Maintaining Diversity Is A Must
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Indonesia was built from a heterogeneous society. President Joko Widodo expressed hoped that the nation’s diversity, as shown through the traditional attire worn during the flag-hoisting ceremony at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, could be well accepted and understood by all.
“The most important thing we wanted to convey during the Aug. 17 celebration was diversity. I hope this message reaches the people,” the President said during a meeting with the nation’s role models and organizing teams of the 72nd anniversary of independence celebration on Friday (18/8) at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
During the flag-hoisting ceremony at Merdeka Palace, not only did President Jokowi and Vice President Jusuf Kalla wear traditional attire but so did guests, such as third president BJ Habibie, fifth president Megawati Soekarnoputri and sixth president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The gathering of the president and his predecessors or the club of presidents at state event was the first in the past 12 years. This won appreciation from the public.
The photo of the club of presidents splashed newspapers’ headlines. “May our state leaders stay together peacefully #RI72,” said Twitter account @dewahoya posting the photo.
Biggest threat
People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Zulkifli Hasan said he hoped the awareness that Indonesia was built from a diverse society would always become a reference for state institutions when making policies.
“The main challenge today is to maintain diversity and strengthen national autonomy,” said Zulkifli during the commemoration of Constitution Day at the legislative complex in Jakarta yesterday.
Present at the event was Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Regional Representatives Council (DPD) speaker Oesman Sapta Odang, Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) chairman Moermahadi Soerja Djanegara, Supreme Court chief justice Hatta Ali, Constitutional Court chief justice Arief Hidayat, Judicial Commission chairman Aidul Fitriciada Azhari and several Cabinet ministers.
To deal with the challenge today, Zulkifli said, there needed to be awareness and commitment from all national components to respect national heterogeneity and diversity.
The Constitution, Zulkifli said, must serve as a liberation spirit toward an independent country. The Constitution must be perceived more than free from colonialism but also free from poverty and backwardness.
“Ultimately, the Constitution is not a guarantee of sovereignty but also efforts to realize more just economic prosperity and independence,” he said.
Regarding this issue, Zulkifli said, the MPR assessment bureau has reviewed the national economy system to realize social welfare based on the Constitution. The assessment led to four recommendations.
First, the state needs to rearrange the ownership of state-owned companies and review some regulations contradictory to Pancasila and 1945 Constitution.
Second, the state needs to redefine the meaning of social welfare based on familial principle in the form of legislation.
Third, the state needs to improve legislation related to limitation of ownership, even distribution and control of land that reflects justice. Lastly, the subsidy policy is still needed but the channeling system and mechanism must be improved.
Vice President Kalla agreed with the MPR recommendation. According to the vice president, the change of state system and constitutional amendment did happen. However, the preamble of the Constitution, which consists of the state goals, does not change. This is a consensus of the founding father.
Diversity without discrimination is also stipulated as an agreement of all founding fathers. So is the goal to attain a just and prosperous society and to promote world peace.
More stable
According to Kalla, the political situation should be more stable with the togetherness of the state leaders. In politics, there is always a difference in the ways and options but the goal remains the same. “We talk about unity. We are politically different but concerning goals and state ideology, we are one,” said Kalla to explain the meaning of the meeting of four presidents during the flag-hoisting ceremony at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.
United Development Party secretary-general Arsul Sani hoped the meeting of elites like the one during the flag-hoisting ceremony could be continued in the future.
“If there is a moment where the national leaders show unity, even if it is only for a few minutes, the public is happy. The nation will have more hope,” he said.
PDI Perjuangan deputy secretary-general Ahmad Basarah said he believed the meeting of elites was not something difficult to organize because they tended to unite under threat.
University of Indonesia psychology professor Hamdi Muluk said the meeting of members of the club of presidents would make the people happy. The public sees there is a message of unity in the meeting. “There is a climate of reconciliation after some tension from the Jakarta gubernatorial election,” he said.
The traditional attire worn by the elites and guests during the proclamation of independence commemoration, according to cultural observer Radhar Panca Dahana, also strengthened the impression that there was a point of return over the growing trend of anti-diversity. The event underlines the awareness of existentialism that “I exist because of differences”. Such awareness will ultimately develop mutual understanding. “This is a proclamation of culture. Talking about the nation is talking about culture, such as clothes. This is to confirm that we are not vulnerable to external impacts, including radicalism and intolerance,” Radhar said.
(APA/INA/GAL/SAN/DD10/DD14/NTA/NAR/MDN)