Beware of Demonstration Provocateurs, Religious Figures Call on the Community to Unite After the Election
By : Adit Wijaya )*
Religious figures invite all people in Indonesia to unite and be aware of the involvement of provocateurs in rallies or demonstrations related to the determination of the 2024 General Election (Pemilu) vote results.
It cannot be denied that in an action to gather a large number of people, of course it will be very vulnerable to being infiltrated by certain groups of irresponsible people who will deliberately become provocateurs just for their personal and group goals, which in no way reflects the will of the wider community.
The group of intruders who become provocateurs or masterminds of the riots usually deliberately enter and take advantage of the wave of mass movements that occur to play on public emotions so that the movement or demonstration carried out in the end only becomes an agenda to realize the provocateur’s goals.
Provocateurs of Election Determination Demonstrations in a Number of Locations Successfully Arrested
Of course, this statement is not just a figment of the imagination, because some time ago a number of young people were successfully detained in the midst of a demonstration demanding the right to poll the 2024 Election in front of the Indonesian People’s Representative Council (DPR RI) Building.
A number of youths who were detained were suspected to be part of a group of infiltrators who wanted to carry out provocation. The incident began when a young man was detained by the protesters and then handed over to the police officers who were on guard.
Not only did the demonstration take place in front of the DPR RI Building, but there were also seven people who were suspected of being provocateurs in the demonstration during the 2024 Election vote counting recapitulation process at the General Election Commission (KPU) Office of Sinjai Regency, South Sulawesi Province (Sulsel).
Sinjai Resort Police Chief (Kapolres), Adjunct Police Commissioner (AKBP) Fery Nur Abdulah said that his party had arrested seven people along with evidence in the form of ten sharp weapons, some of which were kept attached to their bodies, and some were kept in their vehicles.
Furthermore, the security forces assessed that the provocateurs in the KPU vote recapitulation demonstration had indeed been prepared systematically and they had deliberately designed the demonstration to end in chaos. Not half-hearted, officers even found Molotov cocktails which were thought to be prepared to cause chaos during the demonstration.
It was proven, in fact, that during the demonstration in Sinjai it was seen that there were parties who provoked them and then took sharp weapons and invited other people to commit violence. When anarchy occurred, there were also beatings against security forces.
Thanks to the quick action of the security forces to secure the party suspected of being the provocateur, the riot was successfully suppressed. AKBP Fery emphasized that his party would not allow acts of thuggery to grow because it could damage the democratic environment which is currently in a safe and conducive condition.
Religious Figures Call on All Communities to Unite After the Election and Not Be Influenced by Provocateurs
Chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) Executive Board, Ahmad Fahrur Rozi, invited all people in the country to unite in building the future of this nation after the implementation of the 2024 democracy party.
Don’t let the public continue to be distracted by differences in views or political choices in the elections, which in fact have actually already been held. Because the main aim of the political contestation is not to divide the nation but to create a new spirit to build the nation in the future.
Therefore, society should be able to carry out the democratic ideals in this country with full maturity, namely having an attitude of being ready to win or ready to lose, because in contestation there are bound to be losers and winners.
Then, after the contestation takes place, the people should be able to unite again to build the Indonesian nation. Especially in the holy month of Ramadhan like now, instead of having to continue to worry about something that has the potential to divide the nation, it would be better if people continued to increase their worship.
All aspirations regarding the election results can be conveyed directly through channels that are available and facilitated by the state.
By expressing various concerns regarding the results of the General Election through applicable legal channels or mechanisms, it means that the public also fully supports the implementation of law enforcement in Indonesia as a rule of law country.
Apart from that, by conveying aspirations through constitutional channels, we are actually able to protect our own community from movements that have the potential to disrupt public order and comfort.
To respond to the circulation of fake news or hoaxes, including completely baseless slander in the digital world or social media, the public should not easily believe in the existence of something that has the connotation or tone of invitation or provocation. Society must continue to instill the principle that the safety of the Indonesian nation is everything that must be maintained.
)* The author is a Persada Institute Contributor
