REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PADANG -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla has called on Minister of Communication and Informatics Rudiantara to track and crack down on the spread of online radicalism.
"Today, the most extreme approach to spread radicalism is through technology. Hence, the minister of communication and informatics must track its spread on the internet. We seek to pursue it together," Kalla stated at the Auditorium of the State University of Padang, West Sumatra, on Saturday.
The ministry, on Friday, had urged internet service providers to terminate or block access to Telegram's 11 domain name systems, which were originally accessible via personal computers, as they contained content on radicalism and extremism that led to terrorism.
Kalla conveyed the request as a response to the Declaration of Anti-Radicalism made by rectors of state and private universities in the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, and Riau.
According to Kalla, radicalism was deliberately spread among the young people through brainwashing that there was a shortcut to reach heaven by undertaking "jihad," engaging in a holy war. Hence, such a thought process cannot be fought with violence, but it should be overcome by raising awareness through the spread of education.
"Radicalism will not end by reading the joint declaration, but it has to be eradicated by providing good education and sound examples and sharing the right religious teachings, which is why the university plays an important role in neutralizing and channeling the thought process of our young generation in the right direction," he said.
Speaking in connection with the misuse of technology for the spread of radicalism that had led to terrorism, Kalla appealed to the young generation in Indonesia, especially students of the State University of Padang, to study hard.
"If people get influenced without the right knowledge, their actions will spiral out of control. If they are knowledgeable, they will move in the right direction. Hence, let us continue to advance the level of education since it is also part of jihad," he stated.
He undertook a work visit to Padang, West Sumatra, with the main agenda of inaugurating 11 new buildings in the State University of Padang and the Baiturrahmah Mosque of the Baiturrahmah University Foundation.
Kalla was accompanied by Minister of Communication and Informatics Rudiantara, Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Sofyan Djalil, and Administrative and Bureaucratic Reforms Minister Asman Abnur.
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