On historical awareness

On historical awareness

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