Political actors must…at least declare that they will no longer employ (identity politics) and (will remain) committed to punishing party officials who continue employing such tactics.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Political education from an early age could help keep identity politics from taking root in Indonesia, according to a senior researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

"We need political education from an early age. From an early age, children must understand which one is a hoax, which one is correct and appropriate politics, and which one is dangerous, as well as to nurture a democratic mentality based on merit and rationality,” Firman Noor from BRIN’s Political Research Center said during a public discussion on identity politics prevention on Monday.

Identity politics and the emergence of hoaxes in electoral politics are common in democracies, and their prevention must involve political education at the upstream stage instead of the downstream stage, where the action occurs.

Besides political education, there needs to be a collective commitment among political actors to declare identity politics as a common enemy, the researcher said.

"Political actors must remind (their constituents), they must at least declare that they will no longer employ (identity politics) and (will remain) committed to punishing party officials who continue employing such tactics," Noor underlined.

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The political researcher then highlighted the need for a comprehensive law, which could serve as the legal basis for penalizing parties who resort to identity politics to achieve electoral success.

"This law must be enforced strictly, consistently, and impartially," he stated.

During the same discussion, the BRIN researcher encouraged all parties to not employ identity politics in Indonesia's electoral democracy.

He said that electoral politics would hamper Indonesia's political development because it would lead to voters not selecting their preferred leaders going by their personal capability or programs, but instead by their religion, ethnic groups, or other cultural identities.

"If we continue like this (employing identity politics) when Indonesia (political candidates) will compete by programs in our politics? We will not upgraded (our politics) if our politics stagnate," Noor remarked.

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Translator: Tri Meilani A, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Suharto
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