Politics of Lies
Allegations of lying and fraud emerge in elections held everywhere in the world. The question is to what extent does the fraud occur, then how is the matter settled? Settlement outside the constitutional path is not solving the problem, but instead injures democracy and can threaten the nation and state.
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Allegations of lying and fraud emerge in elections held everywhere in the world. The question is to what extent does the fraud occur, then how is the matter settled? Settlement outside the constitutional path is not solving the problem, but instead injures democracy and can threaten the nation and state.
Donald Trump\'s victory as the 45th president of the United States has caused controversy among political observers. No cheating was involved but what was highlighted was the provocation and lies in his campaign materials.
In the era of openness, especially if the presidential election is followed by two presidential and vice-presidential pairs, it is difficult to commit massive, systematic and structured fraud because the public, political parties participating in the election and the press oversee and monitor the counting process, from the lower up to the center levels.
Since Trump advanced as a US presidential candidate, various books discussing his character and political maneuvering have appeared. Trump has awakened US citizens\' awareness of the importance of honesty, sportsmanship and democratic ethics to maintain the dignity of their country. In The Death of Truth (2018), Michiko Kakutani reviews the decline and fall of reason in Donald Trump\'s political narrative.
Americans have been reminded of the struggle and sacrifice of Abraham Lincoln ,who displayed the fundamental values of the US in the form of rationality, freedom, progress and religious tolerance. As the 16th president of the United States, Lincoln was known as a leader who abolished slavery and deeply loved unity even though he had to risk the safety of his soul which eventually he was killed, but he was highly praised and loved by the people up to this day.
Lies
Kakutani quoted Pope Francis, “There is no such thing as harmless disinformation; trusting in falsehood can have dire consequences.” This sentence is raised in connection with Trump\'s habit of being glad to lie, talking more about emotion and hallucinations, and ignoring facts or truth during the campaign period.
Even, after entering the White House, for a year as president, The Washington Post counted Trump lying 2,140 times. No doubt, then there appears the diction such as truth decay, post truth, fake news, hoaxes, and the like that become part of political lies in the struggle for power.
US President Donald Trump
By borrowing a sentence from Alexander Hamilton, Kakutani quipped Donald Trump as an unprincipled man in private life and bold in his temper. Trump also unashamedly launched an attack on Barack Obama with the jargon of birtherism, a colored person who claimed to be a US-born person who was not really worthy of being the head of state with an office in the White House.
Borrowing the term of Christopher Lasch, Trump\'s phenomenon enters the typology of the culture of narcissism, which holds intense feeling of rage, a sense of inner emptiness, fantasies of omnipotense, and having a strong belief in his right to exploit others. With delusions and fantasies that dominate him, such an individual does not hesitate to undermine the principle of truth, prioritizing the celebration of opinion over knowledge and giving emphasis on feeling over facts.
Lately, Russia has become a topic of discussion among global political analysts for allegedly playing in Trump\'s victory in the US. Moreover, Russia is also suspected of supporting Nigel Farage in England, Marine Le Pen in France, Jaroslaw Kaczynski in Poland, and Viktor Orban in Hungary, all of which fueled political populism so that they were referred to as the Neo-Bolsheviks group.
What happened in the US, divisions within the community arising from hoaxes, social media accounts and Trump statements that provoked anger were exploited by Russian web forces (trolls) to undermine democracy in America (Michiko Kakutani, 106).
What about Indonesia?
Of course I do not have the capacity to assess how far the influence of foreign forces in every election in Indonesia, including the 2019 election. What is certain is that the archipelago (Nusantara) has always become a contested zone by foreign powers considering its rich natural resources and geographical location which is politically very strategic. Therefore, it is difficult to deny the influence of superpower in every regime change in Indonesia. Similar to the situation in the US election that led Trump to enter the White House, the election in Indonesia was also hit by hoaxes and the community was sharply divided by issues that were more emotional than rational.
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At least there are four factors that make the political situation be felt to be heated and threaten national unity. First, the condition of the Indonesian people is very plural, spreading over hundreds of islands with uneven economic and educational levels.
