New Format for Pancasila Implementation Being Designed
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ANTARA/ROSA PANGGABEAN
President Joko Widodo (second left) congratulates Yudi Latif (left), the newly appointed head of the Presidential Working Unit for the Implementation of Pancasila (UKP-PIP), after the inauguration of the UKP-PIP steering committee and chairperson at the state palace in Jakarta, Wednesday (7/6). The UKP-PIP consists of nine steering committee members: former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD, Gen. (Ret.) Try Sutrisno, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Wisnu Bawa Tenaya, Said Aqil Siroj, Ma’ruf Amin, Andreas Anangguru Yewangoe, Sudhamek and former Muhammadiyah chairman Syafii Maarif.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — President Jokowi “Joko” Widodo on Wednesday, May 7, inaugurated the advisers and head of the Presidential Working Unit for the Implementation of Pancasila.
Yudi Latif, who was appointed head of the Presidential Working Unit for the Implementation of Pancasila (UKP-PIP), emphasized the new agency would not be the same as the Agency for the Propagation of Pancasila (BP7) of the New Order. He said the BP7 aimed to spread Pancasila values through the Propagation of Pancasila Seminar (P4).
Meanwhile, UKP-PIP is tasked with coordinating, controlling and reforming Pancasila education in schools. Once the Culture and Education Minister and the Research and Higher Education Minister revive Pancasila subjects in schools, UKP-PIP will help outline the teaching materials and methodology.
UKP-PIP will also empower groups in society to help spread awareness of Pancasila values. It is expected that volunteers will socialize communities to the importance of Pancasila in national and state life.
Yudi gave the explanation after the first UKP-PIP meeting. The closed-door meeting led by President Jokowi appointed former president Megawati Soekarnoputri as chairperson of the advisers and Indonesian Hindu Dharma Association chairman Wisnu Bawa Tenaya as the secretary general of UKP-PIP.
The advisory committee consists of nine people. The remaining seven members are former vice president Try Sutrisno, former chief justice of the Constitutional Court Mahfud MD, Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Said Aqil Siroj, Indonesian Ulemas Council chairman Ma’ruf Amin, former chairman of Muhammadiyah A Syafii Maarif, Indonesian Churches Association former chairman Andreas A Yewangoe and former chairman of Indonesian Buddhayana Assembly Sudhamek AWS.
President Jokowi inaugurated the UKP-PIP advisers and chairman at the State Palace in Jakarta, yesterday. Present at the event were Vice President Jusuf Kalla, People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Zulkifli Hasan, House Speaker Setya Novanto, Regional Representatives Council speaker Osman Sapta Odang and several Cabinet ministers.
Talks on the formation of UKP-PIP began at the end of last year. At that time, the government said it would set up a presidential working unit to instill Pancasila values in society (Kompas, 20/12/2016).
The presence of the agency is relevant amid national tensions that could threaten national unity.
Meanwhile, MPR assessment body recorded that over 50 percent of laws issued during the Reform era did not follow Pancasila values during the law making process (Kompas, 29/5).
Kompas/Anita Yossihara
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National binding
The establishment of UKP-PIP, Yudi said, has given momentum to efforts to strengthen national unity. Pancasila is not only a state ideology, but also a tool to unify the Indonesian nation.
Yudi believes Pancasila will help bind the nation together. “Like a broomstick, if it is not tightened, it will become loose and broken. The nation, like the broomstick, will be strong if it is tightened and the binding is Pancasila,” he said.
UKP-PIP adviser A Syafii Maarif said the task of the unit was difficult. The Old and New Order administrations had also setup agencies to socialize Pancasila values. But the agencies were seen as failures.
“Thus, the task of this agency is tough because it must win public trust. During President Sukarno’s era there was Tubapi [seven materials for indoctrination] but it failed. During Soeharto’s era there was P4, but it failed also. This time we must succeed. If not, woe be this nation,” he said.
The biggest challenge of UKP-PIP, Syafii said, is socializing Pancasila values related to the fifth tenet, “Social Justice for All Indonesian People,” because, almost 72 years after independence, it had yet to been realized. Its absence can be witnessed through the wide gaps in society and the gaps between regions.
Social justice, which has not materialized, Syafii said was the root of various national problems, including radicalism and terrorism. Thus, it is important for UKP-PIP to outline the implementation the fifth tenet of Pancasila in public and in society.
Challenge
Separately, Driyarkara Philosophy School lecturer Franz Magnis-Suseno, said there were three issues that threaten the values of Pancasila, the partial implementation of Pancasila, the presence of exclusive foreign ideologies that highlight ethnicity and religion and the continued marginalization of certain segments of society.
The threat, Franz Magnis said, was real. All parts of the nation must understand the values that were fought for by the founding fathers through Pancasila, mainly the principle of realizing social justice.
“Pancasila is essential for the advancement and existence of Indonesia. Pancasila has become a battleground for a number of conflicts. Therefore, the implementation of Pancasila must be made customary,” Franz Magnis said.
He said Pancasila was the only ideology that could maintain diversity in Indonesia as Pancasila guarantees that people of all religions, ethnicities, races and groups across Indonesia are the legal owners of Indonesia.
Director of Higher Education, Science, Research and Culture at Bappenas Amich Alhumami said Pancasila represented common ground between the differences in ideas of the founding fathers regarding the form of the country. This common ground, he said, meant the nations leaders, regardless of their political and religious affiliation, were willing to accept Pancasila as the national ideology.
“Because of this, the majority of Indonesian citizens will fight back if individuals attempt to replace Pancasila with other ideologies,” he said.
