PDIP holds photo exhibition to mark the start of Bung Karno Month 2026
Jakarta (ANTARA) - PDI Perjuangan (PDIP) held an exhibition of photographs, letters, and comics of Bung Karno at the courtyard of the Multatuli, Saidjah, and Adinda Statue in Rangkatanbitung, Lebak Regency, Banten, on Tuesday. The event served to commemorate the Birth of Pancasila and mark the opening of Bung Karno Month 2026.
The opening of the exhibition, themed “Bung Karno Belongs to Us All!”, was attended by PDIP Secretary-General Hasto Kristiyanto, accompanied by PDIP Central Executive Board Chair Ribka Tjiptaning and Head of the PDIP Historical Agency Bonnie Triyana.
In a statement received in Jakarta, Hasto offered encouragement to the participants gathered under the sun, noting that many visitors were university students. “Do not fear the heat of the sun. When I was in prison for fighting for truth and ideals, sunlight was a rarity. Be grateful that we can receive the rays of the Sun, which provides the energy of life,” Hasto said.
He added that this solar energy drives the commemoration of Bung Karno Month, which began with the commemoration of the Birth of Pancasila on 1 June. “Pancasila is not just the national ideology; Pancasila must also build a new world order,” he stated, explaining that Bung Karno’s speech on 1 June 1945 was a challenge against the imperialism and colonialism that operated in Indonesia for hundreds of years.
Hasto also highlighted the legacy of Multatuli, whose writing in Max Havelaar (1860) was able to shake the Netherlands and lead to the implementation of the Ethical Policy. The opening ceremony continued with a performance of Angklung Buhun from the Lebak Membara Studio, followed by the singing of Indonesia Raya and a Celempung performance from Kanekes.
The Committee Chair and member of Commission X of the Indonesian Parliament from the PDIP Faction, Bonnie Triyana, reported that the exhibition will run from 1 to 30 June 2026.
Meanwhile, the Vice Regent of Lebak, Amir Hamzah, delivered a speech filled with traditional poetry and moral messages. He noted that he was standing in a historic location, in the building where Multatuli once wrote to oppose the oppression of the people of Lebak. He linked Multatuli, Bung Karno, and the Baduy people as three legacies of Lebak.
“Multatuli through his pen, Bung Karno through his speeches—their goal was the same: to uphold justice. I say firmly: both were defenders of the weak,” said Amir. He further added that the third legacy, the Baduy, represents living honesty. According to him, in the hearts of the Baduy people, Pancasula is a living teaching, practiced through honesty to nature, promises, and fellow humans. He also called for collective cooperation (gotong royong) to build roads to the Baduy region and to use museums as a source of courage to speak the truth.