Public told to update knowledge of Pancasila
Public told to update knowledge of Pancasila
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto says the public's perception
of the state ideology, Pancasila, needs to be continuously
upgraded.
He said people who had participated in Pancasila courses need
to take part in Pancasila propagation classes to refresh their
knowledge of the state ideology.
The President's message was conveyed by chairman of the Board
for Pancasila propagation (BP7) Sudharmono who, along with seven
board members, met with the President on Saturday.
Sudharmono said the President also assigned the board to
monitor the implementation of the Presidential Decree on
propagation of Pancasila issued this year.
The decree requires cabinet ministers to organize Pancasila
courses for their staff members and the public.
The former vice president said that although the public can
learn Pancasila from books, they should take part in courses
where discussions will male the ideology clearer.
The government has intensified its ideology program since
Pancasila was established in 1985 as the only guiding principle
for social and political organizations in Indonesia.
The course is mandatory in schools. The government has spent
billions of rupiah to sponsor such courses for civil servants and
the public alike.
Among the membership of BP7 are former ministers Cosmas
Batubara, Bustanil Arifin and Emil Salim and former chief justice
Ali Said.
Sudharmono said the agency will review the standard 144-hour
courses for civil servants and the public to determine if they
are sufficient.
Ministers
When asked why a number of the incumbent cabinet ministers
have not participated in any Pancasila courses, he said there is
no law requiring minister's to have a Pancasila certificate. "But
it is recommended that a minister should have taken part in some
Pancasila course," he said.
On a separate occasion on Saturday, Soeprapto, a deputy BP7
chairman, told a national Pancasila course that Pancasila
provides guidelines on how Indonesians should exercise their
freedom and implement their human rights, in a proper manner.
"Indonesians should use the principles of Pancasila when
exercising their rights and carrying out their duties," he said
when closing the course.
Soeprapto dismissed criticism that the so called "democracy of
Pancasila" exists only in official propaganda because it has no
concrete form.
The democracy was clearly defined in the 1993 Guidelines of
State Policy, he argued.
Twenty six social organizations took part in the national
course, Antara reported. (pan)