INTRODUCTION

Tackling religious extremism continues to be a priority for President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) during his second term which began in October 2019. Within a month of his return to the presidency, eleven state and government bodies issued a joint decree to curb radicalism among civil servants (see Table 1 for the list of institutions). The joint decree is the latest anti-radicalism policy implemented by the Joko Widodo administration following the banning of pan-Islamist and Muslim fundamentalist group, Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), in 2017 through presidential regulation in lieu of the 2013 Law on Mass Organization. The government argued that HTI was banned mainly because the organization had failed to play a positive role in supporting national objectives. Activities conducted by the group were also seen to go against Pancasila and the Indonesian Constitution and had caused clashes between communities. This threatened security and order and potentially endangered the unity of the Indonesian state (Bambang Prasetyo 2019, p. 259).

This set of anti-radicalism policies ultimately seek to fulfil the President's aspiration to enhance pluralism in Indonesia based on Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity). This aspiration was proclaimed in Joko Widodo's campaign when he was running for the 2014 presidential election. His campaign platform, known as Nawacita, consisted of nine areas of development that Joko Widodo would realize if elected as president. His aspiration for a plural Indonesia has continued into his second term, under another political platform titled Indonesia Maju (Indonesia Moving Forward).

This article examines the part of President Joko Widodo's anti-radicalism policy that targets Indonesian civil servants. It outlines the process and progress in implementing the policy, sheds light on challenges in policy-implementation and evaluates the effectiveness of the policy. This article argues that the Joko Widodo administration has been facing a daunting task in implementing the policy. The implementation has lost momentum due to the COVID-19 pandemic that altered the government's priorities and subsequently reduced the morale of the joint task force.