Vulnerable Students Affected By Radicalism In Social Media, BNPT Asks Campus To Get Involved

Illustration of rejection of radicalism. (Between Maulana Surya)

JAKARTA - Head of the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) Boy Rafli Amar encourages campus institutions to increase student resistance from the influence of intolerance and radicalism.

According to Boy, a generation of students who are familiar with cyberspace, they are vulnerable to being influenced by the understanding of intolerance and radicalism that is spread by intolerant and radical groups on social media.

Therefore, said Boy, young people need to be directed, reminded, and guided so that it is not easy to become part of the spread of these ideas.

This was conveyed by Boy in a focused group discussion with the leadership of universities at Brawijaya University (UB) and Muhammadiyah University of Malang (UMM), East Java.

In addition to the efforts of campus institutions, Boy hopes that the younger generation, especially students, will play a role in preventing the exposure of intolerance and radicalism, such as producing counter-narrative content in the digital space.

Thus, he continued, the development of the seeds of intolerance and radicalism that are harmful to the integrity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia in the digital space can be stopped.

"In the context of producing counter-narrative content, this is related to values to develop life in a spirit of harmony, togetherness in the midst of a diverse nation. Our young people are very creative in creating content that can be uploaded on social media," he said, according to Antara.

Boy also sees that there are many things that can collaborate and synergize with campus institutions in order to prevent and eradicate the spread of radical terrorism in the university environment which is already very worrying.

"We raise the narrative of national insight to students, hold a dialogue program with the 'Warung NKRI' program that we have formed, and provide insight to new students," he said.

Furthermore, responding to the visit of the Head of BNPT in the discussion, the Chancellor of Universitas Brawijaya Widodo said that his party discussed a lot about program implementation and cooperation as an effort to prevent and minimize the entry of radicalism and terrorism into the campus environment.

The effort, he said, refers to the tridharma of higher education, namely education, research, and community service.

"Earlier, we have discussed a lot about education to educate the younger generation to love their nation and country more. Second, by setting up activity units or activities to increase professionalism, for example in the business sector," said Widodo.

Third, he continued, through the formation of student mindsets through the development of inclusive and tolerant narratives, as the aspiration of Universitas Brawijaya to become a world-class university.

In fact, Widodo also said that Brawijaya University and BNPT encourage cooperation in the field of research and community service, such as by building research studies and fostering an understanding of Indonesian culture through the Nusantara Terpadu Terpadu (KTN) program.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor of the University of Muhammadiyah Malang Fauzan assessed that the presence of the Head of BNPT and his staff provided reinforcement for the efforts made by UMM in anticipating and minimizing the spread of intolerance and radicalism in the campus environment through a series of programs and institutional formation.

"The presence of the Head of BNPT provides reinforcement for what the University of Muhammadiyah Malang has been doing. In real terms, we have carried out various activities, one of which is a national festival so that the stages are no longer appeals, but the application of practices. So, this fits perfectly," he said.