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t the beginning of the presidential election season I tried to distance myself from the whole debate regarding the presidential candidacy.

All the questions we have been asking are misguided. We are not asking our candidates enough about how they are going to provide new jobs for approximately 7 million job seekers.

How much do we have to spend from public expenditure to address the demand for jobs? What are the candidates' thoughts on the rise of super-rich people and the amount of tax they are paying? And why are we lacking in reducing the maternal mortality rate? And so on and so forth.

Instead we ask who most resembles a messiah, the Ratu Adil, or who has a noble background?

Even worse, there has been the question of what would happen if we were led by a non-Muslim, as Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo was falsely identified as. Furthermore, the debate on the economy marked the lowest point in our political season because there is one fundamental issue that a lot of people seem to be unaware of ' the politics of fear that Prabowo Subianto is utilizing.

At present, suddenly the notion that we are in danger is surging forward again, saturating our daily conversation.

This swing cannot be disentangled from the notion of fear that Prabowo is so dearly upholding.

Prabowo continues to reiterate the word 'leakage' ' more than 10 times in the last presidential debate, reports said ' and argues that our national boundaries are under threat.

To respond to these crises, Prabowo perceives that the rise of nationalism is imperative.

What we tend to forget is that the politics of fear have led to nothing but despair. Former US president George W. Bush used this rhetoric to justify the US invasion in Iraq in 2003. In the past, in our domestic affairs, the idea of fear and political instability was used to justify kidnapping several activists.

The problem with the notion of political fear is it does not and will never guarantee inclusiveness, openness, accountability and equality. Under the politics of fear, every means are justifiable to bring stability and security.

And while it is Prabowo's right to hold such a view, Indonesia's political landscape has shifted: There is no longer any room for the politics of fear.

If our problems lie with 'leakages', the solution is not to go back to excessive nationalism. Instead, we need to restructure our accountability mechanism in every layer of governance, and engage with civil society groups in forming, budgeting and implementing policies.

Simultaneously, we need to reform our law enforcement and ensure that our justice system works accordingly to the benefit of every single Indonesian citizen.

Finally, we need to understand that there is no easy answer to solve the obstacles that Indonesia faces.

Therefore, we should be skeptical and critical if anyone argues they have the easy, perfect solution.

The writer lectures in sociology at the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM) in Yogyakarta. The views expressed here are his own.