Jakarta (The Indonesian News) – Head of the Government Communications Agency (Bakom) Muhammad Qodari has emphasized that dialogue must be prioritized in the practice of democratic governance. The government is committed to continuing dialogue with the public in carrying out and continuously improving the quality of national priority programs.
“Democracy can only exist if there is dialogue. If there is no dialogue, only demands, then that is not democracy. That is just ‘my way or the highway’ where one party wants everything their way,” Qodari said, as quoted on Wednesday (June 17).
Qodari’s statement responded to the anger of some Gadjah Mada University (UGM) students over the arrival of three state officials at a discussion event held at the UGM Innovation and Creativity Hall (GIK) in Yogyakarta on Monday evening (June 15).
The discussion, which featured Head of the Poverty Alleviation Acceleration Agency Budiman Sudjatmiko; Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of BPN Nusron Wahid; and Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono, had initially been proceeding smoothly. In the middle of the discussion, a number of students forced their way onto the stage and unfurled banners of protest. The discussion then disbanded.
Responding to the dialogue event, Qodari observed that some students approved, and it was even known by campus authorities. In fact, the discussion had been running smoothly with orderly students.
“So actually, there was an anomaly there there was an interruption,” Qodari said.
Regarding the notion that the students who disrupted the discussion were tired of talk and wanted to make demands on the government, Qodari saw it as mere anger.
“I think that dialogue should be answered with more dialogue it’s not difficult. I think that is the most proportional response. When we are talking about democracy and talking about dialogue,” Qodari said.
Regarding the students’ demand for the government to stop the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program, Qodari said the program is a priority program of President Prabowo Subianto a program born from Prabowo’s concern to quickly resolve the stunting problem in Indonesia.
This priority program was also born from the public mandate given to Prabowo, who won the general election. The public chose Prabowo to carry out his vision and mission as campaigned.
“At that point, I also want to provide context: the MBG program cannot simply be demanded to stop. Prabowo was elected based on the work program he would implement; it cannot be stopped,” Qodari asserted.
Therefore, he continued, student disagreement must be categorized into two types. First, disagreement that is political in nature, and second, disagreement that is technocratic. For the political type, he said, there is no room for negotiation.
“It would be a grave mistake to demand that Mr. Prabowo stop the program. That is precisely his campaign promise. You would essentially be saying that Mr. Prabowo should not fulfill his campaign promises,” Qodari said.
According to him, students must look at the bigger picture. A total of 96 million Indonesians the majority voted for Prabowo. That means they voted for a package that includes his work program and vision-mission.
“Now, if your disagreement is categorical, technocratic in nature, then we will fix whatever is lacking,” Qodari explained.
Source: Press Release from the Government Communications Agency (Bakom) of the Republic of Indonesia