This condition is easily ignited to corner the government which is deemed to have failed to bring about justice and equitable development, which is considered to still be centered on Java. Moreover, there are a group of ethnic Chinese descendants who are very prominent in business and management of state assets.
Second, the application of liberal democracy in the election, which has opened up opportunities for the rise of religious and ethnic identity politics, which was then capitalized by politicians to create a polarization of society. The positive side of liberal democracy is political education for citizens so that they are aware of their political rights. The consequence of liberal democracy is the political commotion which is an integral part of every election being held.
Third, the influence of social disruption caused by the emergence of internet-based social media that makes the state bureaucracy and public figures fade and unable to control the flow of information and opinion that develops in the community. There emerge cyberspace citizens, who are highly free to establish communication and opinion outside the barriers and conventional rules, so that the diversity of Indonesian society and the dynamics and commotion of democracy take place very freely. There are no authoritative institutions and figures, who are capable of forming a single opinion.
Fourth, and this is the most crucial and phenomenal, the spread of hoaxes, which are suspected to be part of a campaign strategy to win the election contestation, especially the presidential election. The four factors are very effective to be used to carry out character assassination against the opponents. When emotion and prejudices have developed in a person, people tend to only want to receive news that is in line with their emotion, not critical reasoning.
This situation is exactly what Robert A Heinlein wrote: “You can more quickly influence a thousand people by attracting and strengthening their prejudices than one person by using logic.”
Demanded to fully accept and have knight character
Various social psychology studies conclude that in each election or referendum, what is more prominent is the choice based on emotion, like and dislike, rather than healthy reasoning that speaks right or wrong. Observing the presidential election that had just passed, apart from the vote count results which would be decided by the Constitutional Court on who would be the winner, I would like to make a small note.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (second left) and running mate Ma\'ruf Amin (left) share a light moment with Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto (second right), who is running for president with Sandiaga Uno (right) as his vice-presidential pick, at a pledge for a "peaceful campaign" held at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta on Sunday (23/9/2018). The Declaration aims to combat hoaxes, hate speech and ethnic, religious, racial and societal group (SARA) sentiments to create a peaceful atmosphere for the 2019 presidential election.
In presidential election in any country, the incumbent is greatly benefited from his position to work in advance as capital to win the next presidential election. With state facilities in carrying out his duties, Jokowi has worked and visited for four years to meet his citizens in various parts of the country. An incumbent will be easily defeated by the challenger if he is involved in a corruption scandal, violates the law, and has absolutely no achievements. On the other hand, Prabowo as the challenger will easily defeat the incumbent if his political and social achievements are very brilliant, which are seen and felt by the community.
By looking at the provisional results of the General Elections Commission (KPU) calculation, Prabowo\'s vote of around 45 percent is an extraordinary achievement. It is further strengthen by the percentage on the increase in votes for Gerindra, which currently occupies the fifth position. This is a phenomenal achievement for Prabowo\'s political career. However, to defeat Jokowi as the incumbent is certainly not easy because Jokowi ran in advance even though Prabowo still had hopes of winning in a hearing at the Constitutional Court (MK) later. If there is no hope, why should he file lawsuits. Unless there are other considerations that I do not know.
What is deplorable are the maneuvers and political rhetoric that went far before the presidential election took place, that what could defeat Prabowo was cheating. As a contestant participant, if someone no longer has trust in the organizing committee, he should not take part in the contestation. Or, the second choice, diligently guarding the election process and regulations so that frauds do not occur. However, it seems that what is always highlighted is making accusation about frauds by arousing the emotion of the people, who actually do not know exactly where the frauds are.
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Komaruddin Hidayat
The May 22 demonstration, which claimed lives, was very detrimental to Prabowo\'s image as a democracy fighter and a statesman general who understands ethics and the logic of democracy. A demonstration that only hurts the feeling of the people, who have help succeed the election peacefully. Fortunately, finally the accusations and claims of frauds are brought to the Constitutional Court. The people are waiting for the process and the final outcome of the election dispute trial. The people really hope that the trial will be transparent and objective and that anyone who is declared defeated must be willing and accept in a knight attitude. Even if there is a demonstration later, we will be clearer about who is really happy with the riots and does not want this democracy to stand in Indonesia.
Komaruddin Hidayat, Rector, Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII)
