Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Pancasila, Genius Foundation of a Country Called Indonesia

Pancasila is an ideology uphold by Indonesia, a country where Bali is located. I know that most people know Bali, but don't know Indonesia. In fact, one of my foreign [citizens outside of Indonesia] friend, S, thought that Indonesia is located in Bali.. Dude.., it's the other way round. Bali is located in Indonesia.

It came from Sanskrit words, panca meaning five, and sila meaning principles. So, Pancasila literally means five principles. Yup. It is literally five inseparable and interrelated principles, which are:

  1. Belief in the One and Only God (Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa).
  2. Just and civilized humanity (Kemanusiaan yang adil dan beradab).
  3. The unity of Indonesia (Persatuan Indonesia).
  4. Democratic life led by wisdom of thought in deliberation amongst representatives of the people (Kerakyatan yang dipimpin oleh hikmat kebijaksanaan dalam permusyawaratan dan perwakilan).
  5. Social justice for all the people of Indonesia (Keadilan sosial bagi seluruh rakyat Indonesia).

Person who came up with these principles is a GENIUS! I mean, Indonesia is the only country with literally five points of philosophical foundation! The original idea is from Prof. Mr. Muhammad Yamin, S. H., a national hero of Indonesia and Ir. Soekarno, Indonesia's first president, also a national hero of Indonesia. Then with several meetings, that particular idea was rearrange, reform, whatever the words, bla bla bloody bloody bla, to this five awesome principles, Pancasila.

Well, I would say that I have no hard feeling whatsoever for these five principles, EXCEPT the first principle. Belief in One and Only God. Others translated it to 'Belief in One Supreme God', 'Belief in One Almighty God', basically there is only one God that your can recognized. He is above all.
Isn't it sad for people who are atheist? They don't belief in God, so they're not Indonesian? How about animism that is practically an essential part in Indonesia multicultural identity?

I know. I am so indecisive. First I said Pancasila is genius, awesome, and other compliments which are practically overflowing, then I said I have a bit of a hard feeling towards the first principle of Pancasila. Well, that's what life is about. I n d e c i s i v e n e s s.

Another thing about Pancasila is that I thought everyone is supposed to know Pancasila. Or at the very least they have learned it before, when they were young. Underline the past there. I THOUGHT. I mean, not in other countries, but in Indonesia. My friend, S (different from the above mentioned S), who went to international school in Indonesia, (Banten, Tangerang to be exact), told me that she has never learned about Pancasila at her school. Hell, she does not even know about Samudra Pasai kingdom (first Islam kingdom in Indonesia) or any other kingdoms in Indonesia. She knows Pearl Harbour incident though....which I did not know until the movie came out.

Funny, isn't it? She studied world history. I studied Indonesian history. The only world history which I remember is about Hitler...

Jesie S.
Medan, Wed, 13 May 2015.


References:


Law
1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia

Book
Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan SMP Kelas VIII
Pendidikan Pancasila dan Kewarganegaraan, (Jakarta: Kementrian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 2014)

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