The great effort of lust to be enthroned as the presidential power makes the eyes of the heart blind. They forget that the superiority of being able to bargain to form a coalition comes from the people's trust.
By
J Kristiadi
·5 minutes read
SALOMO TOBING
J Kristiadi
The festival to celebrate the people's sovereignty in choosing a presidential and vice-presidential candidate who will serve as captain for the five years leading up to Golden Indonesia 2045 is only one and a half years away (February 2024). However, the political stage has only been treated to scenes of political actors who are busy preparing themselves to play serial dramas to form a coalition. The comedy-laden simulacra started several months ago and is expected to end only after the determination of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates in November 2023.
The political stage should be a vehicle for fighting for the quality of ideas, debating fresh ideas, so as to produce a synthesis that can become the five-year agenda of the elected president and vice president. Lots of important homework requires thinking, broad and deep insight, so that the new government has guidelines and makes breakthroughs in dealing with complex and acute global and national problems: for example, geopolitical dynamics that are difficult to anticipate and increasingly fierce global competition. Domestically, two acute problems, poverty and unemployment, need shortcuts so that they can immediately be resolved.
These issues must be the substance of negotiations for the presidential and vice presidential candidates in forming a coalition. By doing so, the people know that the coalition is not just a tactical alliance aimed at maximizing chances at victory, but a strategic alliance to improve the people's welfare.
Another important agenda, the arrangement of power management, is chaotic due to confusing and overlapping regulations so that sectoral conflicts very frequently happen. The solution is to rearrange all regulations related to the management of state power. Regulatory instruments must be structured more comprehensively, cohesively and in a more integrated way, so that laws and regulations do not conflict and overlap with each other. This program is very important because it functions as the initial capital to unravel the tangles of governance and to build and strengthen state and government institutions. Without that agenda, these institutions will rot and democracy will increasingly become porous.
The overall arrangement of state power is expected to produce higher-quality public policies and a more solid government. That way, there is no need for the government to issue ad hoc policies that leave people confused and disadvantaged and can trigger riots.
For example, look at the policy of banning exports of crude palm oil (CPO) and cooking oil as well as the haste to make regulations on new autonomous regions which sparks controversy in Papua, and even leads to riots in the regions. This illustration is only the tip of the iceberg of the chaos of laws and regulations at the central level, especially in the regions.
Without clear legislative politics and serious efforts, it is feared that the anarchy of drafting regulations will result in the accumulation of legislation that can paralyze the government. As a result, people make their own rules according to their own tastes. The problem becomes critical if amateur regulations are accompanied by identity politics.
The great effort of lust to be enthroned as the presidential power makes the eyes of the heart blind. They forget that the superiority of being able to bargain to form a coalition comes from the people's trust in giving mandate, trust and honor. Before becoming public officials, they "beg" the people to provide support. Without the people's mandate, they have no power to carry out political negotiations.
However, tragically, once the authority is obtained, they almost never conduct intense public consultation on issues that will become public policies or regulations. So far, our experience with politicians who will become candidates for public officials is that they only make visions and missions as administrative requirements and political accessories: a piece of paper without meaning.
Ideally, the vision and mission are passions, encouraged by empathy and deep concern for the realization of a wealthy Indonesian society. They are called to carry out their promises with wholehearted enthusiasm and dedication.
The people have the right to know the important issues being discussed in forming a coalition. For example, we should know the validity of the growing rumors about a presidential candidate's plan which, if the candidate wins, will stop the construction of the Indonesian Capital City (IKN) and slow down infrastructure development because the state does not have the funds. A very simplistic reason.
If the rumor is valid, the cursed tradition of changing officials means the changing of policies will be justified, no matter how good the program is for the people. The quality of such a ruler is that since the day he takes office his mind is only filled with tactics, so that the next election he can be re-elected. He must have never thought about the welfare of the people because in his subconscious mind he simply wants to perpetuate the power he holds.
J KRISTIADI, Senior Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
