Cross-Sector Roles in Easing Post-Election Tensions
By: Leo Akbar *)
The 2019 election still leaves a lot of excitement with various colors, black campaigns, utterances of hatred on social media to various attempts to delegitimize the KPU as unfamiliar news even until the voting day has passed.
Differences are things that cannot be avoided in Indonesia, which is why democracy is a final thing, where people also have a stake in voting for prospective leaders or prospective representatives of the people.
Post-election polarization is still happening, even happening not only in the political sphere, post-election polarization also occurs in the workplace and even in the family environment.
The Director of the Indonesian Public Institute explained that Polarization occurred because of the residue from the 2014 election. Where at that time there were also mutual claims of victory before the KPU announced official results.
It also said that these conditions must be reduced so that the condition of the community returned to normal and stable, namely safe and secure.
In fact, not only politicians have been “divided”, the business community has not escaped the frenzy of the 2019 election. Until finally the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a meeting themed Knitting Together for Peaceful Indonesia. This initiative was held as a forum for meeting and consolidating business actors who had different political choices in the General Election.
This meeting invites all entrepreneurs regardless of whether this entrepreneur is a supporter of 01 or supporter 02, but is a national businessman who has a greater interest in maintaining unity, unity, togetherness in order to maintain economic growth.
Kadin General Chairperson Rosan P Roeslani also said that the meeting also aimed to cool the atmosphere and prioritize unity, and hoped that it would also reduce the polarization that had taken place.
He also hopes that the national businessmen are expected to be patient to wait until the last stage of the process of finalizing the official results of the election vote count simultaneously by the General Election Commission (KPU)
“Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry which has been established for 51 years will maintain professionalism in carrying out its duties as an entrepreneur to support the economy, besides being wise to participate in maintaining national unity and maintaining peace,” Rosan explained.
It also appealed to all groups, especially business people to participate in maintaining and maintaining the national unity and unity to face all challenges both from within and from outside.
“Yesterday, our choices may be different, but today we must leave the differences and improve togetherness. However the unity of building a nation must take precedence, “Rosan said.
On another occasion, UGM Chancellor Prof. Panut Mulyono
in the graduation procession of the Postgraduate UGM, asking that the graduates keep maintaining unity. He claimed that he was concerned about the amount of false information or news related to the presidential election and legislative elections that made the public nervous.
He also invited the graduates as educated people not to remain silent in seeing a divided nation because of lies spread without foundation.
“Whoever is selected will have to support together to run the programs,” he said.
Apart from political differences, he also appealed to all children of the nation to put aside all these differences and strengthen the sense of togetherness and brotherhood as a nation to continue the struggle for progress and prosperity.
In addition, he also requested that young people and educated people can position themselves in the front guard and at the same time be role models in delivering information that is smart, educates and brings positive values.
On another occasion, the Chairperson of PP Muhammadiyah also appealed for political differences not to disturb our activities at work. Elections have passed, then return to activities and work because work is part of worship.
Of course it will be something that reconciles if the two candidates meet and bridge a condition that creates coolness in the community. On the other hand the candidates must also dare to appeal to all the success teams and sympathizers to reduce the tension related to the 2019 election.
In every match, losing wins is common, but that does not mean defeat in the election will eliminate the meaning for everyone to build a nation, because building a nation is not only the duty of the president or people’s representatives, but the duty of all citizens, and one way to build a nation is knitting unity in difference.
*) The author is a Social Media Activist