Constitutionally, the 2019 presidential election ended when the Constitutional Court (MK) rejected all arguments that the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno camp put forth in the election dispute resolution. Nevertheless, work remains for Indonesians, as the political contestations in the past few years have left the nation ideologically divided – especially the 2019 presidential election.
Understandably, the political elite have called for reconciliation. However, there are concerns that the idea is merely a political tagline, as the discourse among the elite does not touch upon the core issue. Many are concerned that “reconciliation” may simply mean sharing power, particularly in terms of distributing seats in the Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin cabinet.
Please note that one of the main goals of reconciliation is to restore the concept of justice in nurturing, honoring and realizing a life together. Therefore, reconciliation will only be meaningful when the main goal is to consolidate ideologies through clear capital, procedures, designs and steps. This is because reconciliation is merely modus vivendi (practical compromise) to creatively find a middle ground in the concept of injustice.
Since the republic’s earliest days, our founding fathers have acknowledged the nation’s massive diversity in terms of language, culture, race, ethnicity, belief and religion. The many components of the nation have different concepts, ideas and understanding on justice and happiness. This was why our founding fathers decided upon the negara kesepakatan (state of consensus) model, with the people holding ultimate authority (democracy). Because of their hard work and expertise in the art of politics, our founding fathers succeeded in managing these differences and used them to create a stunningly beautiful collage or mosaic. The popular name for this is “masyarakat Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” – a community that is united within its diversity.
Fulfilling this noble duty was extremely difficult, and it can be said that our founding fathers were able to do the impossible. The varied and particular traditions, religions, cultures, doctrines and ideas have exclusive concepts that define justice and happiness. These ideas, in the words of Thomas Kuhn (1960), have led to the phenomenon of “incommensurability”. It is difficult to combine or juxtapose these basic ideas because of their comprehensive, thorough, stark and concrete differences – concepts that are believed capable of resolving all problems in this world and the next. The differences are stark, like night and day, even though in a democracy, all citizens have distinct rights but also a duty to social integration.Consequently, democracy will only establish an agreeable political order when all citizens are able to empathize with one another, develop mutual trust, be committed to consensus and understand one another. These values must be renewed creatively in order to discover a reliable form of the nation’s identity as a political entity. National identity can only become etched in stone when it is developed, agreed and designed collectively by all elements of the nation upon the good will to coexist.
President Joko Widodo’s idea to focus on human development in the next five years is highly strategic. The challenge is in fostering the younger generations who are skilled in the latest technologies with a deep ideological understanding.
It is hoped that in the next five years, the government will develop cultural and educational strategies with a gendered perspective to nurture younger Indonesians who are skilled, intelligent and ideologically competent who will not be easily swayed by doctrines promoting exclusivity that seek to undermine the republic.
Therefore, the next cabinet must be filled with figures that reflect our diverse country, are competent and professional, and have strong political support. Those officials tasked with human resource management, like the education minister, religious affairs minister, manpower minister and others, must be figures with proven track records and a passion for developing the next generation of Indonesians and imbuing them with strong character.J. KRISTIADI, Senior Researcher, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)