"As the oldest party in the country, Golkar has become one of the main pillars of Indonesia’s democracy,” party chairman Airlangga Hartarto told an event organized by Jakarta-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Wednesday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the think tank.

“We'll always be committed to protecting and maintaining democracy in our beloved country,” said Airlangga, who is also the Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister, adding that democracy was key to maintaining the unity of Indonesia's pluralistic society because it ensured public participation in the policymaking process.

He cited the 2020 annual democracy index from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which reported the regression of political culture and civil liberties in Indonesia. The report, released in February this year, found that the country’s overall score decreased to 6.3 last year from 6.48 in the previous year, the lowest figure Indonesia has recorded in the past 14 years.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the country's democracy. [...] There are a lot of people who still do not believe in the effectiveness of the democratic system, so we need to develop thorough and continuous political education among the public, from the grass roots to the elites," Airlangga said.

He suggested that the country should also improve religious tolerance and human rights protection.

During the one and a half years of the COVID-19 health crisis, the government made a slew of controversial policies, including pushing through the House the omnibus law on job creation that contains provisions weakening environmental protection and undermining labor rights.

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