Civic education mandatory for all citizens: Bill<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Defense is drafting a bill on civic education --
\na program which would be introduced to all Indonesian citizens as
\nearly as kindergarten.<\/p>\n
According to the draft, all civil servants and employees
\nworking with state and private institutions, as well as members
\nof mass organizations and political parties, are also required to
\njoin the program.<\/p>\n
The draft also stipulates criminal sanctions to be imposed on
\nindividuals who try to avoid the program or for the management or
\nofficials of institutions who fail to introduce the program in
\ntheir workplaces.<\/p>\n
Each individual who undergoes the program is expected to
\nunderstand the principles of nationalism, from the basic
\nknowledge of the state ideology Pancasila and the form of the
\nunitary Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), to the spirit of
\npatriotism, democracy and moral values.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia has found its identity in diversity ever since our
\nfounding fathers proclaimed independence on Aug. 17, 1945.<\/p>\n
"We have never defined ourselves by a specific religion, race
\nor ethnic group," Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said on
\nWednesday in a speech marking the opening of a one-day seminar to
\ndiscuss the draft of the civic education bill.<\/p>\n
Several noted academicians, including Indria Samego from the
\nNational Institute of Science (LIPI) and Muslim scholar Azyumardi
\nAzra who heads Jakarta-based Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic
\nInstitute, participated in the seminar to share ideas on the
\nconcept of civic education.<\/p>\n
"The main goals of the civic education program are to create a
\ncivilized society which promotes peace and tolerance; a sense of
\nhonesty, justice and compassion; and upholds the supremacy of the
\nlaw," the draft says.<\/p>\n
"In our country's public domain, there has never been one
\ninterest group that dominates another. We are not like Malaysia
\nor Brunei, which officially are Islamic states with the majority
\nof their citizens being Malay.<\/p>\n
"Neither are we the former Yugoslavia, whose largest ethnic
\ngroup, the Serbs, had a dominant role in all sectors, nor the
\nformer Soviet Union, whose ethnic group, the Russians, became the
\nmost influential group there," he added.<\/p>\n
The draft is one of the proposed pieces of legislation on a
\ndefense and security system, which is currently being defined by
\nthe ministry.<\/p>\n
Besides the draft on civic education, there are also draft
\nlaws on military tribunals, state defense and security, civilian
\nreserve and intelligence -- on which the ministry has promised to
\nformulate "a more humane law on intelligence".<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/civic-education-mandatory-for-all-citizens-bill-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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