Acting Regent of Pati Misreads Pancasila While Leading Independence Day Ceremony

Acting Regent of Pati, Risma Ardhi Chandra, has become the focus of public attention after a video showing him incorrectly reading the text of Pancasila went viral on social media. The incident occurred while he was leading the Republic of Indonesia Independence Day commemoration ceremony at the Pati Regency square on Monday (17/8). In the circulating video, Chandra, who was acting as the ceremony inspector, was heard mispronouncing the second principle of Pancasila. Instead of reading ‘Kemanusiaan yang Adil dan Beradab’, 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. The situation was also highlighted by the Instagram account @Feedgramindo, which uploaded a recording of the event. Responding to the viral video, the Head of the Communication and Informatics Office of Pati Regency, Sugiyono, immediately spoke up. He confirmed the authenticity of the incident in the video. ‘It is true, the video is genuine,’ Sugiyono said when confirmed by detikJateng on Tuesday (18/8). Sugiyono explained that the mispronunciation was purely caused by the Acting Regent’s declining health due to the packed schedule of independence commemoration activities. He stressed that there was absolutely no element of intent in the incident. ‘His condition was unwell, so he lacked focus. There was no element of intent, none at all. There were many agendas in the independence commemoration series,’ Sugiyono explained. He also urged all elements of society and the press to respond to the incident wisely in order to maintain regional stability. ‘To the media, please cooperate so that Pati remains conducive and better,’ he concluded.