Baharudin Al Farisi, Danu Damarjati, Jakarta – As many as 53 percent of respondents to an Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) poll believe that the public is always or often afraid to discuss politics.
The component on the state of freedom was included in the LSI survey titled "Evaluation and Public Commitment to [the state ideology] Pancasila", which was presented by LSI Executive Director Djayadi Hanan in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Sunday April 12.
Respondents were asked to express their opinions on several questions, one of which was their opinion on the statement "nowadays, people are afraid to discuss political issues".
As many as 12 percent of respondents stated that people are always afraid to discuss political issues; 41 percent stated that people are often afraid to discuss politics; 28 percent stated that people are rarely afraid to discuss politics; 14 percent stated that people are never afraid to discuss politics; and the remaining 5 percent did not know or did not answer.
If the 12 percent of respondents who stated that people are always afraid to discuss politics and the 41 percent of respondents who stated that people are often afraid to discuss politics are combined, the figure is 53 percent.
"Are people now feel afraid of arbitrary arrests? Most people feel their fear has increased. Also, are people now afraid to talk about politics? Most are more afraid to talk about politics now," said Hanan.
As many as 58 percent of respondents stated that people are now often or always afraid of arbitrary arrest by law enforcement (14 percent always and 44 percent often).
On the perception that the government ignores the Constitution or laws, this was felt by 51 percent of respondents.
"Is the government now ignoring the Constitution and laws? Quite a lot of people say the government ignores the Constitution and laws", said Hanan.
Meanwhile, 35 percent of respondents stated that people are rarely afraid to join organisations, although 35 percent still feel often or always afraid.
On the other hand, the majority of respondents (49 percent) believe that people are never afraid to practice their religion. Twenty three percent feel they are often or always afraid to practice their religion.
Religious freedom satisfactory
As many as 92 percent of respondents reported satisfaction with freedom of religion, with 33 percent very satisfied and 59 percent somewhat satisfied.
Satisfaction with freedom of assembly or association was also high, reaching 83 percent (14 percent very satisfied and 69 percent somewhat satisfied).
Meanwhile, satisfaction with freedom of expression was at 75 percent, and freedom of the press and social media was at 75 percent.
Satisfaction with the guarantee of legal protection and equal treatment before the law reached 70 percent.
Survey methodology
Respondents to this survey included all Indonesian citizens eligible to vote in general elections, namely those aged a minimum of 17 years or married at the time of the survey.
From this population, researchers randomly selected 2,020 respondents using a multistage random sampling method.
With this sample size, the survey's margin of error was plus-or-minus 2.2 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence, assuming simple random sampling.
Respondents were interviewed face-to-face by trained interviewers. To maintain data quality, the team conducted random monitoring of 20 percent of the sample through spot checks with respondents.
The results was that no significant errors were found in the interview process. The survey ran from March 4 to March 12.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Survei LSI: 53 Persen Responden Menilai Masyarakat Takut Bicara Politik".]
