A leader is chosen for his ideas that will collectively lead this nation to move forward. A leader who is engineered and polished will only lead a group who wants to reap benefits from the resources of this nation.
By
Bivitri Susanti
·4 minutes read
SALOMO TOBING
Bivitri Susanti
As the year 2024 approaches, politics increasingly resembles a soap opera without content. Meetings, speeches, satires on social media and billboards are increasingly confusing. In fact, people are currently facing hardships due to rising prices. Unfortunately, the presidential candidates, whose names have emerged from surveys and meetings, did not debate the issues being faced by the people. There are only spectacles of political gatherings and even a TikTok dance. If there are speeches about certain issues, such as infrastructure development, the content is nothing more than admiration for the person, without any substance.
Perhaps this is because we are not accustomed to discussing ideas, but rather looking at figures, ancestry and social status. Ideas are not discussed. Silence is often considered wise. For decades, the education system has allowed for dogmatic and teacher-focused approaches to educating students. The educational goal is not to produce critical thinkers but memorizers of dogma.
The issue of serving a third presidential term has not been extinguished because presidential candidates have started showing off without talking about concrete issues. It is only President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo who is confronted to discuss and announce daily policy issues. As a result, it is only Jokowi who is considered capable of facing the nation's challenges. The presidential candidates remain silent, not commenting on the President's negligence to quell the issue of a third term, which is a constitutional disobedience.
The problem is that the current procedural electoral system does not encourage substantive democracy in the form of stimulating a debate of ideas. The search for a new president is locked within a presidential nomination threshold where parties are voting machines for the interests of the elite. Instead of breaking the old mindset about leaders based on figures and lineages, political parties use it to gain votes. So they polish and show the breed and network of potential leaders. Meanwhile, ideas are pocketed to be determined by the elite of each party. There is no room for negotiation between presidential candidates and the party elite because they are the ticket holders for power.
Meanwhile, the general election rules avoid deep and lengthy debates because they are seen as triggers for conflict. Therefore, new program campaigns are held close to the voting day. With not much time, campaigns are mostly filled with dangdut music performances, dances and one-way lectures by campaigners. Even if there is a presidential candidate debate, the format is like a reading program interspersed with screams and cheers by supporters, rather than a debate of ideas.
Unfortunately, the parties do not feel the need to carry out some kind of internal party convention aimed at getting the best members who can articulate their ideas on various issues and presenting concrete policies. In fact, debating over ideas is an important element of democracy. It is the same with freedom of expression as an enabling environment for democracy. Civil society's freedom of expression should not be suppressed because it will kill democracy. Likewise, the debate on the ideas of the political elite must be developed to revive democracy.
We miss debates about ideas; not about figures, family trees or social and political networks. This is why we miss Prof. Azyumardi Azra, a Muslim scholar who recently passed away to be with the Almighty. In his writings, including “Political Analysis” which was supposed to be published this week, he is always concerned about democracy, which is increasingly being interfered with by the political elites who are greedy for power and money. Prof. Azyumardi was loyal to his ideas on democracy and nationalism; not to a figure of a leader.
A leader is chosen for his ideas that will collectively lead this nation to move forward. On the other hand, a leader who is engineered and polished will only lead a group who wants to reap benefits from the resources of this nation.
BIVITRI SUSANTI, A lecturer at Indonesia Jentera School of Law
