YOGYAKARTA Identity politics is one of the political strategies used by a group such as ethnicity, ethnicity, culture, religion or something else to seize power.
The issue of identity politics in Indonesia surfaced ahead of the 2024 General Election (Pemilu).
In this regard, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) warned presidential and vice presidential candidates not to use identity politics in the presidential election contestation.
According to Jokowi, identity politics is very dangerous for Indonesia. Therefore, politicization of religion and SARA should be avoided.
"Avoid this. Do political ideas, political ideas. But don't enter SARA politics, politicization religion, identity politics, don't," said Jokowi when giving a speech at the 2022 Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (HIPMI) National Conference which was held in Solo, quoted from the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel, Tuesday, November 22, 2022.
So, what is identity politics? The following is an explanation of identity politics and its dangers for the life of the nation and state.
Quoted from the official website of the Indonesian Institute of Science and Education, identity politics is a political strategy that focuses on the distinction and utilization of primordial bonds as its main category.
Identity politics can lead to tolerance and freedom. However, at the same time, identity politics also has the potential to create patterns of intolerance, verbal-physical violence and also ethical conflicts in life.
According to Ahmad Syafii Maarif in the book Politics of Identity and the Future of Indonesian Pluraism, identity politics attracted social sciences in the 1970s. Starting in the United States, when facing minorities, gender, feminism, race, ethnicity, and social groups, his fabrics that felt marginalized, felt persecuted.
Dalam pengembangannya, politik identitas meluas kepada masalah agama, kepercayaan, dan ikatan kultural yang beragam.
According to Syafii, identity politics in Indonesia is more related to the issue of ethnicity of religion, ideology, and local interests represented by the elites with their respective meanings.
Identity Political Hazard
PBNU General Chair Yahya Cholil Staquf said that identity politics could lead the Indonesian nation into divisions. Therefore, Yahya asked politicians not to use identity politics.
On the other hand, Yahya encouraged politicians to prioritize ideas, credibility, and track records to attract public sympathy.
"We must remind these political actors that playing with religious identity is tantamount to leading this nation into division," Yahya said, quoted from the official NU website.
Yahya reminded that no single politician using an identity such as religion defeated their political opponents. Rational democracy is more important to implement in society.
"So we can't, 'Even if it's a corruptor, Islam will go to heaven too'. For example, that's something irrelevant to develop in our democracy," he said.
He reminded politicians to be accountable for their actions in the future. Their strategy for politics will determine the journey of the nation and state in the future.
"I ask all these political actors to be more responsible considering the founding of this nation and state," said Yahya.
"Because what we have as an Indonesian nation is actually not only for ourselves, but this can be a high-value contribution for all the constructions of world civilization in the future," he concluded.
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