Safeguarding the Shared Dream

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

The Sunda Wiwitan community brings rice and produce during the peak of the 1950 Saka Sunda Seren Taun Celebration in Cigugur, Kuningan, West Java, Thursday (14/9/2017).

The country is for all. That is one of the lines of Soekarno\'s speech delivered on June 1, 1945, in front of a session of the Preparatory Body for Indonesian Independence.

The country is for all — this means that all Indonesian citizens are entitled to the same services from the government. This is emphasized in the Constitution; that one of the goals of the Indonesian state is to protect the entire Indonesian nation and the entire homeland of Indonesia.

Efforts have been made to make this happen. In 2017, for example, the Constitutional Court granted a request for a judicial review of Law No. 23/2006 on population administration. The verdict allows believers in God Almighty to include their belief on their identity cards. However, the decision has not been implemented equally.

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Members of Karuhun Urang (Akur) Indigenous Community of Sunda Wiwitan in Kuningan regency, West Java, for example, are still worried that their marriage will not be recognized by the state. The absence of this recognition will make it difficult for them to process their family cards and birth certificates if they have children. The next impact is that they will find difficulties getting other state service facilities. (Kompas, 31/5/2021)

The same treatment, regardless of differences, such as related to religion or belief, is actually widely practiced by the Indonesian people. In Kuningan, the Sunda Wiwitan residents can be seen living together with other communities. In a broader context, this phenomenon can be seen in the communities who help each other during the pandemic. Tolerance is actually a part of people\'s lives.

If in recent times problems related to diversity appear, it is increasingly triggered by other problems, such as politics. A number of political contestations show that differences are frequently used by politicians who have poor ideas to attract support. Differences are also often used by the elite to cover up their inability to fulfill their promises to the people.

Kompas

Children perform in a traditional Sundanese game at the Seren Taun event in Cigugur, Kuningan Regency, West Java, Friday (2/10/2015).02 Oktober 2015

This condition is further exacerbated by the development of social media, which has not been followed by sufficient literacy skill so that it makes some people feel like living in a cocoon.

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> Pancasila: A Bridge for all Differences

> The Paralyzed Pancasila Ideology

With regard to this, during the celebration of the ninth anniversary of the independence of the of Indonesia in 1954, Soekarno warned that without tolerance, democracy would be doomed. This is because democracy is the realization of tolerance.

At that time, Soekarno also reminded the nation that general elections should not be an arena for political battles that endanger the integrity of the Indonesian people. He said the symptoms of the sinking spirit of tolerance had appeared. The speech was delivered by Soekarno about a year before the 1955 general elections.

The 2024 general elections are still three years away. However, looking at the current maneuvers of a number of elites, it seems that the elections are very close. As Soekarno said, do not risk our shared dream as a nation for political purposes. Indonesia is for all its citizens.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo).