Center for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies Encourages Students to be Aware of Politics
The Center for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies (PSP3) The Institute of Research and Community Service (LPPM) of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) together with Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) held a Public Discussion titled "Measuring Identity Politics and Regional Elections of 2018". This discussion was held in the Meeting Room of PSP3, Baranangsiang Campus (30/5) and was attended by student activist of IPB.
Secretary of PSP3 IPB, Dr. Suprehatin said that there are currently 171 elections held simultaneously with 150 million voters. PSP3 IPB wants the students as the agent of change to understand about Indonesia's current political development.
"In a survey of 600 student respondents, there are only 5.9 percent of respondents who interested in discussing politics. Political talk does not need to have knowledge, the important thing is the awareness of students awakening to the field of politics. We want to create a new generation of future leaders," he said.
Meanwhile, Vice Rector for Cooperation and Information Systems, Prof. Dodik Ridho Nurrochmat said that the topic of discussion is interesting because it relates to identity politics. According to him, developed countries are still struggling with identity politics. Voters still see the figure of the candidate who fought.
Identity politics is a political necessity, so it is necessary for canalization not to appear in the extreme. Overall, the discussion recommends some of the identity politics channels offered in this public discussion. Those arestrengthening institutions and local wisdom as a symbol of unifying communities, the impetus of neutrality of religious and cultural figures in the regional elections, the prohibition of the use of houses of worship and public facilities for sectarian politics, strengthening regional elections institutions in handling extreme political identity symptoms, and law enforcement in regional elections implementation.
Meanwhile, Head of PSP3 IPB, Dr. Sofyan Sjaf asserted that the dominance of ethnicity is still one important factor for the future of Indonesian politics. Ethnic Politics will intersect antagonistically with the political practice of regional elections that appears binary in two poles, namely conflict and re-integration. Every regional elections in Indonesia always starts with 'conflict' during campaign period and post-election re-integration effort.
CSIS itself has conducted research in three locations experiencing turmoil of ethnic conflict and the potential of radicalism namely, Bogor, Palangkaraya, and Ambon. There are two potential issues that will arise in the 2018 regional elections, those are religious issues as much as 68.3% and ethnic issues as much as 11.2% in the city of Bogor.
The result of this research is a reflection on the relationships, strategies, and affiliations of various actors in the local sphere in the use of identity symbols to defend and seize power in regional elections in 2018. (FM)
