More historical

More historical awareness needed

From Rakyat Merdeka

Historian Dr. Onghokham wrote an interesting article in Kompas on Dec. 6, 2001 about the relationship between Pancasila as a social contract and Indonesians' low awareness of the country's history. For him, this lack of awareness is found not only among laymen but also among politicians and high-ranking officials.

In his opinion, Pancasila has been misconstrued as an ideology, when it is in fact a social contract for the Indonesian people.

As a social contract, Pancasila is an agreement made by the Indonesian people and can therefore be considered equal to other important documents in other countries like Britain's Magna Carta, the United States' Bill of Rights or France's Droit de l'homme. Therefore, Pancasila is a fundamental part of the state's foundation.

If Pancasila is considered an ideology and then made part of the state's foundation, this is tantamount to the disbanding of the state because there are many ideologies in the community. If one group with one particular ideology rules the country, the old ideology will be replaced.

So, for Indonesia to be strong, Pancasila must be upheld as a social contract, not an ideology.

In fact, the Indonesian people need to learn more about their history. A good grasp of history will enable the public to see the need for unity. Otherwise, they will be easily influenced by transient interests and ignore the social contract as the foundation of unity.

SOEPRODJO

Jakarta