Pancasila Unites the Nation

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Visitors of different faiths tour Jakarta Cathedral on Friday (1/6/2018), when they gathered for a breaking-of-the-fast event themed "Strengthening Tolerance, Brotherhood and Solidarity of Humanity". The Pancasila Day gathering reflected on the strength of interfaith harmony in Indonesia, which maintains national unity and cohesion.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The third Indonesian Cultural Consensus (MBI) General Assembly that ended on Sunday, Nov. 25, concludes that state ideology Pancasila is the core essence of the nation’s noble values. Pancasila serves as a unifier and a foundation for the nation-state’s life.

Now, the nation needs to define Pancasila in a way that does not indoctrinate the people so that it can be a cross-generational ideology for the nation.

Taking place in Jakarta since Nov. 23, the third MBI General Assembly 2018 was attended by people from various regions and backgrounds, including academics, cultural observers, people of letters and religious leaders. Attending the event were Meutia Hatta, Putu Wijaya, Jean Couteau, Acil Bimbo and Sri-Edi Swasono, among many others.

At the event, participants proposed their ideas in five commissions, namely culture, nationalism, ideology, constitution and state affairs. Discussion results in these five commissions were then formulated by eight leading figures to become what was named the Pecenongan Declaration, after the Jakarta district where the event took place.

The five aspects are believed to be interconnected to one another. The MBI believes that there will be not nationalism without culture, no ideology without nation and not constitution without culture, nationalism and ideology. Meanwhile, the state system and governance serve as the implementation mechanism for the other four aspects.

“Afterwards, a strategic commission will be established to plan our tactics and strategy so that this recommendation can be disseminated and internalized properly to everyone for implementation,” senior cultural observer Radhar Panca Dahana, an MBI initiator, said in Jakarta.

Apart from being disseminated, Radhar said that the recommendations would serve as a common stepping stone comprising Indonesian national values that needed to be “operationalized”. Therefore, MBI participants should establish communications with state organizers, political organizations, mass organizations, cultural communities and academic communities.

“This is doable by empowering our MBI friends, including religious leaders and academics whose voices are heard. Celebrities are also involved here. They will talk about their own ways to promote these recommendations. Millennials will also be involved,” Radhar said.

Identity

On culture, the third MBI recommended the need for new institutions to revive Indonesia’s cultural identity based on a maritime culture. The Indonesian culture must be one that continues to learn. In regards to nationalism, it was agreed that the Indonesian identity was focused on respecting diversity, mutual assistance and inclusivity. The MBI also deemed the need for collective efforts to reformulate the major national values of non-discrimination, gender sensitivity, orientation toward progress and justice for all generations.

In regards to ideology, Pancasila is believed to be the core essence of the nation’s noble values and a “finalized” ideology. However, there has to be an effort to define Pancasila in a way that does not turn it into a doctrine, in order for it to become a cross-generational ideology for the nation.

Meanwhile, in regards to the constitution, the MBI recommended that amendments to the 1945 Constitution be based on the values of democracy, pluralism, local wisdom and support for scientific and technological progress. However, Pancasila should still be a foundation for the nation-state’s life.

The MBI also urged that the political and legal systems be reverted to the proper track, in line with the values inherent to the visions of the founding fathers. In this context, Pancasila should be the highest source in assessing the nation’s morality. “Pancasila must integrate and unite ideas. In its ideological function, Pancasila values must be the source of everything,” said Marko Mahin, who chaired the MBI ideology commission.

(GAL)