Actualization of Pancasila Key to National Progress

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

People of different faiths chat at the Garuda Pancasila statue at the Jakarta Cathedral, where they are gathered for a breaking-of-the-fast event under the theme "Strengthening Tolerance, Brotherhood and Solidarity of Humanity" on Friday (1/6/2018). The gathering on Pancasila Day reflects the strength of interfaith harmony in Indonesia, which is important to strengthen the unity and cohesion of the nation.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The commemoration of Pancasila Day on June 1 is a perfect moment to reflect on and improve the actualization of Pancasila values in everyday life. This will hopefully boost the people’s spirit of unity, solidarity and achievement.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said such a spirit would reaffirm Indonesia’s progress toward becoming an advanced nation. “Let us all adhere to the noble values we inherited from our founding fathers for the sake of national progress and as a form of our contribution to the global community,” the President said in his speech at the Pancasila Day ceremony at the Foreign Ministry’s Pancasila Building in Jakarta on Friday (1/6/2018).

The Pancasila Building used to be the Volksraad (People’s Council) building during the Dutch colonial era. In a meeting of the Indonesian Independence Preparation Examination Assembly (BPUPKI) on June 1, 1945, founding father Soekarno spoke of Pancasila for the first time and proposed its five principles as a foundation for independent Indonesia.

Pancasila Day commemoration ceremonies were held at a number of places on Friday. A concert titled “Peaceful Indonesia Concert: Pancasila, Our Home” was held on Pancasila Square at Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Yogyakarta.

Kompas

Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengku Buwono X speaks at the Peaceful Indonesia Concert on Pancasila Square of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Friday (1/6/2018). The concert in commemoration of Pancasila Day was held to revive the spirit of Pancasila in the young generation.

Numerous communities gathered at Yogyakarta’s Mandala Krida sports stadium and pledged to be guardians of Pancasila.

Meanwhile, a breaking-of-the-fast meal was served at the Jakarta Cathedral. Apart from Muslims, other religious communities also attended the event. Bishop Albertus Hani Rudi Hartoko SJ said the event reaffirmed Pancasila as Indonesia’s foundation and Indonesians as a mutually respectful people.

Alissa Wahid, the daughter of late former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who attended the event, said it would strengthen interfaith solidarity in Indonesia.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

President Joko Widodo inspects a ceremony for the commemoration of Pancasila Day in front of the Pancasila Building at the Foreign Ministry complex in Jakarta on Friday (1/6/2016). In the same building, the Pancasila principles were delivered by President Sukarno in a speech before the Agency for the Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence (BPUPKI) on June 1, 1945. The moment marked a milestone in the history of Pancasila as the ideology and foundation of the Indonesian state.

Traditional clothing

Attendees of the Pancasila Day ceremony at the Pancasila Building on Friday included Vice President Jusuf Kalla, former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, former vice presidents Try Soetrisno and Boediono, state agency chairs, officials of the Agency for the Implementation of State Ideology Pancasila (BPIP), religious figures and political party leaders.

People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Zulkifli Hasan read out the Pancasila, and House of Representatives speaker Bambang Soesatyo read the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution at the ceremony.

Apart from students and police and military personnel, the ceremony’s attendees wore traditional clothing from across the archipelago. President Jokowi wore traditional Javanese attire.

The Pancasila Day commemoration ceremony this year was held under the theme of “Uniting, Sharing and Achieving”. Commemorational events are scheduled to be held until August 18. This is in line with the historical events of 1945, as Pancasila was formulated on June 1, perfected on June 22 and officially established as the state’s foundation on August 18.

BPIP head Yudi Latif said he hoped the commemoration of Pancasila Day would be not only ceremonial but also filled with virtuous activities. State officials, ministers, state agency chairs, regional leaders and community figures had to develop virtuous movements based on Pancasila values. “This means that each Pancasila principle is manifested in concrete actions,” Yudi said.

UGM rector Panut Mulyono said Indonesia wsa a huge nation with a strong historical root. “Pancasila is our home. Pancasila is a medium for Indonesian diversity,” he said.

Yogyakarta’s Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN) rector Yudian Wahyudi said the nation should remain united, no matter what hardships lay ahead. “We chose to become one amid our diversity. Out of different communities, we united and established the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. No nationalism divides states. Nationalism must unite us all, despite our differences,” he said.

(NDY/RON/RTG/SEM/NCA/HRS)