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| The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) UMM held a seminar on "The Future of Indonesian Political Morality: Dialectics of Contemporary Practical Political Dramaturgy" (Photo: Special) |
An engaging discussion took place at a seminar organized by the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) of Muhammadiyah University of Malang (UMM) last January. The topic was "The Future of Indonesian Political Morality: Dialectics of Contemporary Practical Political Dramaturgy." The event featured a lineup of distinguished speakers, including Ahmad Warits, S.IP, Chairman of the East Java Provincial Bawaslu and an alumnus of UMM's Government Science (IP) program, IP Lecturer Dr. Saiman, M.Si, and political communication expert Zen Amirudin, M.Med.Kom.
Warits explained that there are several critical issues in the current political landscape ahead of the 2024 elections. These include the rapidly changing rules of the game once the stages are underway, increasingly brutal money politics, low political participation, Bawaslu's inability to address money politics, and the neutrality of Village Heads, ASN, TNI, and Polri. He noted that there have been at least 130 cases of money politics in Indonesia, based on findings and reports.
Money politics is very dangerous when elected candidates lack the necessary capacity but are chosen because of money politics. "This is perilous and will impact the process of making state policies, especially budget policies at the district and city levels," he said.
In line with what Warits said, Zen had the opportunity to highlight the dialectics of political dramaturgy in Indonesia. Dramaturgy is a theory introduced by Erving Goffman in sociology, which compares social life to a theatrical performance with both a front stage and a backstage. In politics, this means that political actors, such as politicians, parties, or community groups, play certain roles that are visible to the public.
Furthermore, morality and dramaturgy in politics can be seen from three main aspects: imaging, manipulation of public opinion, and the commercialization of politics. Imaging refers to efforts to create a particular image that can obscure the moral values that should serve as the foundation for political decision-making. Manipulation of public opinion often leads to polarization and division within society, while the commercialization of politics turns popularity and electability into traded commodities, sacrificing moral values for political gain.
"To address these challenges, character education, bureaucratic reform, strengthening community oversight, strengthening political parties, and a stronger role for the mass media are needed," he concluded.
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This was also emphasized by Saiman, who highlighted a series of political issues, including corruption among public officials, political dynasties, political money, oligarchic intervention, transactional politics, high-cost elections, weak leadership integrity, and weak legislative and community oversight. "Corruption is one of the sources of unrest in society. State funds, which should be used for the public good, are instead misappropriated and enjoyed by individuals," he concluded. (*/wil/mrh)
