Sore Losers: ‘Geger Ngoyak Layangan\'

KOMPAS/ANITA YOSSIHARA

President Joko Widodo

In this country, political gossip spread faster and wider than celebrity gossip. This includes insults not based on facts, deliberate lies and slander wrapped in ethnic, religious, racial and intergroup hatred and rabble-rousing.

Oftentimes, our political activities draw us further apart. Instead of promoting initiatives for the greater good, many of our politicians shamelessly sow prejudice without any care for its negative impact on our solidarity. These prejudices may tear down our collective imagination as a nation. It is unsurprising that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo quipped about the prevalence of “politik sontoloyo” (“crooked politics”), which then triggered a wide spectrum of reactions. It seems that the President was deeply concerned about the prevalence of “divisive and rabble-raising politics based on hatred”, which he said was “terribly outdated”, which appears to form the backbone of this President’s discourse.