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 Mohamad Yamin, preceding Bung Karno's speech at the same meeting as historical documents and not a frame of reference for a monolithic official interpretation;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