Jakarta – The theme of unity has always been the go-to slogan of the annual celebration of Indonesia's Independence Day.

The running theme in the country's post-independence history is that only through unity among the political elite, the people and the Indonesian Military (TNI), did Indonesia manage to free itself from the shackles of colonialism.

But it looks like that unity is in short supply today as the nation prepares to celebrate the 79th anniversary of its independence.

Under normal circumstances, the news of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri skipping the Independence Day ceremony would barely make the headlines. After all, she has skipped the occasion multiple times in the past.

But her recent decision not to attend the Independence Day ceremony at the country's future capital and the pet project of outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo feels less like a routine gesture and more like an act of resistance.

Ever since President Jokowi backed the presidential bid of Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, now president-elect, and tapped his own son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as Prabowo's running mate at the expense of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) Ganjar Pranowo, the personal relationship between Megawati and the President has been at rock bottom.

And with the likelihood of two ministers nominated by Megawati being replaced in the looming cabinet reshuffle, it is difficult to expect that ties can recover any time soon.

Megawati's refusal to join the Independence Day celebration at Nusantara also comes after President Jokowi's show of strength, if not unity, last week where he staged a full cabinet meeting at the planned new capital with the presence of almost all the ministers in the cabinet, including Prabowo.

But maybe these cabinet ministers had no choice but to go to Nusantara, especially after what happened to Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto, who lost his job as Golkar Party chairman the night before.

And then of course there is the threat of a cabinet reshuffle, which has been bandied about for months, to cow political parties into submission.

For parties outside of the ruling coalition like the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Democratic Party, a cabinet reshuffle will offer them access to power, and this is where we can run into problems, especially if we intend on having a fully functioning democracy.

We already see in the lead-up to the nomination process for gubernatorial elections, more popular and qualified candidates being sidelined in favor of individuals favored by the ruling Indonesia Onward (KIM) coalition.

And for political parties like the PDI-P, which has nominated scores of strong candidates to challenge the KIM's ticket in November's elections, we can expect that they will soon lose their seats in the cabinet as a form of punishment.

For parties like the PDI-P that have fallen out of favor with the President, the shake-up will only strengthen their resolve in doing battle with the ruling coalition.

We already hear harsh words being exchanged between the leadership of the PDI-P and supporters of the President.

The sad truth about the situation is that the PDI-P is now the only dissenting voice against the ruling government and that is bad news for democracy.

For a democracy to function, more dissenting voices should be heard and no amount of inducement or threats should sway anyone's opinion.

The nation's strength lies not only in its unity but also in diversity and today we run the risk of losing diversity in the country's politics.

Every politician and political party should be free to champion their ideas and political platforms and exchange them in the free market of ideas.

Seventy-nine years after independence, this country deserves better than a false sense of unity.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2024/08/16/unity-in-diversity.htm