Poki: Father, do you want to know why ducks can't fly? It turns out you don't need to be an animal expert to know.
Father (reading The Death of Expertise): You're very confident, it must be because you understand a lot, yeah.
Poki: The more I don't understand the more confident I am is the explanation. Asbun aja (a slang term meaning you randomly say anything without thinking about it first).
The Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom (KIKA) says that President Prabowo Subianto's labelling of experts who disagree with government policies as "stupid" is more than just a matter of ethics, but that it also reflects an anti-science mindset.
"The anti-science politics being built by the Prabowo administration is reflected in how averse the regime is to criticism", KIKA presidium member Herdiansyah Hamzah told Tempo on September 21.
Hamzah said that the "stupid" label for experts is only the latest in series of responses by Prabowo to criticism from various parties, including academics, analysts, the media and civil society.
Prabowo has previously accused the media of being "londo ireng" (Black Dutchman, referring to Indonesian soldiers who aided the Dutch) for allegedly focusing on the negative aspects of the government's performance, civil society activists as being "foreign lackeys" and peaceful protesters as "terrorists".
In addition to being averse to criticism, Hamzah believes that the Prabowo's policies are anti-science because they are issued without adequate planning or data.
A law professor from Mulawarman University cited the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program which has resulted in 53,000 people suffering from food poisoning, which according to Hamzah shows that the government does not prioritise science and data when making political decisions.
Likewise, Indonesian Islamic University (UII) Professor of Communication Studies, Masduki, believes that the government does not prioritise science and Prabowo's remarks embody the most blatant form of anti-intellectualism.
"This is a very serious alarm. So this is not just like a president doing stand-up comedy", said Masduki.
He argued that Prabowo's remarks send a dangerous message that attacks academic freedom, which is detrimental to the nation's development. "This is Pak [Mr] Prabowo and also members of the cabinet, actually starting a war or hostility towards intellectuals", he said.
Prabowo Subianto made his remarks about experts during a speech at a National Mandate Party (PAN) 28th anniversary event in Jakarta on September 18. Prabowo said that some experts became foolish because they thought they were too clever.
Prabowo claimed that he did not mind the criticism directed at him but he does not accept criticism in the form of slander. "It's up to the experts who consider themselves experts. So smart that they become stupid", Prabowo said.
[Abridged from a Tempo English article titled KIKA criticizes Prabowo's speech as hostile toward intellectuals.]
Notes
The book The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols explores why experts are routinely disregarded and what might be done to get authoritative knowledge taken more seriously.
