What's happening in PresUniv
The 2019 General Election must be considered as an important milestone in the democratic process in Indonesia. Since in this General Election, the election of the president and vice president was carried out simultaneously with the election of the members of the Regional Representatives Council, the House of Representatives, and Regional Representative Council at the provincial, district and city levels. The General Election 2019 runs well and safe, but political complexity continues afterward. This was mentioned by the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities President University Dr. Endi Haryono, M. Si., in the Election 2019 Workshop at the Conference Room President University, Cikarang (Thursday, July 25, 2019).
"This is interesting to be discussed and important to be documented," Endi continued. Inviting 13 writers consists of academics, intellectuals, politicians, and social activists, this workshop made notes and conducted discussions that included analysis, reflections, and several recommendations regarding the journey of Indonesian democracy.
On the same occasion, senior journalist Satrio Arismunandar underlined changes and political disputes in 2019. Satrio gave an example that after the announcement of the Presidential Election, incumbent Joko Widodo met his challenger Prabowo Subianto at an MRT station in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta. Although it was considered to be able to ease tensions between the two camps, some of the supporters of both reacted counter to the meeting.
According to Satrio, political polarization like this is not productive considering that Indonesia faces many tough challenges. "With the enormous challenges Indonesia faces, it is very risky if we keep dragging on this political dispute. It is such a waste to spend our energy to reduce all these political conflicts. Especially if the conflicts exploit or manipulate elements of SARA (ethnicity, religion, race, and intergroup) through various hoaxes, which have the potential to divide the nation," he explained.
Satrio added the global scale of the Trade War between the US and China will have an impact on national politics and economics. Therefore, it demands the government’s focus and attention.
In addition, Indonesia has problems in human resources (HR) field. If foreign investment continues to enter while Indonesian human resources are not ready yet, then Indonesia must accept the entry of foreign experts to replace them.
In line with Satrio, political observer Mohammad Syafi'i Anwar revealed that the 2019 Presidential Election was still dominated by political identity which resulted in political divisions and segregation in Indonesia.
"Politics and religion that are politicized to run for power is wrong," he said in a separate interview with President University.
He said that although it is difficult, all groups must take part in the effort to make the 2024 Election ‘political identity-free’.
Meanwhile, senior journalist Lukas Luwarso explained that Indonesian politics is still very informal and personal. "People choose based on the figure they glorify or idolize. Choose based on the person, based on his tribe, based on his religion, not his work performance. People tend to be loyal to certain figures, not to the constitution," he stated.
Media Analysis of the 2019 Elections
In this workshop, lecturer of Communication Studies President University Mohammad Raudy Gathmyr S. Sos., M. Si revealed his research on several media that were unprofessional in carrying out journalistic activities during the 2019 Election. Whereas, ideally, media must be able to provide accurate, correct and open information from various perspectives of an event.
Using the theory of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Critical Theory of Orientalism, and Viewpoint Diversity Theory, Raudy analyzed the news on the 2019 Election in several Indonesian media. In his writing, he revealed that unprofessionalism can be seen through the use of languages ??that are not neutral, insinuative, and tendentious. Through his research, he found that some of the media carried out Islamophobic news, more precisely domestic Islamophobia. Meaning, if all this time Islamophobia perpetrators have almost always been regarded as news reporting from foreign media, such as Western media on Islam, the 'accused' here is domestic/local media.
It is true for the 2019 Election to receive special attention because it determines the life of the nation. Due to this reason, all the writings in this workshop will be outlined in a book edited and compiled by teams from President University and Krisnadwipayana University, Endi Haryono, Guswandi, and Abdullah Sumrahadi.
Pemilu 2019 harus ditempatkan sebagai tonggak penting dalam proses demokrasi di Indonesia. Sebab, pada pemilu kali ini, pemilihan presiden dan wakil presiden dilaksanakan serentak dengan pemilihan anggotaDPD, DPR, maupun DPRD di tingkat provinsi, kabupaten, dan kota. Pemilu 2019 berjalan tertib dan aman, akan tetapi kompleksitas politik masih berlangsung setelahnya. Hal itu dikatakan oleh Dekan Fakultas Humaniora President University Dr. Endi Haryono, M. Si., dalam Lokakarya Pemilu 2019 di Conference Room President University, Cikarang (Kamis, 25 Juli 2019).
