National Solidarity a Response to Challenges

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

A number of volunteers put boxed rice into a car at a public kitchen that cares about Covid-19 in Karet Semanggi, Setiabudi, South Jakarta, for distribution, on Thursday (8/7/2021).

Social solidarity has been the spirit of the Indonesian people in facing various difficulties. Long before independence, solidarity has been practiced collectively and preserved and passed down by the nation’s ancestors for generations.

A message of solidarity is recorded in the Jataka [Buddhist literature] reliefs at Borobudur Temple. Through the metaphor of the tale of the sacrifice of a rabbit, the nation\'s ancestors conveyed the message about the importance of caring for others in difficult conditions.

In the early times of Indonesian independence, social solidarity was manifested in the implementation of the national contribution program in 1946. People contributed some of their wealth to patch up the depleted state’s financial reserves badly drained in the wake of the struggles to maintain independence.

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The 1998 monetary crisis prompted a gold contribution movement by the community members as found in a number of regions, among them being the religious leaders who collected up to 1.9 kilograms of gold to be handed over to the government.

According to the Finance Ministry, the gold donation from the public reached 248.1 kg up until May 12 that year. This public contribution sought to add up the national financial reserves being depleted by the crisis (Kompas, 13/5/1998).

Social cohesion

Now, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the ties of solidarity are still intact. A poll by Kompas Research and Development carried out between 3 and 6 August, 2021, shows that community solidarity was still maintained and many people received its merit. Initiatives to help each other with food, for example, increased among the people of the lower-middle socioeconomic class or the upper-middle class.

KOMPAS/DAHLIA IRAWATI

Officers clean oxygen cylinders belonging to residents who want to be refilled for free at Bakorwil, Malang, East Java, Monday (26/7/2021).

Strong solidarity was also seen in the cooperation to provide health services for people being exposed to COVID-19. Around one-third of respondents from the lower-middle and upper-middle socioeconomic circles believed that social initiatives gained more momentum in the community throughout the year compared to last year.

Some respondents (17.1 percent) thought that solidarity measures had yet to involve various parties in the cooperation.

However, the poll shows that solidarity was considered to be lacking in solidity. About one-third of the respondents from various socioeconomic classes felt that the movement had yet to become solid and effective. Some respondents (17.1 percent) thought that solidarity measures had yet to involve various parties in the cooperation.

The public from the lower, middle, and upper socioeconomic classes expressed their optimism that the pandemic could be handled well, while regarding the handling of economic problems, the middle class had a lower sense of optimism compared to those from the lower and upper classes.

Sense of social collectivity that can continue to shape up a sense of optimism must begin with a sense of empathy and caring for other. Social intrigues in every day’s life, ranging from divisions at the elite level down to the grassroots and massive circulation of hoaxes to the politicization of various issues faced by the nation will only become a barrier to building national solidarity and solidity.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Residents in the Manggarai area, South Jakarta distributed social assistance in the form of a package of basic ingredients from a consortium of Mining SOEs to four Rukun Tangga administrators, Friday (15/5/2020).

Regarding the massive circulation of disinformation and misinformation, the Communications and Information Ministry, as of 1 July, 2021, recorded at least 1,691 hoaxes related to the pandemic that can lead to misguided opinions and worn-out solidity.

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This could hold back efforts to build strong solidarity among the community in order to be able to move collectively toward the betterment.

Potential human resources

The poll reveals that more than half the respondents (53.8 percent) were of the opinion that Indonesia’s abundant human resources were the biggest capital to potentially lift up the nation to become more advanced.

These potential human resources are not only scattered across the archipelago, but also overseas as part of the Indonesian diaspora.

Home to 270.2 million people, Indonesia is resourcefully potential to be able to deal with any adversary, including the current situation. These potential human resources are not only scattered across the archipelago, but also overseas as part of the Indonesian diaspora.

The Indonesian public deserves to be proud following recent news that two scientists who contributed to the development of AstraZeneca\'s COVID-19 vaccine are Indonesians. They are Indra Rudiansyah, a doctoral student of Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford, England, and Carina Citra Dewi Joe, a researcher at the Jenner Institute, the University of Oxford.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo who talks with one of the volunteers who will distribute aid to victims of the West Sulawesi earthquake from the Central Java Provincial Government at the Central Java Governor\'s Office, Semarang City, on Wednesday (20/1/2021).

With abundant resources, Indonesia holds the potential to rise out of the quandary by instilling a sense of solidarity among the citizens to move hand in hand in facing the challenges amid the pandemic.

(This article was translated by Musthofid).