What Is Pig Gentong Politics? Appointed Again At The Constitutional Court Session

What is pork gentong (Freepik) politics

YOGYAKARTA - The term politics of pork or pork barrel politics is again in the spotlight because it is mentioned in the 2024 Presidential Election Dispute Session (Pilpres). In a trial held at the Constitutional Court, senior economist Faisal Basri discussed the politics of pork gentongs.

Faisal Basri was present as Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar's National Legal Team who sued the results of the presidential election. The senior economist of INDEF alluded to the title "Social Assistance Ahead of the 2024 General Election is very reckless to Win Prabowo-Gibran".

In his presentation, Faisal Basri considered that the results of many votes obtained by the Prabowo-Gibran candidate pair were inseparable from the politics of pork gentongs. He said that the disbursement of a lot of social assistance ahead of the 2024 presidential election was a political practice of pork gentongs.

Pig Gentong politics is an act of distributing material assistance carried out by individuals or groups to gather masses with certain interests. This dirty strategy is often carried out by policy makers or high-ranking officials to make people more confident or on their side.

In the Political book Pork Barrel di Indonesia (2011), Antonius Saragintan dan Syahrul Hidayat menjelaskan bahwa politik gentong babi adalah usaha incumbent untuk menglontorkan dan melokalasi sejumlah dana dengan tujuan tertentu.

Pig Gentong politics is carried out by utilizing state resources through populist activities as an approach to the people. In election contestation, this method is carried out with the aim of being elected or re-serving for the next few years.

Distribution of material assistance in pork gentong politics can be in various forms, ranging from social assistance, grants, contracts, and public work projects. The main character of the pork barrel politics is the use of money originating from public funds or state budgets.

Because it requires large capital or resources, most of the individuals who do it are rulers or incumbents. The delivery of social assistance in the near future of the general election includes political actions of pork gentongs.

The literally meaning of the term pork barrel politics comes from the 1700s. As the name suggests, pork gentong politics is an analogy or depiction of the use of pork for consumption in ancient times.

Previously before there was a cooler, pork was sprinkled and preserved in a wooden barrel. Each barrel is able to accommodate more than 30 gallons. An illustration of how the meat is smeared in a barrel can be likened to a people who are immersed in money politics.

The term "politician gentong babi" was first used in the story of The Children of the Public. The book, which was published in 1863, was written by writer and historian Edward Everett Hale.

Ten years have passed, the expression of pork barrel politics is defined as the expenditure of public funds by an official or politician for the benefit of a group of people. A certain group of people or elite gangs commit to the politics of pork gentongs to gain support in the form of voice or campaign donations. In modern times,

Faisal Basri said that the wave of social assistance ahead of the 2024 General Election was part of the politics of pork gentongs. Faisal invited flashbacks that President Jokowi's distribution of social assistance was intensively approaching the election.

Faisal reminded that there were several types of social assistance that were suddenly distributed by the government at that moment. He gave an example of the distribution of El Nino's social assistance in 2024 when natural phenomena were not as severe as 2021 or had subsided.

Faisal considered that in this case the KPK and the Ministry of Home Affairs had set rules so that there should be no social assistance within two or three months before the regional head election. However, there are no restrictions on social assistance during the election. This opens up the possibility that social assistance can be mobilized by officials down to the lower level, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Demikianlah rekosi soal apa itu politik gentong babi yang menjadi pembicaraan di momen Pemilu 2024. Strategi pork barrel politics disinyaliring berpengaruh pada kemenangan pasangan Prabowo-Subianto dalam mendapatkan suara terbanyak. Baca juga empat menteri dianggil dalam sidang MK.

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