Is Pancasila still Relevant?

 

On 1 June 1958, Indonesia's first President, Soekarno, delivered a speech saying that Pancasila i.e. Five Principles, is the ideology of the the Republic, since then the said date has been celebrated as the birth date of Pancasila.

Pancasila consists of the following idealistic principles :  1) Belief in One God;  2) Civilized Humanity; 3)  Indonesian Unity;  4) Representative Democracy;   5) Social Justice.

Before liberal democracy came to Indonesia on May 1998, the ruling governments of President Soekarno (1945-1966) and President Soeharto (1966-1998), have force the adoption and implementation of Pancasila in the sense that every people and organizations must adopt Pancasila as a single ideology, otherwise they would face legal consequences.

The introduction of liberal democracy after Soeharto stepped down from 32 years of authoritarian rule on May 1998 is like the opening of a Pandora Box that enabled all sorts of social disease to come to Indonesia.

Every people and organizations in Indonesia are free to adopt all kinds of ideologies they want, whether they are moderate, or extreme, fanatic, religious, tribal etc (except Communism).
As a result, the belief of the majority of the country's population i.e the Religion of Islam, became the ideology of many socio-political organizations.

The adoption of religious ideology by extreme and fanatic people has caused social conflicts in provinces of Maluku, and Central Sulawesi, also a series of suicide bombings of innocent local and foreigners, in Jakarta and Bali.

Moreover, indecisiveness and failure to enforce laws against repetitive violent actions by fanatic organizations like the FPI against Christians and Ahmadiyah, has made those organizations more stronger, and weaken the government.

In spite of the above mentioned facts, I believe that Pancasila is still relevant for a multi-racial, tribal, religion, country like Indonesia, provided that the Rule of Law is upheld, therefore the concepts of Supremacy of Law, Presumption of Innocence, and Equality before the Law is maintained.


Symbol :  Courtesy of Wikipedia.

A Distrust Society

Almost every day we saw on television, heard on the radio, and read in the news paper about so many people getting easily angered and staged violence in public places, although only triggered by trivial matters.

They show their anger in many ways, such as the emergence of motorcycle gang after the murder of a Naval officer, clashes between member of the Army and the Police in Gorontalo, and an Army Captain acting arrogantly against a civilian in Jakarta.

Kompas wrote that aggressive behavior is a result of pressure due to various uncertainties in our country, ranging from Legal, Social, Politic, Economic, and even Religion.

Muji Sutrisno, a lecturer at the Dyarkara Philosophy School in Jakarta, was quoted as saying that today's society is losing a good role model. Figures or institutions that are expected to set an example and wisdom, it turns out most of them become part of the problem. It's hard to find someone who can be trusted.                    

He went on to say that such society can be called a Distrust Society i.e a Society that losses trust. If this goes on and on, our nation may loss Morality, Ethics and Wisdom.

Considering the above, I hope that all our politicians would always think and act as patrons for our society i.e. by upholding national unity based on our Constitutions, Laws, Pancasila and Traditions. And most of all, the laws must be enforced properly.

United we'll stand, Separated we'll fall

The Indonesian national motto of "Unity in Diversity" points to one of the greatest attractions of Indonesia.

There are around 300 ethnic groups, a result of Indonesia's unique geographical make-up consisting of more than 17,000 islands, and history.

Many Indonesians see themselves first by their ethnic, religion and cultural group, and secondly as Indonesians.

The glue that binds the people together is the usage of the Indonesian language and adoption of Pancasila as national philosophy which stressed the doctrine of Religious pluralism, Humanism, Unity, Democracy and Social Justice.

Considering the above mentioned facts, I felt that Indonesia could only exist as a country if its people keep on believing on what have been pledged by our founding fathers on 28 October 1928, as follow :
-  We are one Nation : Indonesia
-  We have one Language : Indonesia
-  We have one Country : Indonesia

Happy Birthday Pancasila

During a meeting of the Committee for the Preparation of Independence of Indonesia (BPUPKI).on 1 June 1945, the leader of independence movement Soekarno delivered a speech titled " The Birth of Pancasila ".

Soekarno proposed the state of Indonesia to adopt Pancasila as a political philosophy. Pancasila consists of two Sanskrit words i.e Panca: five, Sila: Principles, comprising of :
1)  Belief in One God
2)  A Just and Civilized Humanity
3)  Indonesian Unity
4)  Democracy
5)  Social Justice

During the authoritarian governments of former President Soekarno (1945-1966), and former President Soeharto (1966-1988) Pancasila was strictly adopted as a doctrine. Social, Political, Economical activities must solely be based on Pancasila.

After Soeharto stepped down on 21 May 1998, Indonesia became a liberal democratic country, and freedom of speech and human rights became very important factors in the country.

