Constitutional law expert Jimly Asshiddiqie regrets that the population increase in Indonesia is not accompanied by a good quality of democracy. As the fourth most populous country, he believes it would be dangerous if Indonesia does not have a high quality of democracy.
"So there is a significant difference between quantity and quality. We must consistently work towards improving the quality and integrity of our democracy. However, it requires patience and a shared role, avoiding explosive actions," said Jimly during the Coaching Clinic on Public Information Transparency in Jakarta (9/26).
Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (Badan Pusat Statistik or BPS), Indonesia's population reached 278.69 million people by mid-2023. Meanwhile, according to the Democracy Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Indonesia falls under the category of a "Flawed Democracy" and was ranked 52nd in the world with a total score of 6.71 out of 10 in February of the previous year.
Jimly warned that recently, democratic regression is occurring worldwide. According to him, the emergence of new phenomena such as Covid is often exploited to make unilateral decisions without public participation, even though these decisions affect the well-being of many people.
"So, Covid for three years has also damaged the quality of democracy," he added.
Furthermore, he believes that Indonesia must be vigilant about changes in the global economy, society, and politics. Major changes, like those that occurred in the mid-20th century, should be anticipated in order to guide the development of a prosperous democracy within our country. []
Translated by Catherine Natalia
