Gerindra Legislator Soroti Shadow Cabinet: Civil Society Is Not the Monopoly of the Opposition Group

Member of Commission II of the DPR Azis Subekti. (ANTARA/HO-DPR RI)

Member of the DPR from the Gerindra Faction, Azis Subekti, assessed that the formation of the Shadow Cabinet showed the importance of public participation in overseeing the government. However, he reminded the civil society not to be narrowed down as a group that is opposed to the government.

"Civil society is not an organizational identity, let alone the moral monopoly of a certain group," Azis said in his statement in Jakarta, Wednesday, July 29.

The Shadow Cabinet was formed by a number of academics, researchers, and civil society activists to monitor government policies and offer alternative policies.

According to Azis, criticism of the government is a legitimate part of democracy. However, the quality of criticism is not determined by how hard the criticism is delivered or how far the critic's position is from the government.

"What matters is the integrity of the argument, loyalty to the constitution, respect for the law, and partiality to the public interest," he said.

Azis said that civil society has a wide scope. Not only activists or non-governmental organizations, but also academics, workers, business actors, religious organizations, local communities, media, and citizens who participate in public spaces.

Residents who rationally support a government policy, he said, also remain part of civil society.

"Don't let civil society seem to be an exclusive identity for certain groups. Political position towards the government does not automatically determine the moral quality of a person or group," said Azis.

On the other hand, Azis asked the government not to close itself off to criticism. He assessed that a democratic government should see criticism as part of a monitoring mechanism, not as a threat to power.

"When the government views every criticism as a threat, power begins to lose its wisdom," he said.

However, he also asked for criticism to be delivered proportionally. A critical attitude, said Azis, should not make every government policy immediately considered wrong or have hidden interests.

"When every government policy is always suspected, the public space loses rationality. Democracy turns into a competition of suspicion," he said.

Azis added that the state is not an opponent of civil society because the legitimate government obtains its authority from the people's mandate through elections.

The public is then entitled to oversee the use of the mandate, while the government is obliged to hold its policies accountable to the public.

"A healthy democracy is not when the state always wins over the people or the people always win over the state. Both come from the same source of legitimacy, namely the sovereignty of the people," concluded Azis.