State of Make-Believe

KOMPAS/WISNU WIDIANTORO

An elementary school student rides a bicycle past an anti-radicalism banner on Jan. 23, 2016 in Jurang Mangu, South Tangerang, Banten. The public call to reject radicalism emerged after the January 2016 bombings and shootings on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta.

This year’s Idul Fitri holiday was different from previous years, as it was tarnished by brutal and vulgar riots that caused several casualties and significant material losses. Public figures deplored the actions of the rioters who behaved anarchically in the name of democracy. The holy month of Ramadan, which tests our ability to control our anger and greed, was tainted by the indiscriminate and wrathful actions of certain people.

Muhammadiyah chairman Haedar Nashir quoted the Prophet Muhammad in expressing his sadness: “Many fast, yet hunger and thirst are the only results.” (Kompas, 4/6/2019) Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Said Aqil Siroj was also concerned by the politicization of religion that led to good sayings, which should have helped Muslims become closer to Allah, to be used as tools to further political interests. (Detik.com, 23/5/2019)

Public concern extends beyond the 2019 elections. For instance, concerns were widespread that some parties wanted to replace the Pancasila state with another state system. These concerns are in line with a Setara Institute study on “Religious Discourse and Movement Among University Students: Mapping threats against the Pancasila state at state universities”.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Protesters light fireworks and throw stones on May 22, 2019 during a clash with riot police on Jl. Wahid Hasyim in Tanah Abang, Jakarta. Police used tear gas to disperse the violent protesters near the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).

Among the study’s phenomenal findings are that state universities, where the younger generation’s character is nurtured, contain pockets of exclusivist religious discourses and movements. These involve not just one Islamic group but rather several, including the salafi-wahabi, tarbiyah and tahririyah movements.

In certain situations, this may potentially threaten Pancasila, democracy and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Such movements of exclusivity and intolerance are extensions of the Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) and Tarbiyah groups (Kompas, 3/6/2019), and have an end goal of creating “a state with an exclusive ideology whose territory and reach penetrate the sovereignty of other states”. Essentially, their proponents are imposing a false state that will destroy modern states, the existential requirements of which are agreed by the international community.

However, the fasting month of Ramadan was truly a blessing. Amid the onslaught of prejudice, simulacra and other forms and manifestations of pretense, the public remained unprovoked by the fire of wrath the small group of rioters ignited. The potential of rioting on the scale of the May 1998 tragedy did not become a reality.

ANTARA FOTO/SIGID KURNIAWAN

Losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto fields questions from journalists during a press conference on May 21, 2019 at his residence in Kertanegara, South Jakarta. The Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno camp has submitted an election petition with the Constitutional Court to dispute the official results of the 2019 presidential election from the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Therefore, this year’s Idul Fitri was especially meaningful, as riots that could potentially undermine state governance – like those of May 1998 – did not happen. The police have arrested those suspected of being behind the riots, and have also uncovered detailed evidence of what they were trying to accomplish.

Consequently, the perpetrators will face the law according to their degree of wrongdoing. If they are found to be involved in the riots, former members of state institutions who have notable records of serving the state should not be exempted from the legal consequences. However, their service could be considered in lessening their punishment.

Prabowo Subianto has urged his supporters not to gather at the Constitutional Court (MK) during the dispute hearings over the 2019 presidential election. He has urged his supporters to trust him and Sandiaga Uno to settle the election dispute legally and constitutionally. They must respond to the court’s final decision calmly and maturely.

Restoring democracy in the Reform Era is an urgent national agenda for preventing any attempts to create “pretend states”. We must consider the analysis of Roman Krznaric (19 March 2019), who believes that the global democratic order is in crisis in recent years. Chief among the reasons is the widespread syndrome of temporal exhaustion, marked by shortness of breath as we spend too much time focusing on transitory interests. Our energy is drained and we can no longer think about the interests of future generations.

KOMPAS/HARIS FIRDAUS

A man signs the "Declaration of Peace in Jogja against Violence, Intolerance and Radicalism" banner on Feb. 14, 2018 at the governor’s office in Yogyakarta. The special province issued the public declaration following the 11 Feb. attack on churchgoers at the Santa Lidwina Church in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta.

Secondly, those who cultivate power are using the existing political system for short-term gains at the expense of future generations and their interests. This is achieved by employing money politics and state funds to finance their campaigns, and by establishing political dynasties. Thirdly, representative democracy has systematically neglected the interests of future generations. Consequently, the younger generation has been denied their rights in the same way that slaves and women were denied theirs in the past.

Such practices of democracy are similar to how colonialists of the 18^th and 19^th centuries saw land as no man’s land (terra nullius). In the context of modern democracy, the concern is not land but time (tempus nullius). The future belongs exclusively to the current generation. In a sense, colonialism was territorial in the past and it is temporal in the current era: the current generation is monopolizing the future.

Therefore, over the next five years, President Joko Widodo’s human development program must be successful, particularly in relation to building the character of Indonesian youths. This will be a fundamental capital in the fight against the temporal colonialism of the cultivators of power.

J. Kristiadi, Senior Researcher, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)