Stop deviating from Pancasila

Stop deviating from Pancasila

After the fall of the supreme leader of the New Order, making
it an old order now, reforms in all areas pose a heavy challenge
to us in the coming days. Reforms which must be carried out in
the shortest time possible are those in the mental, moral and
spiritual areas, the kind of reforms constituting the basis of
all reforms in other areas.

In 1945, Indonesia's founding fathers stipulated Pancasila as
the national and state philosophy of the Indonesian people, who
are characterized by the motto of "unity in diversity". However,
for the past period of one generation, Pancasila has been
systematically reduced to a monolithic ideology aimed at
supporting a totalitarian and authoritarian regime.

The New Order government stipulated the Guideline for
Pancasila Comprehension and Application Document as the only
official interpretation of Pancasila, from which no one may
deviate. So, the Agency for the Propagation of Pancasila (BP7)
was set up. This agency, and the instructors attached to it, have
become Pancasila interpreters and have absolute authority over
the interpretation of Pancasila. This reminds me of the political
commissars with the authority to interpret Marxism-Leninism.

Basically, teaching Pancasila has turned into indoctrination
of a monolithic ideology. An undertaking not conducive to an
individual's freedom and critical power to express his or her
comprehension of Pancasila with personal reflection and
experiences as the point of departure because it has an official
interpretation as a frame of reference.

Briefly, the practice of the Document popularization in one
generation has resulted in, as its output, docile and parroting
civil servants and individuals who can only approve of what
superiors or officials say. The result is that irregularities in
all areas have become uncontrollable and rife for one generation,
bringing about grave consequences that we all are experiencing
now.

To stop the deviation from Pancasila and to return it to its
pure essence, I call for the following:

1. Abolish the Document, dissolve BP7 and discharge its
instructors;

2. In its place, disseminate the speech made by Bung Karno on
June 1, 1945, known as The Birth of Pancasila and the speeches by
other founding fathers, Prof. Soepomo and Prof. Mohamad Yamin,
preceding Bung Karno's speech at the same meeting as historical
documents and not a frame of reference for a monolithic official
interpretation;

3. Stipulate June 1 as the date marking the birth of Pancasila,
which must be observed as the National Awakening Day, Heroes' Day
and Youth Pledge Day by all Indonesians, civilian and military;

4. Totally change the method of Pancasila teaching from
indoctrination to open discussions. Prioritize reasoning and
reflection on, and critical power and personal experiences of,
Pancasila in an atmosphere of "unity in diversity" without any
forced use of an official frame of reference, without any fear of
having a different opinion, without necessarily forcing a
substantive agreement on the explication of Pancasila, which must
be accepted by all parties on a monolithic basis.

Returning to the pure essence of Pancasila will, hopefully,
make Indonesians a people with a maturity of mind, an ability to
do things independently and the courage to express their
independence in a responsible manner. And have the courage to
state the truth and the other way around. In this way they will
contribute to the life of the nation and the state.

HUDOYO HUPUDIO

Jakarta