was accompanied by his son, Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono, and Democratic Party honorary chairman Amir Syamsuddin.

Mahfud, as the chairman of the Suluh Kebangsaan Movement, fully supported Yudhoyono\'s statement. He is optimistic that dialogue can help find a middle ground that will benefit the nation as a whole.

Separately, Azyumardi said, the effort to end the differences among the political coalitions after the elections should become the commitment of all parties. In addition to dialogue among political elites, civil and mass organizations must also be also encouraged to initiate similar activities.

Religious organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, Indonesian Bishops\' Conference, Communion of Churches in Indonesia, and Indonesian Buddhist Representatives, according to Azyumardi, can initiate meetings with both presidential candidates and their respective pairs, as well as with the political elites which supported them during the presidential election.

In the midst of the polarization between the opposing political elites, a series of dialogues have taken place at the grassroots level.

Last Sunday (28/4), residents of Kapuk village, West Jakarta, held a thanksgiving ceremony by cutting a traditional rice cone and praying together for the safety of the country. Hundreds of volunteers supporting Jokowi Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin and supporters of Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno celebrated the peaceful elections together.

For them, differing political views are common. Azyumardi said, the examples of togetherness at the grassroots level should be spread to other regions and facilitated by the government.

Refrain

The deputy chairman of the Prabowo-Sandi’s National Campaign Team (BPN), Mardani Ali Sera, said the elite needed to first set an example that differences in politics could be settled together.

Related to that, the initiator of the # 2019ganti-president (change the president) movement hoped that the BPN team should not comment on the Jokowi-Amin National Campaign Team (TKN), and vice versa.

"Please, everybody can fight for their own political position. As the initiator of the #2019ganti-presiden movement, since April 13, I have refrained from shouting for a change in the president because the campaign had ended. The #2019ganti-presiden movement has closed its book.

“Whoever is elected, the voice of the people must be respected. If its Pak Prabowo, I will bow down and be grateful. For Pak Jokowi, I must be prepared to safeguard him in accordance with the legal corridor," said Mardani.

Separately, the deputy chairman of the TKN campaign team, Abdul Kadir Karding, said that in the context of political reconciliation, an initial stage of the dialogue would be to bring together the two vice-presidential candidates, Ma\'ruf Amin and Sandiaga Uno. Communication has been made between the two parties to find the right time for the meeting in the near future.

Such dialogue is quite important because people have become increasingly divided. Political communication, according to Karding, needs to be immediately improved so that differences at the grassroots level do not worsen. "This desire has been expressed by both parties, we just need to push them so that it can be realized quickly. In principle, the meeting of these two figures is important to build national awareness while at the same time knitting brotherhood through dialogue," he said. (AGE)