By: Raavi Ramadhan) *
Simultaneous local elections that will be held on 9 December 2020 are very vulnerable to politicization of social assistance. It has been found that rice is wrapped in plastic with a picture of the head of the region going forward again in the 2020 elections. Banwaslu has narrowed and warned that this should not be repeated.
During the co-19 pandemic, social assistance alias social assistance provided by the central and regional governments, really helped the people to survive. They were happy because they got a package of 5 kg of rice and other food supplies. Moreover, the social assistance plan is not only given once, but there will be more next month. All this was done because many people were poor because of the domino effect of the corona pandemic.
Unfortunately this social assistance package is then misused by irresponsible persons. In some areas such as Lampung, Bengkulu, Klaten, and several cities in North Sumatra, bansos containing rice are packed in plastic and there is a screen printing with the head of the area. On average they are incumbent and the purpose of providing images in this social assistance package is to promote themselves, so that they will be elected again in the simultaneous local elections, 9 December 2020.
Another mode of politicizing social assistance is to label political symbols aka party logos on plastic screen printing of food packages or social assistance bags. So the people memorized and voted for the party in the elections. There is also a package of social assistance that is given directly to the house with the personal appendage of a candidate for mayor or regent, even though it is assistance from the local government.
Events like this make the Election Oversight Board angry. They have been monitoring the situation in cities in Indonesia, so that there is no politicization of social assistance like this. This is referred to in Article 76 paragraph 1 of Law, it reads: regional heads and deputy regional heads are prohibited from making decisions that specifically provide personal, family, crony, certain groups, or political groups that are contrary to statutory provisions.
Banwaslu member, Fritz Siregar, emphasized that the regional head who carried out the politicization of the Social Aid could be removed from his position. In Article 78 paragraph 2 of the Law, regional heads and deputy regional heads may be dismissed, if they violate Law article 76 paragraph 1. So if he is desperate to wrap a social assistance package in plastic with a picture of his face or his party, it can be impeached. This is a punishment that is not kidding. So don’t let something like this happen in the future.
Why is the punishment so heavy? Because the politicization of social assistance is an unethical action. When there is social assistance from the president or local government, it is even recognized as personal assistance. Likewise, if there are regional heads who are caught using the APBD funds to pour social assistance, but in the name of the person. Banwaslu can be dealt with severely and his position is threatened.
The elections were simultaneously postponed from 23 September to 9 December 2020. So the campaign schedule in 270 regions was delayed. When there was a case of social assistance which turned out to have a picture of a regional head, unfortunately it could not be dealt with firmly because it had not yet entered the campaign period. But when there is an incident like this, the public is asked to report it to Banwaslu so that they can get ready so that if it is during the campaign period they will rebuke it violently.
When there is politicization of social assistance in the form of package packs replaced with plastic images of regional heads or party logos, or recognized as private social assistance, then it has violated the law. Regional heads who do so can be subject to harsh punishment Banwaslu oversaw this situation ahead of the elections simultaneously, because it is very vulnerable to be repeated, especially in small villages. The community is expected to help oversee the process of providing social assistance so that no more politicization accompanies it.
) * The writer is a student of the University of Pakuan Bogor
