By: Johan Apriadi (Chairperson of the Bandung Regional Publication Literacy Movement)
The Indonesian government has declared the Covid-19 pandemic to be a national disaster and has formed a Task Force to Accelerate Handling. However, the government’s comprehensive policy still seems to draw criticism and even resistance from various elements of society, which tends to demand to be firm in addressing another serious threat, namely radicalism.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic caused a shift in the focus of the security forces used by the anti-Government group to worsen the situation. This is used as an opportunity for radicalism to build and strengthen negative sentiments or public mistrust of the government.
By spreading hoax news related to the failure of the state in handling Covid-19, the Government and the community must unite and work together to immediately deal with the threat of spreading hoaks and their effects.
Radical groups take advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic, they continue to carry out the movement. They cornered the government that the government failed to provide a sense of security.
Affirming the Moderation Principle
For society, moderation is not just applying the noble values of religious teachings but is a movement to rediscover identity.
Religious moderation teaches to seek good in order to avoid extreme attitudes both radical and liberal.
Moderation contains active meaning by promoting values of tolerance, mutual trust and understanding. Therefore moderation is not limited to being manifested only in the field of religion, but must be used as a guide in living in a society, nation, and state. Indonesia is the best example of moderation practice. This is evidenced by the birth of Pancasila as an ideology of the country through a long process. A process of finding a collective agreement carried out by the founders of the nation by taking the middle way to resolve the deadlock in determining the basis of the state.
With Pancasila, Indonesia avoided conflict and dissension caused by excessive extreme attitudes. There is a kind of attitude of accepting and giving each other in order to realize a sovereign and independent Indonesia. Until now, Indonesia is not a country based on certain religions, nor is it an anti-religious secular state. Indonesia is a country based on Pancasila whose first principle reads Almighty God. That is the way of moderation inherited by the founders of the nation.