Outbreak Can Weaken Democracy

KOMPAS/ANTONY LEE

Deputy Director of the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute and Assistant Professor at the University of Gothenburg Anna Luhrmann in an online interview on Wednesday (5/20/2020).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The COVID-1 9 outbreak could hamper efforts to strengthen democracy, which is one of the mandates of the reform movement. Especially in recent years, the country’s democracy has suffered ever more setbacks.

A study by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute, Sweden, which was launched in April 2020, indicates that as many as 48 countries have a high risk of democratic backsliding, 34 others are at medium risk and another 47 countries are categorized as low risk. Indonesia is included as one of the countries in the moderate category.

The Pandemic Backsliding Risk Index tracks the decisions of countries in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, and then looks at it from the value of democracy. There are dozens of indicators reviewed to determine the index, including the role of the legislature, the media and oversight over the executive, and state violence.

"When the crisis began, people were worried that this would not only endanger health, but also threaten democracy. That happened because some countries acted very excessively," Anna Luhrmann, the deputy director of the V-Dem Institute and lecturer at the Political Department of Gothenburg University, Sweden, told Kompas on Wednesday (20/5/2020).

In the study of Indonesia, V-Dem used Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) No. 1/2020 concerning financial policies and financial system stability for handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, which was ratified as Law No. 2/2020, as one of the references. Another reference was the appointment of military officials to take charge of the COVID-19 Special Hospital at Wisma Atlet Kemayoran, an athletes village in Central Jakarta.

The potential for a decline in democracy due to a pandemic can be dangerous if it is not prevented as the quality of Indonesia\'s democracy based on several indexes has shown signs of falling. The V-Dem Institute Electoral Democracy Index in 1998-2019 shows that Indonesia achieved its highest score in 2004 (0.73), but in 2019 it fell to 0.64. The index is scored on a scale of 0 to 1; the closer to 1, the better the quality.

KOMPAS/IQBAL BASYARI

Officers man a health and security post operating out of a marquee at the Wisma Atlet Covid-19 Emergency Hospital in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, Tuesday (24/3/2020).

The Economist Intelligence Unit\'s 2006-2019 Democracy Index shows a similar trend. Indonesia\'s highest score was recorded in 2015 (7.03) and in 2019 it declined to 6.48. The index is scored on a scale of 1 to 10; the higher the score, the better the quality.

A number of domestic and foreign academics when interviewed by Kompas between May 15 and 21, also expressed concern over the decline of democracy in the country. According to the head of the

Indonesian Center for Political Research, Firman Noor, in every crisis, there is a tendency to strengthen the role of the ruler. This is no exception in Indonesia.

He cited Law No. 2/2020 as an example. In this regulation, the planner of the budget is given the privilege of impunity. The regulation also becomes the legal basis for the government to change the state budget (APBN), without involving the House of the Representatives (DPR).

This is a danger because democracy is more about an effort conduct dialogue, discussion, distribution of tasks and supervisio

In fact, according to the 1945 Constitution, the DPR has the right to participate in preparing or in revising the APBN. "This is a danger because democracy is more about an effort conduct dialogue, discussion, distribution of tasks and supervision," he said.

Professor of Asian Studies and Director of the Institute of Asia at the University of Melbourne Vedi Hadiz also observed a number of policies had been decided on without serious public debate. The transparency and accountability are low. The condition is getting worse because the supervision and balance system cannot be carried out optimally due to the dominance of the coalition of parties supporting the government in the House of Representatives.

Also read : Adjust Issues to Public Needs

Kompas/WAWAN H PRABOWO

Professor of Asian Studies at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia, Vedi R Hadiz (second right) when speaking at the Kompas Panel Discussion at the Kompas Daily Editorial Office, Jakarta, Tuesday (24/1/2017)

However, Made Supriatma, a visiting researcher at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore, believes that even if there was a tendency for the government to bring power into its hands, it would not work. "I have a strong belief, our democracy cannot be reversed," he said.

To prevent the impacts of COVID19 from affecting the quality of democracy, Anna Luhrmann warned there needed to be a time limit on the extraordinary policies taken by the government. Second, despite the crisis, elements of democracy, such as the House, must continue to work to oversee the government. Another important thing is to uphold press freedom. In addition, any method used by the government should not involve violence.

Post-democracy

The decline of democracy during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, according to Firman, weakened the democratization established during the 22 years of reform. He considered what had happened in the last few years to be a post-democracy phenomenon – the condition of the state seems to have gone through a phase of democratization, even though, in the reality, it was no longer democratic. "For example, we now have a House, but the checks and balances mechanism is not working properly," he said.

Professor at the State Islamic University (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah, Azyumardi Azra, also emphasized the importance of democratic reform. "Our democracy must be consolidated because during the last few years Indonesian democracy has experienced backsliding and has become a flawed democracy," he said.

Also read : A Nation of Values

According to him, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s democracy was worsening and was on the path to becoming illiberal democracy, in which a democracy no longer upholds democratic principles. "This can be seen from , among other things, the issuance of Perppu No. 1/2020," said Azyumardi.

He said the setbacks had rapidly accelerated in the last two years, including in terms of freedom of opinion, the eradication of corruption, and the increase in the number of active Indonesian military (TNI) and police members filling civilian positions.

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

House of Representatives (DPR) members attend a plenary meeting at the House in Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday (17/12/2019).

However, the chief expert of the Presidential Staff Office, Sigit Pamungkas, said the state had no intention of weakening democracy. What the government does in dealing with COVID-19 is simply to make the decision making more effective. "This is an emergency situation. Assessing it like a normal situation is not appropriate. When the situation returns to normal, the response will return to normal," he said.

Sigit stated that in Perppu No 1/2020, the government also determined when the extraordinary measures would end. For example, in Article 2 Paragraph 1 Letter a Number 1, it is stated, the increase in the budget deficit limit to above 3 percent of GDP in response to COVID 19 will remain in place only until end of the 2022 fiscal year.

Also read : Recession of Democracy

He also stressed that the checks and balances mechanism remained effective. The people can challenge the government through their representatives in the DPR or file a judicial review to the Constitutional Court.

Sigit did not dismiss concerns democracy in Indonesia was being eroded, but said it was not as bad as other countries that had experienced democratic backsliding. This could be seen in the 2019 Global Democracy Report from International IDEA. "However, it happened more because of the response to populism. The state must be present to maintain democracy," he said. (REK/PDS/NAD/BOW/GAL/EDN)