Religious Leaders Play Crucial Role to Encourage Smart Voters
Religious leaders are often used as “political mouthpieces” every time this country will hold an election. They are demanded to stand at the forefront in influencing the public to vote for certain candidates. They even go as far as issuing a ‘fatwa’ stating that the candidate supported by religious figures is better than the rival candidate.
In Muslim-majority Indonesia, scholars and preachers often become objects of practical politics. The clerics or Ustaz are approached and lured with something to influence their followers to vote for certain candidates.
Despite their fame and strong charisma being exploited for practical political interests, as a matter of fact, the involvement of religious figures in politics also has a positive side. Clerics are able to set good examples for the public about polite ways of doing politics.
Being role models, these religious leaders also need to prepare themselves with a good understanding of politics so that they are able to convey political messages to the public properly. In addition, they should also be taught about ways of delivering messages to the community in various forms by using multiple platforms.
H. Bahrul Ulum, the Coordinator of the Indonesian Association for Media Development (PPMN) in Brebes, Central Java, has proven that religious leaders can educate others about elections. He organized a graphic design training on election issues for clerics throughout Brebes Regency who are the caretakers of the Diniyah Takmiliyah Communication Forum (FKDT) at Darul Abror Islamic Boarding School in Pasar Batang, Brebes Regency, on Sunday, November 13, 2022.
The training aims to enable the clerics to convey educative messages related to elections in the form of visual images that are easier to understand by the community. Therefore, the religious leaders will not only deliver the election messages verbally but also nonverbally, particularly using graphics.
Messages in graphic forms are necessary, considering that the public is not very literate in reading, and they prefer short messages coupled with visual images. Therefore, graphic design training for the clerics in the regency is essential to add to their insight and creativity. (dpc-fkdtbrebes.or.id/ Ustadz in Brebes Trained in Election Graphic Design / Sunday, November 13, 2022).
In addition to joining the graphic design training, the caretakers of the forum in Brebes also get knowledge about general elections.
Ahmad Sururi, Chairman of the forum’s regional board, was in charge of being a resource person at the election dissemination activity at Tonjong District on Friday, February 10, 2023. He emphasized that the role of clerics is very important in encouraging people to be smart voters. Ustaz and ustazah (women clerics) should be examples or role models for the community. "If we are being passive, apathetic, and we do not care about elections, it will have a big impact on the society," he emphasized.
Hopefully, he said, preachers would actively disseminate education about elections to the public to avoid them making the wrong choice. He highlighted that education on election literacy is not merely in the sense of candidate campaigns, but more about the active involvement of voters in the 2024 elections.
When people choose to abstain, their political rights are ignored. The right to vote in elections is a political right of every individual, as stipulated in Law Number 7/2017 on General Elections. The law states that voters are Indonesian citizens who have reached the age of 17 years or more, have been married, or were married.
In accordance with the law, there is actually no prohibition to abstain from voting, because the law does not mention any punishment for someone who does not vote.
However, the case is different if someone invites or influences other people to abstain, because it is considered as a crime.
In addition, according to Islamic law, abstaining from voting is not allowed or not justified because appointing a leader is an obligation. (cbnpost.com / say no to the 2024 election /).
Aceh Independent Election Commissioner’s Head of the Division of Voter Education and Public Participation in Dissemination, Akmal Abzal, emphasized the importance of community involvement in general elections. People can participate in the election both as voters and as candidates. People are also welcome to help election organizers educate the public about the election, considering that election organizers have limited human resources and thus cannot always reach all levels of society.
Akmal was talking in a public discussion entitled "Empowered Citizens as the Pioneers of Honest and Fair Elections" organized by the Indonesian Association for Media Development (PPMN) and the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) through the Banda Aceh Citizen Journalist Coordinator on Tuesday, January 24, 2024. The discussion took place at the Flower Aceh NGO office on Jalan Kebun Raja, Ulee Kareng.
Akmal hopes that citizens and community leaders with a good understanding of elections can play an active role in educating the public, for example by utilizing social media.
If educating the public involves taking sides with a particular figure, it is natural, but it should not justify unacceptable things such as blasphemy and slander, Akmal added.
