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Experts ask Prabowo supporters not to sabotage democracy
Professor Franz Magnis Suseno of the Driyakara School of Philosophy says that the Red-and-White Coalition supporting losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto must not employ vengeful intentions when serving as the opposition to the upcoming Joko Widodo presidency
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rofessor Franz Magnis Suseno of the Driyakara School ofPhilosophy says that the Red-and-White Coalition supporting losing presidentialcandidate Prabowo Subianto must not employ vengeful intentions when serving asthe opposition to the upcoming Joko Widodo presidency.
Magnis especially noted the coalition's alleged attempts to delay Jokowi's inauguration by investigating possible corruption cases involving Jokowi during his leaderships in Surakarta and Jakarta.
Previously, Deputy House of Representatives speakers Fadli Zon, Agus Hermanto and former NasDem party member Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, all of whom are part of the Red-and-White Coalition, had passed around a petition in the House calling for the delay of Jokowi's inauguration.
'There is no other way to say it. Purposefully delaying the inauguration of Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla is insulting,' Magnis told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a seminar titled 'Violence, Democracy and Human Rights' at Yogyakarta's Sanata Dharma University on Friday.
'This is a bad sign and affirms the coalition's bad intentions,' he added.
Magnis noted that if the coalition were to earn sympathy from the people, any feelings of vengeance must be eradicated so that the coalition could act and appear as a proper opposition to the government.
He reminded that any opposition to any presidential order must be expressed transparently by the coalition in a democratic manner, instead of through political maneuvering.
'The recent amendment of the 2004 Regional Elections Law, which abolished direct elections for regional leaders, is indirect sabotage of democracy, which only shows who is in power and that the people's desires are not their concern,' he said.
In terms of the opposition's stance on human rights, Sanata Dharma history expert Baskara T. Wardaya assessed that the House of Representatives was occupied for the next five years by those who did not care for human rights.
'This is a sign that we may go back to the authoritarian New Order era, where the rights of the people were limited and many human rights violations took place. Hopefully, this won't happen,' Baskara said.
He also insisted that the public must be more aware of the country's political situation, as they had the ability to voice their opposition toward those who were not fighting for their wellbeing. (dyl/dic)