As a result, the government and law enforcement agencies tend to be very careful, sometimes hesitate in enforcing laws and regulations. This together with Poverty, Injustice and Corruption have made some people lost their faith on Pancasila and choose other ideology as basis for their activities. Some political parties and non government organizations choose religion as their sole ideology so as to get people's support and votes. Inter-faith conflicts broke in many regions.

The worst thing was that many of them became extremely fanatic that they were willing kill many people by exploding themselves in order to get what they want.

Considering that the five principles of Pancasila are suitable for Indonesia and not contradictory to religion, politics, cultures, etc. I hope that from now on, each and every one of us in Indonesia, would accept Pancasila as the country's main ideology.

For which purpose the government and its law enforcement agencies should enforce the laws and regulations based on the concepts of supremacy of law, presumption of innocence, equality before the law.

Source:
Wikipedia.

Indonesian Unity: a Fact or a Myth ?

Indonesia is the fourth most populated countries in the world after China, India and the United States.

Its 240 million people consist of so many different ethnics, culture, religions, living on more than 17,000 islands.
The majority of the people are Moslems therefore making Indonesia the largest Moslem country in the world. However, its laws also officially recognize five other religions i.e. Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Budha, and Confucius.

Besides, Indonesia has an official Coat of Arms i.e. the Garuda (above image) which depicted important basis for the country i.e. Pancasila and Bhineka Tunggal Ika.

Pancasila is the official philosophical foundation consisting of five principles i.e Belief in God, Humanity, Unity, Democracy, and Social Justice.

And Bhineka Tunggal Ika is the official Moto of the nation that means : Unity in Diversity.

In spite of the above mentioned facts, some people in Indonesia are seemingly not satisfied with what's going on in the country. There are several possible reasons for that.

First, the development of the country is almost concentrated in the Island of Java where majority of the people live and enjoyed a large portion of the country's wealth.

Secondly, people of minority religions have been treated unfairly, and the government has seemingly reacted  indecisively.

For example, attack on Christians churches by few Muslim fanatics might have been prevented if the government firmly decide whether or not to give permission. And further attacks would not occurred if the attackers have properly been tried in court and punished for violating the laws. 

Considering that most Moslems in Indonesia are moderates who have tolerated religious differences for 65 years since our independence, I hope that the government would make better efforts to maintain the diversity, and be more firm quick in handling problems related to diversity, so that Indonesian Unity would always be a fact of life.

To those who are celebrating Christmas, I wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas.

Photo of Garuda : Courtesy of  Wikipedia.

Hari Kesaktian Pancasila

Every year on 1 October, a commemoration of Hari Kesaktian Pancasila is held at the Pancasila Monument, Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta.

The words Hari Kesaktian Pancasila can be translated as Pancasila Sanctity Day. Pancasila is a symbol of Indonesia as a nation, that can be translated Five Principles consisting of : Believe in God, Humanity, Unified  Indonesia,  Democracy and Social Justice.

Today's event was attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono accompanied by Vice President Boediono, cabinet ministers, military commanders and chief of police.

A Brief History :


On the night of 30 September 1965, six Army Generals and one lieutenant were kidnapped from their homes in Jakarta by unidentified men, who killed and buried their bodies under the present location of the Pancasila Monument at Lubang Buaya (English: Crocodile Hole).

The Army accused that the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was responsible for said kidnappings and killings, and on 11 March 1966 they have persuaded former President Soekarno to allow the Army led by Maj.Gen Soeharto take repressive actions against PKI, and ban it afterward. 
Actions against PKI,  at that time world's third largest communist party after China and USSR, have caused many of its members died, and many others sent to an isolated detention camp on the Island of Buru in Maluku Province.

On March 1967, Soekarno was replaced as President by Gen. Soeharto who then ruled until May 1998. And since then, 1 October has been commemorated as the Pancasila Sanctity Day.
 

Pancasila

During a meeting of the committee for preparation of independence of Indonesia (BPUPKI) on 1 June 1945, leader of independence movement i.e. Soekarno introduced the Pancasila i.e. five principles consisting of: Belief in God, Humanity, Unity, Representative Democracy, Social Justice.

On 17 August 1945, independence was declared, Soekarno became president and Pancasila became the basis for the constitution and all laws and regulations in Indonesia.

Since then, Pancasila played a significant role in unifying 240 million Indonesian people living in more than 17,000 islands, consisting of many different religions, ethnics, languages, traditions.

Considering the above mentioned facts, 1 June has been celebrated as the date of birth of Pancasila.

I hope that in the future, interpretation and implementation of the principles of Pancasila would always be carried as a unison, and in line with the laws and regulations in Indonesia. That way, Indonesia will always be a unitary state.