The Paradox of Democracy Without Opposition

There is something very interesting in Prabowo's official speech after being appointed by the KPU, which is an invitation to build the nation together and eliminate differences. The interpretation related to the speech has two meanings at the same time.

Also read: Prabowo: We Will Embrace All Elements

First, invite all political forces to join in to strengthen the ranks of the government coalition. Second, the party who loses in the 2024 presidential election remains outside and does not join the government coalition, but is asked not to interfere with the running of the government as long as Prabowo-Gibran leads this country in the next five years.

After the announcement and establishment of the results of the 2024 Presidential Election by the KPU, several parties began playing political strategies by intensively engaging in political communication. The aim is to explore whether they will join the Prabowo-Gibran government coalition or position themselves outside the government as opposition.

Even though in Indonesian politics the term opposition is not known, in every national and state practice that exists in many countries, there is still a need for a balance to carry out the government's check and balance function. The aim is that government management is not carried out "carelessly" and "recklessly".

The discourse on the existence of opposition in Indonesian politics for the next five years has become very interesting to discuss. This is a result of the process of the 2024 Presidential Election which is considered by some to be an election that is "very tough, brutal, and full of fraud".

The Prabowo-Gibran pair's victory is likely to leave deep wounds and very serious social, political and legal problems not only for the party who lost the presidential election battle, but also for those in the community who are concerned about the political field. and democracy, as well as constitutional law.

Politically, it is feared that the pattern of political battles in the last presidential election will be used as a template to be duplicated in subsequent elections. The accusation of an election full of fraud will be covered by the highest legal decision to legalize the election results. This is proven by the Constitutional Court's decision which has not been able to break from its "dicta" to always reject applicants.

The opposition is interpreted as a balancing political force outside the government whose function is to monitor the policies of the government in power.

Given this situation, those who are not satisfied with the presidential election results will crystallize their political stance to continually criticize the Prabowo-Gibran government. On the other hand, politically, political parties that take the position as the opposition will always resist through constitutional political channels.

The term opposition is linguistically the opposite of position. Politically, these two terms (position and opposition) have completely opposite meanings. The Opposition is interpreted as a balancing political force outside the government whose function is to monitor the policies of the government in power.

In several references, the existence of an opposition will strengthen a country's democratic system, some even state that the existence of an opposition is a "political vitamin" or sparring partner to save the country from various abusive practices, including political abuse, legal abuse. , administrative fraud, and various other serious state fraud.

This is different from the term position.Positions are political positions obtained by political elites or political power groups who are members of a government coalition. In practical politics, the existence of the opposition will strengthen democracy and the concept of position will only strengthen the political domination of elites and rulers.

Also read: Weak Opposition and Culture of Harmony

Looking back at the history of politics in Indonesia, the Indonesian people are not accustomed to the existence of an opposition. The rulers who have been running their governments are still "politically inexperienced" when facing opposition or differing opinions that we call the opposition.

The meaning of political stuttering is that every ruler, from the Old Order regime, the New Order regime, to the Reform Order regime, has not been successful in managing and providing adequate roles for the opposition. The response that has been carried out by each regime towards the opposition is by conducting a "cleansing" politics against the opposition.

Even in the era of Jokowi's government, particularly in his second term of leadership, it appears more democratic and smoother with the prevalence of criminalization against those who oppose his government. This means that the opposition has not been able to play their role freely and effectively. The role of opposition in the post-reformation government is felt more alive only during the 10 years of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency.

Make peace with the opposition

An ideal government provides ample space for the existence of opposition. With wide maneuvering room given to opposition, democracy in a country will be much healthier. There are dynamics and discourses that are constantly evolving to mutually correct the administration's operations.

The opposition will provide critical correction from outside the government, while the government also greatly needs to correct and improve itself in the form of evaluating every policy taken and implemented by the government. It is possible that politically all critical views from the opposition are viewed negatively in the eyes of the government, some even accuse them of undermining the government's credibility. However, those critical views are highly valued positively in the eyes of the public.

It is important for us to know that the reform era was born thanks to the strong role of the opposition, which always controls authoritarian behavior and eradicates corrupt, collusive, and nepotistic (KKN) behavior during the New Order era. Suppressing the opposition is the same as having an anti-criticism government and always considering itself to be always right.

Opposition is likened to a "bitter pill" that will cure chronic illnesses within the government regime. The ruling regime should not always position itself to conflict with the opposition, but still give a big role to the opposition to find weaknesses within the government that indeed need to be improved.

An ideal government provides wide scope for the existence of opposition.

Thus, the government will run well and democracy will function healthily. It can be likened to a skilled swimmer who will not become the best swimmer if they have never been hit by strong waves and only stayed in calm waters. The same goes for democracy in a country, it will not be able to create a healthy democracy without sharp critiques and differing views from the opposition.

A government without opposition will only give birth to a status quo regime that only considers itself to always be right, and this will only foster the "parasite" within itself in the form of authoritarian behavior, increasingly pervasive corruption, corruption and other abuses of authority.

To illustrate, just like how a human body that is constantly fed with delicious food does not always promote good health, but rather only raises the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even deadly cancers that can kill the body. Conceptually, such a condition will only lead this country into a pit of ruin, where chronic diseases that erode the health of our nation are present.

The role of the opposition is a highly respected role in improving our nation. Like a proverb, the best friend is a friend who always reminds and corrects their friend when they are on the wrong path and does not let them continue on that wrong path.

The same goes for the state, we should not allow state officials to commit violations and always hold them accountable. The opposition party should be the forefront in correcting and controlling them.

In the 10 years of Jokowi's regime, especially during the second term of leadership, opposing parties remained silent and lay low to express their critical views. They feel threatened by criminalizing practices in the name of violating the Information and Electronic Transactions Law (UU ITE).

Also read: Don't be afraid to be in opposition

The opposing political party's elite will be sought after for their mistakes, which could lead to legal cases. Critical media is threatened with censorship practices or being unable to broadcast on television, as well as other threats to democratic freedoms.

The involvement of university parties, in this case professors, academics, and students, some time ago in voicing concerns about recent politics as the last bastion in upholding the dignity of academic ethics which uphold morality in nationhood and statehood. Several of these phenomena are felt to be very unhealthy in the climate of democracy.

In the end, the opposition's role is very much needed in this country to provide political vitamins for those in charge of the government so that our country becomes healthier and free from chronic diseases, such as the malignant cancer of corruption, the politicization of law, and other abuses of power that cause the nation to fall into the abyss of destruction.

Agus Sjafari, Permanent Lecturer at Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University; Observer of Social Government Issues