By : Arzan Malik Narendra )*
Ahead of the 2024 Election, it is very vulnerable to disturbances from terrorism and radicalism. The public is asked to be wary of radicalism because it will threaten the election and have the potential to thwart it.
Election is a grand event that is held every 5 years and the people are waiting for it with enthusiasm, because they want to get a new leader candidate. Since the reform era, Indonesian citizens have been free to choose their own presidential candidate. The 2024 election is very thrilling because the people choose the new presidential (Capres) and vice presidential (wapres) candidates, because President Jokowi’s term of office has been 2 terms.
However, ahead of the election, there is potential for interference from radical and terrorist movements. Vice President KH Ma’ruf Amin stated that various efforts to prevent acts of terrorism had been carried out and the results were positive. The number of (terrorism) attacks has continued to fall since 2019. According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), Indonesia is in 24th place on the list of countries most affected by terrorism, or is included in the moderate category.
However, the decline in attacks from radical groups should not make people careless. Vigilance must be maintained. Don’t feel safe and then there are attacks from terrorist groups such as bombings and attacks with sharp weapons.
People are asked to be more aware of terrorist groups because they are very good at blending in with ordinary people. If anything looks suspicious, just report it to the security forces. Later it will be investigated whether the person is really a member of a terrorist group, which wants to thwart the 2024 elections.
For terrorist and radical groups, the government is the enemy. They use all means including violence. Therefore, don’t let the election fail because of bombings or other intolerant practices.
The National Agency for Combating Terrorism (BNPT) has prepared a number of steps to prevent the threat of terrorism ahead of the 2024 Election. This institution is working with the General Election Commission (KPU) to prevent the spread of intolerance and terrorism among election participants.
Minister of Home Affairs General Police (Purn) H. Muhammad Tito Karnavian, hopes that all elements of the nation, especially state institutions, in this case the BNPT RI, can fill the public space with narratives of the 4 National Consensus (Pancasila, NKRI, Bhineka Tunggal Ika and the 1945 Constitution).
Minister Tito continued, BNPT, BPIP, TNI and Polri as well as all parties to strengthen moderate narratives, the foundation of the state and the spirit of unity in diversity (unity in diversity). This narrative must be stronger than the narrative that divides the nation.
In a sense, the election is a very important moment for Indonesia to elect a new president and members of the legislature. Do not let the elections be disrupted by the actions of radical groups and terrorists. They intentionally divide the nation so that there will be chaos in society which has the potential to derail the election.
BNPT certainly has anticipated the bad possibilities that will occur before and during the election. Therefore, security is getting tighter, both when the presidential candidate or legislative candidate is campaigning, as well as when the voting begins. Not only security guards and security guards have been deployed, but also security forces to ensure that the community is completely free from the threat of terrorist attacks.
Meanwhile, the public is also asked to be aware of hoaxes and propaganda on social media, made by radical groups. They deliberately did this and spread hateful narratives against government programs (including elections). The goal is for the 2024 election to fail miserably.
If there is propaganda from radical groups, don’t ignore it. They purposely made it with the aim that people are skeptical of the election, and think that whoever the presidential candidate is is just as bad. Even though this attitude is dangerous because it can increase the number of Indonesian citizens who practice abstentions (white groups) and thwart elections.
Therefore, people are asked not to be provoked and to be wise when using social media. Terrorist groups deliberately create hoaxes and propaganda so that the Indonesian people are divided according to their wishes.
To prevent hoaxes ahead of the 2024 Election, the National Police together with the KPU, Bawaslu, KPI, PWI and the Press Council held a coordination meeting related to the dynamics ahead of the simultaneous General Election (Pemilu) which will be held in 2024.
Bawaslu member Herwyn JH Malonda stated that collaboration with all stakeholders, including technology companies such as Facebook, Tiktok, Twitter and Google, was needed. Apart from that, the National Police also needs to involve the community more massively in the election monitoring process by disseminating information about the dangers of hoaxes, hate speech and fake news.
Herwyn JH Malonda continued, the National Police can also enforce the law, such as taking down content that contains these three elements. Bawaslu itself conducts outreach to voters regarding being smart in receiving election information, from electronic media and social media, then forms a task force for monitoring internet content
In a sense, Bawaslu and Polri are aware of the dangers of hoaxes that can destroy public trust and are skeptical about elections. Therefore, hoaxes must be eradicated and the National Police ask that the public be aware of the dangers of hoaxes and be able to distinguish between genuine and fake news.
The way to ward off hoaxes is to report them to the cyber police. At present the National Police already has a cyber police unit whose job is to monitor terrorist groups who like to spread hoaxes on the internet. If there are social media accounts that like to spread hoaxes, the cyber police will be very happy when netizens report them.
The public is asked to be wary of radicalism movements ahead of the 2024 Election. During the campaign period, it is very prone to spreading hate narratives and hoaxes in cyberspace, and don’t pay attention to them because they can threaten the success of the election. The Indonesian people are also asked to continue to improve security to prevent attacks from radical and terrorist groups.
)* The author is a contributor to the Siber Nusa Institute
