Governing A Plural Society with Privilege
Keywords:
good public governance, privilege, social justiceAbstract
Indonesia is a democratic state that provides its citizens with a constitutional guarantee to be treated equally. However, the practice is not always in line with the theory. Governing a plural society in Indonesia has to face empirical challenges of inequality and social injustice. This paper explores how religious majority privilege still affects the ways of public governance. It exposes the optical illusion phenomena of good public governance in Indonesia by using a social justice approach. The study shows the implementation of good public governance is troubled by various unethical practices by state apparatuses at local as well as national levels. Instead of fostering democratic services that treat people equally without discriminating against their primordial backgrounds, the religious majority identity is repeatedly orchestrated in many ways for individuals or institutional advantages at the cost of religious minorities. The results of this research are important and significant to strengthening the exercise of democracy and good public governance in Indonesia.
