Analyst Deems Final LCC in West Kalimantan Does Not Reflect Spirit of MPR's Four Pillars

JAKARTA - Political communication expert M. Jamiluddin Ritonga has assessed that the final of the Intelligent Quiz Competition (LCC) in West Kalimantan (Kalbar), which has recently sparked controversy, does not reflect the spirit of the Republic of Indonesia’s MPR Four Pillars. The Four Pillars consist of Pancasila as the state ideology; the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia as the state constitution; the Unitary Republic of Indonesia as the form of the state; and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika as the state motto. “It is highly ironic if the socialisation of the MPR Four Pillars LCC, one of whose aims is to promote Pancasila democracy, is tarnished by the authoritarian behaviour of the judges,” stated Jamiluddin on Friday (15/5/2026). “Arbitrarily judging the participants’ answers indicates that those judges disregard the meaning of Pancasila democracy,” he continued. “Thus, the judges demonstrated their authoritarian nature, while the MC highlighted injustice in carrying out their function. This certainly does not align with the meaning of the Four Pillars in national and state life,” said Jamiluddin. Therefore, he considers it reasonable that the public is spotlighting the quiz competition, which does not represent Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. “It is understandable that the incident at the MPR Four Pillars LCC event has received a negative response from the public. Because the public expects the event to exemplify an understanding of Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika,” said Jamiluddin. Muzani acknowledged that there were oversights and shortcomings that caused the previous LCC final to not run smoothly. “In the West Kalimantan case, we express our thanks and we all understand there were shortcomings, limitations, and oversights in its organisation,” said Muzani during a press conference at the Parliamentary Complex, Jakarta, on Wednesday (13/5/2026). One evaluation step is that the LCC Four Pillars final in Kalbar will use independent judges. “The judges who will judge the Intelligent Quiz Competition are independent judges,” explained Muzani. In addition, MPR leaders will directly oversee the re-run of the LCC final from beginning to end. “We express our thanks and appreciation to the competition participants who used their right to express views, freedom of speech, and to voice protests over their dissatisfaction, and we hear that as a way to train them to be an example of good democracy,” stated Muzani.