The President and the House of Representatives should in 2022 to 2024 stop issuing political decision and policies that can create a negative legacy and instead try to be more serious about producing a positive legacy.
By
AZYUMARDI AZRA
·4 minutes read
ABK
Azyumardi Azra
It seems that right now there is not much good news that can inspire our hope to welcome 2022. The Covid-19 pandemic is still continuing. Indeed, there has been a decrease in the number of people infected and who have died from Covid-19, but there is rising concern about the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant, which is spreading very quickly globally and has also reached Indonesia. As a result, toward the end of 2021, the government has also again imposed travel restrictions, especially from abroad.
Many waited for hours at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to be put into quarantine. Many also have to go into a quarantine hotel at an exorbitant rate.
All of these events seem to indicate a bad sign for the year 2021, not to mention natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, floods and tornadoes in various parts of the country. Indeed, in 2021, there are various unpleasant conditions for many residents in various aspects of life, from health, politics, economics, education, socio-cultural issues, to the environment. Nevertheless, gratitude should be extended to God Almighty because in such a difficult situation, there is no socio-political commotion among various conflicting parties.
Despite the not-so-happy situation, for many other residents, life seems to be going on with people getting used to the condition. Traffic jams occur everywhere; malls and markets are also filled with visitors again. Does this reflect the rising hope for 2022? Or are the people stuck in traffic, for example, because they still have to work amid the threat of the epidemic; or also because they are tired of being confined for too long in a life with very limited social interaction.
Conventionally, most Indonesians have high hopes for a life full of challenges and difficulties. According to the 2019 Global Happiness and Hope Index issued by Gallup International, Indonesia's Hope Index had a score of 86. With this score, Indonesia was in the second top position out of 50 countries surveyed by Gallup. In the Happiness and Hope Index published in late 2020, Gallup recorded a decline in Indonesia’s scores in the Hope Index to 66 and in the Happiness Index to 60. About 77 percent of Indonesians were optimistic and another 6 percent were pessimistic about the future and only 48 percent believed Indonesia could achieve economic prosperity. Despite the decline, Indonesia's Hope Index remained in the top position, compared to the Expectation Index of the United States, which had a score of 43 and the United Kingdom with a score of 39. There is no indicative 2021 Hope Index for 2022 yet.
Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro
DPR Plenary Meeting at the Parliament Building Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday (7/10/2021). At the meeting, among others, it was decided on a number of bills that proposed the DPR Commission II's initiative to become a proposed bill for the DPR, the approval of the Bill on the Harmonization of Tax Regulations, and the speech of the Speaker of the DPR regarding the closing of the trial period I for the 2021-2022 trial year.
With the net score of Indonesia's Hope Index declining from 86 (2019) to 66 (2020), it is possible that Indonesia’s score will further fall in the following years (2021 and 2022). The decline in the Hope Index and Happiness Index of the Indonesian people should be a "red light" or at least “yellow light” warning to the government, especially those that control almost all policies and measures, from the center to the regions.
In this regard, the government needs to pay attention to various fields that affect the level of the Hope Index and Happiness Index, economic conditions and employment, politics, law, education, socio-culture, health, as well as the regional and global environment. If these various variables are in good condition or improving, it is certain that the Hope Index and Happiness Index will also increase. On the other hand, both indices will decline if such variables also deteriorate.
Therefore, the government together with all leaders at various levels must try to rekindle the hopes of the people. Statements or appeals to renew hope for 2022 and the following years are still necessary, but there is also an urgent need for the issuance of new policies and concrete steps to improve the situation in these various fields.
The economic condition is improving slightly, but it requires more concrete steps to restore the confidence of the people at the grassroots level in order to renew their hope. In the political field, the government needs to reverse the rise of political oligarchy and economic oligarchy, and also stop the process of lawmaking that does not meet political provisions and should seriously involve the public and civil society.
The President and the House of Representatives (DPR) should in 2022 to 2024 stop issuing political decision and policies that can create a negative legacy and instead try to be more serious about producing a positive legacy for the progress of the nation-state. Only with these policies and measures can people's hopes be rekindled.
AZYUMARDI AZRA,a history professor at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN); member of the Cultural Commission at the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI).
(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).
