Focus Group Discussion: To Make Pancasila Down to Earth

IL News 023/2017

We need to appreciate our government for the formation of the Presidential Working Unit on the Implementation of Pancasila (UKP PIP) on June 2017! The formation of this Unit, showed the government intention and sincerity to make Pancasila down to earth and alive in the life of the nation.

Leimena Insitute will try to give our best support to this Presidential Working Unit. First step is to organise a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) about Pancasila on 19 Juli 2017.

This FGD was supported by some like-minded people: Andreas Yewangoe (A member of the Presidential Working Unit on the Implementation of Pancasila, also the Chairperson of the Board of Advisor of the National Council of Churches in Indonesia, a Senior Fellow of the Leimena Institute), Jakob Tobing (President of Leimena institute), Edwin Soeryadjaya (Board of Directors of Leimena Institute), Pataniari Siahaan (Professor of the Law Faculty of Trisakti University), Radja Kami Sembiring Meliala (Ex General Major of Indonesian Military Veteran), Budi Hartono Setiamarga (Director of CRSS Leimena Institute), Daniel Adipranata (Vice-Director of CRSS Leimena Insitute), dan Vonny Tjandra (Operations Director of Leimena Institute).

The FGD was very dynamic and engaging as participants gave concrete suggestions on how to implement Pancasila. Indonesia is facing a few major issues: the big disparity in economy and the Islam radical movement. These two issues alerted us the urgency to implement Pancasila which can serve to embrace the diversity in Indonesia—ethnicity, religion etc. We need to think of simple, creative, and concrete ways to implement Pancasila. In the past the approach was through indoctrination, and it should not be repeated again.

In the closing, Leimena Institute affirmed that we will work together with all religious institutions to implement Pancasila. With this partnership, we believe we can truly stand on Pancasila as the foundation of our state!