Acting Pati Regent Apologises After Misreading Pancasila Text During Independence Day Ceremony

Acting Pati Regent Risma Ardhi Chandra has apologised after misreading the second principle of Pancasila during the 81st Independence Day ceremony. The incident went viral on social media. “We apologise to the people of Pati Regency and all the people of the Republic of Indonesia. Once again, it was unintentional. My condition at the time was really not good; I was unwell,” Chandra told reporters on Wednesday (19/8). Chandra said the series of events leading up to Independence Day was very packed and ran late into the night, which left him feeling unwell. “The series of activities went on until late at night, so my concentration was really lacking. Once again, we apologise,” he explained. Chandra said that on the morning before the independence ceremony, he was experiencing cold sweats. Nevertheless, he said he insisted on serving as the ceremony inspector. “That morning my condition was already cold sweats, but because it was 17 August I had to be strong. But it turns out the human body cannot cope when the condition is like that, and in the end I went blank. It was beyond our prediction,” he explained. The misreading incident occurred when Chandra led the Republic of Indonesia Independence Day commemoration ceremony at Pati Regency Square on Monday (17/8). In a circulating video, Chandra, acting as ceremony inspector, can be heard mispronouncing the second principle of Pancasila. Instead of reading “Kemanusiaan yang Adil dan Beradab” (Just and Civilised Humanity), he uttered a different wording. “Pancasila. One, Belief in the One and Only God. Two, justice that is just and civilised,” Chandra said in the video. The error in the second principle caused ceremony participants to be out of sync when repeating the text, although the third to fifth principles were read correctly.