Stop the Fragility
What is urgent now is good governance, the enforcement of economic and social justice, the reconsolidation of democracy, the acceleration of corruption eradication and fair law enforcement.
Azyumardi Azra
It is hard to debate: Indonesia\'s fragility in recent years in various aspects of life has become increasingly evident. The COVID-19 outbreak, which has been going on for 15 months, is now on the rise again, doubling the earlier fragility of the nation-state.
Amid this unpleasant phenomenon, several government policies or policy plans have caused commotions among the people, making hope for getting out of the fragility of life dimmer.
The public was thrilled when the Defense Ministry planned to propose a budget of Rp 1.75 quadrillion for the purchase of primary weaponry. The Defense Ministry expressed regret for the leaking of the draft presidential regulation regarding the purchase of the primary weaponry and said the budget was not that big. However, the denial did not eliminate the controversy, which had already spread widely.
The government also came up with a controversial plan to collect a value-added tax (VAT) on "staple foods", education services and certain health services. The plan is contained in a draft bill for the revision of Law No. 6/1983 on General Provisions and Tax Procedures (RUU KUP).
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Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati also expressed regret for the leaking of the RUU KUP document. The finance minister and the special staffer of the finance minister, Yustinus Prastowo, argued that the implementation of the policy took a long time because it had to be discussed and ratified by the House of Representatives. Their denial does not negate the plans for the "tax on staple food", "tax on education services", or "tax on certain health services". Their clarification was also unable to dismiss the increasing commotion that had already spread in the public sphere. Opposition to the plan continues to come from various parts of the community and mass organizations, which at the same time has increased speculation and suspicion toward the government.
The large-scale purchase of defense equipment and the draft of RUU KUP are still plans, but their emergence, at a time when people are struggling and being invaded by the COVID-19 pandemic, clearly reflects the government\'s insensitive attitude toward the difficulties of residents.
The people\'s economy is deteriorating. This can be seen clearly from the closure of malls and supermarket chains, superstores, hotels and restaurants and the bankruptcy of businesses in various sectors. This bitterness adds to the ranks of the unemployed, the poor and the needy. Their lives are increasingly at risk. Amid increasing economic vulnerabilities, constant political unrest also adds to political-social vulnerabilities. As a result, more and more citizens are apathetic and have lost confidence in the national leadership and political elites who are not carrying out the mandate for reform.
Continuing political commotion is related to the civic knowledge test (TWK), which is controversial in legal term, substance and procedure in transferring the status of the employees of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to that of state civil servants. Despite being flawed, the TWK was used as the basis by the KPK chairman to dismiss 51 KPK employees — including several senior employees who had worked for a dozen years and played important roles in eradicating corruption. The weakening of the KPK increases fragility not only in the fields of law and government, but also in politics. Even though the weakened KPK is still actively arresting several corruption suspects, the public does not believe that the KPK can eradicate corruption substantively and significantly.
Indonesia\'s fragility is recorded by the Fragile State Index (FSI) which measures cohesion, economy, politics and social issues. In the 2021 FSI report, Indonesia is ranked 99th out of 179 countries. The higher the ranking, the farther away the country is from fragility; the lower its position, the more fragile it is. What are the indicators of fragile countries? According to the FSI, the social sector includes, among other things, increasing demographic pressures, ethnic and religious conflicts and mass increases in refugees from within and outside the country.
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The economic field includes, among other things, widespread corruption, widening economic inequalities, unequal economic growth among various groups of people and a severe economic downturn. Vulnerabilities in the political field include, among others, delegitimization or deterioration of trust in the government, deterioration of public services, application or exclusion of arbitrary enforcement of laws and arbitrary operations or actions of security forces.
Observing all these indicators, Indonesia appears to be highly fragile. Fragility may increase because of the absence of convincing signs of social, economic and political improvements that can reduce Indonesia\'s fragility to a country with citizens who have strong resilience.
Deputy Chairperson of the West Java DPRD for the 2019-2024 period, Ade Barkah Surahman (left), underwent an examination at the Corruption Eradication Commission Building, Jakarta, Friday (11/6/2021). The former chairman of the West Java Golkar DPD was involved in the alleged bribery case in project management within the Indramayu Regency Government, West Java in 2019.
The phenomenon of fragility was confirmed by a poll conducted by Kompas in May (Kompas, 7/6/2021). The poll asked what the government should consider to prevent increased fragility and achieve social, economic and political resilience. Legitimacy, or the trust of the citizens in the state, in particular the government, has been declining. Nearly 40 percent of respondents said the relationship between the government and citizens was not in good condition.
Increased distrust in the government is especially related to deteriorating public services, political commotion, the marginalization of society in lawmaking and the decline in corruption eradication. The Anti-Corruption Behavior Index 2021 shows that the percentage of respondents who paid bribes or were asked to pay bribes when accessing public services had increased (Kompas, 16/6/2021).
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The decreasing trust and increasing distrust is very dangerous. This phenomenon depletes social capital, which is absolutely necessary for the Indonesian nation-state, or any country, to develop and achieve progress. Facing this phenomenon, the government must be more serious in taking strategic, comprehensive, fast and wide-reaching concrete steps to stop various vulnerabilities. Concepts and formulas for overcoming vulnerabilities actually already exist but are not implemented with full sincerity, determination, consistency or commitment.
After 22 years of reform, the government has not been able to fully realize the discourses, concepts and programs to strengthen the resilience of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. Indonesia\'s dreams and aspirations to become a developed, modern, honorable and dignified country, both internally and externally, seem to be getting more and more out of reach.
What is urgent now is good governance, the enforcement of economic and social justice, the reconsolidation of democracy, the acceleration of corruption eradication and fair law enforcement. Only with these steps and methods can the country\'s vulnerabilities be blocked and national resilience be built.
AZYUMARDI AZRA, History professor, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta; Member of the Cultural Commission of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI)
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.
