Thursday, September 21, 2023

Lemhannas Warns of Escalating "Identity Politics" ahead of Elections

Jayanty Nada Shofa
December 21, 2022 | 8:31 pm
SHARE
A man assembles a ballot box in Depok on February 14, 2019. (B Universe Photo/Joanito De Saojoao)
A man assembles a ballot box in Depok on February 14, 2019. (B Universe Photo/Joanito De Saojoao)

Jakarta. Indonesia needs to watch out for spiraling identity politics as the 2024 general election nears, the National Resilience Institute or Lemhannas warned.

Identity politics refers to the political strategy of making use of one's identifying factors such as ethnic and religious backgrounds to attract votes. And this is something that Indonesia might have to deal with next year, as candidates and supporters try to sway the public before they cast their votes in 2024.

“The three biggest challenges in Indonesia’s political escalations for 2023 and 2024 are identity politics, misinformation and hoaxes, as well as hate speech related to identity politics,” Lemhannas governor Andi Widjajanto said at a year-end press briefing.

Andi called for the government to address hate speech and identity politics. However, whatever regulation the government imposes still needs to take into account freedom of speech — a critical component of a democratic country.

Advertisement

“They usually take place on digital platforms. So I think the government can impose stronger regulations or play a bigger role to address these issues, but without clashing with the democratic principles of freedom of speech,” Andi said.

“Digital literacy will also become key to mitigate these political escalations,” he added.

Read More:

Last week, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo warned the Elections Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) about how identity politics could be harmful to the culturally diverse Indonesia.

“We cannot take identity politics, religion politicization, as well as politics on tribal affiliations, religion, race, and societal groups lightly. We must not give room for any of this. It is extremely dangerous, and gives a chance for others to break our nation apart,” Jokowi said at a Bawaslu conference in Jakarta.

Bawaslu plans to keep an eye out for any hoaxes and smear campaigns on social media. Commenting on Bawaslu’s cyber police, Jokowi said “I agree with the plan. The problem often starts with social media [posts], which will later cause the situation on the field to heat up.” 

The presidential and legislative elections will take place on Feb. 14, 2024. Regional elections for local leaders are slated for Nov. 27, 2024.

Tags: Keywords:
SHARE

POPULAR READS


Business 43 minutes ago

How to Empower Tanah Abang Traders in Unfair Competition with Online Shops

An analyst called for greater government oversight to prevent social media platforms from running online marketplaces in Indonesia.
News 2 hours ago

Indonesia Pledges to Protect Marine Biodiversity in High Seas

The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty mandates signatories to conserve marine biodiversity in the high seas.
Special Updates 2 hours ago

BP, Pertamina Ink MoU on Potential Carbon Injection in Tangguh

This freshly inked memorandum of understanding (MoU) is also related to the development of blue ammonia in Teluk Bituni.
Business 4 hours ago

IDX Set to Launch Carbon Trading Platform

The IDX claims that the system is fully ready and expects to see transactions taking place during the launch date on Sept. 26.
Business 5 hours ago

Carbon Tax to Put Indonesia on Track Toward 2030 Climate Goal

Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto last month said the carbon tax would be in place in 2025.
COPYRIGHT © 2023 JAKARTA GLOBE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED