DEPOLITICISATION OF PUBLIC ISSUE:LOW DEGREE OF GOVERNMENT’S DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY

Abstrak: Tulisan ini mengkaji praktik De-politisasi isu publik yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah. De-politisasi isu dan kepentingan publik memicu terjadinya deficit demokrasi suatu negara. De-politisasi melalui negasi atas akses dan pembatasan atas ruang publik dalam membahas kebijakan yang berkaitan langsung dengan kepentingan Negara. Atas dasar hal tersebut, kebijakan reklamasi Pulau Benoa di Bali-Indonesia dijadikan sebagai objek analisa jurnal ini. Reklamasi Pulau Benoa disinyalir sebagai praktek de-politisasi isu publik yang dilakukan oleh Pemerintah Daerah Bali. Kata Kunci: Depolitisasi, Pemerintah, Elit, Publik dan Demokrasi.


Introduction
Depoliticisation of public issue is a normal event happening in the Global South where the major public concerns have become matters of technocratic governance or privatised to the market as well as communal, patronage, and privileged citizens' networks (Törnquist, 2009: 1).The core of depoliticisation of democracy is that relatively autonomous political relations between state and people are underdeveloped (Törnquist, 2009: 5).
Depoliticisation has been concepttualised as the passing of responsibility, and accountability, in a given issue area away from government (Burnham, 2001: 3).Depoliticisation can also be understood as a disregard for the importance of power relations in society (Prestegard, 2005: 6).Depoliticisation is a governing strategy or a process of placing at one remove the political character of decisionmaking.(1) Pacts between powerful elites on building core institutions of democracy that simultaneously ex-clude ordinary people and their representatives; (2) Privatization to the mar-ket, and affluent civil society organisations, ethnic and religious communities; (3)  (Schneller, 2011: 5).

Discussing Democracy
The concept of democratic legitimacy can be classified in 2

July 3, 2013
Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries endorsed the Ministerial Decree No. 17 / PERMEN-KP / 2013 as a permit for reclamating the non-core conservation zone.
There was no any publication about this.

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two) types, namely input-oriented legitimacy and output-oriented legitimacy.Input-oriented legitimacy refers to "government by the people" and is fundamentally linked to the question of whether "political choices are legitimated if and why these choices reflect the will of the people, that is, if they can be derived from the preferences of authentic members of society".Only when citizens feel that they can adequately provide "input" for the decision-Hikmawan & Hidayat, Depoliticisation of Public Issue making process, the political system can be labelled legitimated. of the people" into political decisions.If the mechanism is considered "democratic" or "good" by the people, then there is an inputoriented legitimacy.While, legitimacy on the output side is an effective level of government's performance i.e. the extent to which the political system meets the basic functions of government.at the issuance of Benoa Bay reclamation policy by the Provincial Government of Bali i.e.Governor Decree No. 2138/02-C/HK/2012 on Plan of Utilization and Regional Development of Aquatic Benoa Bay, which are then replaced with Governor Decree No. 1727/01-B/HK/2013 on Permit of Feasibility Study about Plan of Utilization, Development and Management of Aquatic Benoa Bay.Both of policy formulation did not involve public into the process.Instead, both are accused of secretly issued by the Provincial Government of Bali without the knowledge of the public.The reclamation activities of Benoa Bay (838 hectares) will be fully carried out by PT.Tirta Wahana Bali International owned by Tommy Winata, where 438 hectares of it will be used as mangrove forests, while another 300 hectares will be used as public facilities site (e.g.handycraft fair building, sports arenas, places of worship, schools, etc).And the remaining 100 hectares will be built for tourist accommodation.Development of tourism accommodation and public facilities are expected to create employment opportunities for the people of Bali in the next 5-10 years, which are as many as 200,000 new jobs. 1 The pros and cons of public attitudes then appear due to the Benoa Bay reclamation plan.The reason that the reclamation project will bring various new jobs encouraging certain groups to fully support the reclamation plan, while the reason for the threat of damage to the environment and culture as the negative impact of reclamation sparked rejection from other community groups.A moment later, the plan of the Provincial Government of Bali to reclaim Benoa Bayis becomes a warm conversation in the media, especially social media with the theme Bali Not For Sale.Over time that online disclosure of certain party's disapproval to the recla-1 Biro Humas Provinsi Bali.2013.Reklamasi Teluk Benoa untuk Masa Depan Bali.http://birohumas.baliprov.go.id/index.php/artikel-detail/53/Reklamasi-Teluk-Benoa-Untuk-Masa-Depan-Bali/.Accessed at 20/05/2016, 17.29 PM.Hikmawan & Hidayat, Depoliticisation of Public Issue mation plan, and information.Public policy interests of its cargo was not pro the public, but only benefit certain groups, and the process is deliberately obscured, producing elitist policies.And Benoa Bay reclamation policy is concluded by some parties as a product of the elite because it is not only problematic in terms of content, but also negates the formulation process of public access to get involved in its discussion.

August 3, 2013
fight the elitist government's domination.Now, the big challanges for all social movements in Benoa Bay case is how to keep in co-exist (substance idea) as a hegemonic power to counter the elitist government.The substance ideas become the important thing to fight against depoliticisation from elitist government.