Lestari Moerdijat: Indonesia is an Inseparable Nation
Indonesia is an inseparable nation. The true threat to nationhood arises when differences are contested and the history of togetherness is forgotten.
“Indonesia was founded not because everyone is the same, but because we chose to share the same ‘home’. That home was built from thousands of encounters, hundreds of cultures, and diverse ethnicities that enrich one another,” said Deputy Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) Lestari Moerdijat at the National Unity Discussion: Chinese in Indonesian Nationhood and Culture event held by the Chinese Peranakan Brotherhood of Indonesian Citizens (PERTIWI) at White House de Noyas, Cilongok, Banyumas, Central Java, on Friday afternoon (26/6).
According to Lestari, Indonesia is an inseparable nation, regardless of the existence of various ethnicities or religions. The constitution, said Rerie, as Lestari is affectionately known, guarantees protection for all citizens without exception. Rerie stated that the national values contained in the four national consensuses—Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika—serve as a fortress to protect and nurture the existing unity.
Rerie argued that the politicisation of identity and negative stereotypes against the ethnic Chinese community must be fought. She added that issues of division and anti-Chinese sentiment are the result of a political construction of divide and rule, not an organic conflict. Rerie, who is also a member of Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), emphasised that Indonesia’s strength has always been born from its ability to transform diversity into brotherhood. “That is the true meaning of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, not merely living side by side, but growing, creating, and building a future together as one nation, Indonesia,” said the member of the NasDem Party High Council.
On the same occasion, historian and Chairman of PERTIWI, Udaya Halim, revealed that the name Indonesia was created by foreign scientists, namely James Richardson Logan and George Windsor Earl, in the 19th century in a journal they wrote. According to Udaya, the Chinese community also played an important role in the course of Indonesian history, including the use of a building owned by Sie Kong Liong, which later became known as the Youth Pledge building, the site of the Second Youth Congress in 1928. Additionally, Yo Kim Tjan recorded the song Indonesia Raya for dissemination during the early days of independence. Udaya stated that nationhood is a sense of ownership that grows within every individual.