The Pancasila values is believed to be able to help overcome the impact of the pandemic. Ironically, the practices seem to be found at the grassroot level, while the elite are busy enriching themselves through corruption
By
EREN MARSYUKRILLA
·5 minutes read
KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI
Dozens of residents received rice boxes on Jalan Bungur, Central Jakarta, Friday (8/1/2021). About 200 boxes were prepared by the manager of one of the offices for Rp. 2,000. Solidarity to help others carried out by individuals, communities and institutions also eases the burden on residents affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Covid-19 epidemic been shackling Indonesians for more than a year, putting people’s lives into a prolonged disarray.
Pancasila, as the nation\'s ideology rich of the values of unity and mutual cooperation, is a source to empower the spirit in facing the multidimensional crisis caused by the pandemic.
The commemoration of the birth of Pancasila, which falls on June 1, serves as an opportunity to redefine and reinforce the values contained in the foundational philosophy of the country as a force against the adversaries of the pandemic.
The pandemic rage has brought about such a complex problem that all parties need to move to solve it.
People are actually aware of the importance of implementing Pancasila values and its significant role in facing the pandemic, as seen from the results of a recent Kompas poll.
The majority of respondents (83.5 percent) believed that the implementation of Pancasila values in the midst of the pandemic would have a good impact on the nation\'s efforts to cope with the crisis.
But ironically, many people have taken advantage of the pandemic for their own interests, individually or for a group. The pandemic mitigation campaign has been tainted by irregularity, such as the embezzlement of social assistance funds, the sale of illegal vaccines, falsification of rapid test kits and medical documents.
These cases are evidence that infringement of the spirit of Pancasila is prone to occur at all levels of society.
It is not an exaggeration to see that unruly acts in violation of Pancasila values is akin to a nation being thrown into an emergency period for the implementation of Pancasila.
Implementing Pancasila
Apart from the cases against the spirit of Pancasila, the hardship arising from the pandemic has triggered sense of togetherness in the society. Mutual assistance movements to help others during the pandemic have mushroomed in many layers of society.
The social initiatives come in various forms, such as assistance with basic necessities to others, providing food for residents exposed to Covid-19, sympathetic actions for health workers, and social movements on digital platforms.
These various mutual cooperation movements should be appreciated in the midst of the lack of examples in the practice of Pancasila values. This is encouraging to see positive attitude, which will contribute to that pandemic mitigation efforts. All parties need to join hands to overcome the grim situation.
People are growing spirit of solidarity and humanity. No less than three-quarters of respondents agreed that the pandemic period fostered solidarity, responsibility and humanity in people\'s daily lives.
Solidarity movement between people has also broken down the barriers of social disparity. More than 82.1 percent of respondents agreed that ties of unity was still intact amid restrictions of activities due to the pandemic.
The growing sense of solidarity was also interpreted as a gift from God Almighty, which is the embodiment of the first precept of Pancasila. Most respondents (84.8 percent) subscribed that Covid-19 was part of divine power to test people in order to be more God-conscious and caring for others.
More than 82.1 percent of respondents agreed that ties of unity was still intact amid restrictions of activities due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, six of ten respondents were of the opinion that efforts to lift up people’s life during this pandemic had been carried out optimally. More than 33 percent of respondents thought otherwise.
The high scrutinizing responses to the government\'s performance in tending social welfare during the pandemic were driven by cases of misuse of pandemic handling funds.
Corruption in social assistance funds that has ensnared ministers and a number of state agency elites is seen as the manifestation of low morality of the state administrators elite, who were to have shown an example of the practice of Pancasila.
Kompas/Wawan H Prabowo
The inactive governor of South Sulawesi Nurdin Abdullah leaves the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Building, Kuningan, Jakarta, Friday (23/4/2021). Nurdin Abdullah, who received the Bung Hatta Anti-Corruption Award (BHACA) in 2017, was caught in a case of alleged bribery for permits and infrastructure development in the South Sulawesi Provincial Government for the 2020-2021 Budget Year. Since the KPK was founded, Nurdin has been the 127th regional head that KPK has suspected of being involved in a corruption case.
Challenge
The uncertainties overshadowing the pandemic have caused people to remain pessimistic about the future. In this case, the state should be a beacon to revive the spirit of people.
The government’s Covid-19 mitigation campaign should get full support from the community in the hope the recovery efforts can achieve the target.
That resistance remains around at the community should become a reminder about the need to foster public trust further. The public should be pushed to build an understanding that the pandemic is a collective problem that requires solidity in the movement to curb its spread.
By instilling the spirit of humanity and common interests, problems that arise hopefully can be overcome.
Another important aspect is the preservation of unity, which needs to be protected from threats of gaping division in society.
It must be admitted that the polarization in people’s attitude on the pandemic handling policy is attributable to political divisions.
Strengthening solidarity and social care as mandated by Pancasila must be pursued seriously and the Agency of Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIP) is expected to optimize its role to mold social cohesion.
Implementing Pancasila values in daily life is the nation\'s social capital in the face of the pandemic. Ahead of the commemoration of Pancasila Day, all the nation\'s stakeholders and citizens should reaffirm the foundational values of the country in order to win the battle against the pandemic.
/https%3A%2F%2Fkompas.id%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F01%2Fcec5ed40-1829-4ecd-8a10-98a0c5e9f06e_jpg.jpg){kind=logo}