“Hal ini menarik untuk dibahas dan penting untuk didokumentasikan,” lanjut Endi. Mengundang 13 penulis yang terdiri dari kalangan akademisi, intelektual, politisi, dan aktivis sosial, lokakarya ini membuat catatan dan melakukan pembahasan yang mencakup analisis, catatan, refleksi, dan beberapa rekomendasi terkait perjalanan demokrasi Indonesia.
Pada kesempatan yang sama, jurnalis senior Satrio Arismunandar menggarisbawahi perkubuan dan perselisihan politik seputar 2019. Satrio mencontohkan bahwa pasca penetapan hasil pemilihan presiden (pilpres) 2019, petahana Joko Widodo telah bertemu dengan kandidat lainnya Prabowo di stasiun MRT Lebak Bulus Jakarta. Walau dianggap dapat meredakan ketegangan di antara dua kubu pendukung, sebagian pendukung keduanya justru bereaksi kontra terhadap pertemuan itu.
Menurut Satrio, perkubuan politik seperti ini tidak produktif, mengingat Indonesia menghadapi banyak tantangan berat. “Dengan besarnya tantangan yang Indonesia hadapi, sangat riskan jika perselisihan dan perkubuan politik menjadi berlarut-larut. Sangat mubazir jika energi bangsa ini dihabiskan untuk meredam konflik-konflik politik yang tidak produktif. Apalagi jika konflik-konflik itu mengeksploitasi atau memanipulasi unsur SARA (suku, agama, ras dan antargolongan) lewat berbagai hoaks, yang berpotensi memecah belah bangsa,” ujarnya.
Satrio menambahkan, Perang Dagang berskala global antara AS dan Tiongkok akan berdampak pada dinamika politik dan ekonomi nasional sehingga menuntut fokus dan perhatian pemerintah.
Selain itu, Indonesia memiliki permasalahan di bidang sumber daya manusia (SDM). Jika investasi asing terus masuk namun SDM Indonesia tidak siap, maka Indonesia harus menerima masuknya tenaga ahli asing untuk menggantikan mereka.
Senada dengan Satrio, pengamat politik Mohammad Syafi’i Anwar mengungkapkan bahwa Pilpres 2019 masih diwarnai dengan politik identitas yang mengakibatkan pembelahan dan segresi politik di Indonesia.
“Suku dan agama yang dipolitisisasi untuk mengejar kekuasaan ini salah,” ujarnya dalam wawancara terpisah dengan President University.
Ia mengungkapkan bahwa meskipun sulit, semua kalangan harus turut andil dalam usaha agar Pemilu 2024 bebas dari politik identitas.
Sementara itu, jurnalis senior Lukas Luwarso memaparkan bahwa politik Indonesia sekarang ini masih sangat informal dan personal. “Masyarakat memilih berdasarkan sosok yang mereka agungkan atau idolakan. Orangnya yang dilihat, sukunya yang dilihat, agamanya yang dilihat, bukan kinerjanya. Loyal kepada sosok tertentu bukan kepada konstitusi,” ujarnya.
Analisa Media dalam Pemilu 2019
Dalam lokakarya ini, pengajar Ilmu Komunikasi President University Mohammad Raudy Gathmyr S. Sos., M. Si mengungkapkan penelitiannya tentang beberapa media yang tidak profesional dalam melakukan kegiatan jurnalistik selama Pemilu 2019. Padahal, idealnya, media harus mampu memberikan informasi yang akurat, benar, dan membuka berbagai perspektif dari sebuah peristiwa.
Menggunakan teori Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Critical Theory of Orientalism, dan Viewpoint Diversity Theory, Raudy menganalisa pemberitaan terikait Pemilu 2019 di beberapa media Indonesia. Dalam tulisannya, Ia mengungkapkan ketidakprofesionalitasan dapat dilihat melalui penggunaan bahasa yang tidak netral, insinuatif, dan tendenius. Melalui penelitiannya, ia menemukan bahwa sebagian media melakukan pemberitaan yang bersifat Islamophobia, lebih tepatnya Islamophobia domestik. Artinya, jika selama ini pelaku Islamophobia hampir selalu dianggap dari pemberitaan media luar negeri, seperti media-media Barat terhadap Islam, maka dalam penemuannya justru ‘tertuduh’-nya adalah media domestik/lokal.
Sudah selayaknya Pemilu 2019 mendapat perhatian khusus karena menentukan kehidupan bangsa. Lebih lanjut, semua tulisan dalam lokakarya ini akan dituangkan dalam sebuah buku yang disusun oleh tim dari President University dan Universitas Krisnadwipayana yaitu Endi Haryono, Guswandi, dan Abdullah Sumrahadi.
