By: Linda Rahmawati *)

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, Indonesia has various tribes, religions, and races which respect each other since a long time ago. It proved with the birth of the Youth Pledge, while current Indonesian nation is being tested in maturity and diversity with the rampant cases of tolerance, blasphemy and numerous cases of SARA that always happen now, but in the 70s to 80s are rare, perhaps due to the New Order era at that time has a very strong power with nullify the values of democracy and respect of human rights.

It must be remembered that Indonesia is the biggest democratic country and far beyond America in a democracy, where we can observe in the direct election from the lowest level to the highest level, which is the President Election. Although there are so many perceive that democracy in Indonesia is still limited to procedural and not substantial, what they have done has no significant impact, although there are some areas sufficiently advanced. 

Meanwhile, other problems that pose a threat to our diversity are the rumors of phenomenon of the rise of former PKI members. The pro-communist always has an alibi that the societies misinterpret them by saying that pro-communist movements are synonymous with PKI, when the party was gone. At the beginning of independence, the left side party was defined as a party that refused capitalism or rejected the establishment.

One party that is often overlooked was the Murba Party with figures of Tan Malaka who has been a central figure of the left movement in Asia. The 1965 case had so many version of story, but most of the new version emerged after the collapse of the New Order. One prominent role in the 1965 case is Sarwo Edi Wibowo who conducted combat against leftish movement or PKI. Then after the Madiun cases, there was also resurfaces leftish movement which was actually become a competition among the leftish movement.

The rivalry was between the groups of the left movement led by Tan Malaka, Amir Syarifudin and Muso. So the left movements actually never disappear because it can reappeared anytime. Even now the views of the left will continue to run by putting it on the basis of Marxism which often transformed into a democratic socialist. For example, in the left fest event that disbanded by the people. Theoretically, the left movement or the communist movement denied their existence of foreign capital so that the enemy is capitalism. 

The Erosion of Diversity Values

One of the nationalism adhesive is the value of our diversity. Unfortunately, the unity in diversity which magnified and echoed a long time ago by our founding fathers started poorly understood and only limited by pronounced. Diversity is a source of national unity of Indonesia, and Pancasila is the basic foundation of the truth, but again this time Pancasila is considered obsolete and unnecessary. 

People who sing Indonesia Raya or read Pancasila text is not as nervous as when the era of Independence, whereas in independence era Indonesia Raya sang secretly and now Indonesia’s young generation has no good respond to the national anthem. This is the sign of the erosion of the diversity values.

Another thing of the weakening of diversity are the weak of law enforcement, many cases of racial intolerance that threaten diversity is not solved completely to its roots, consequently to reappear in another time. 

The condition is exacerbated by the less of Pancasila education and even many students are not memorized it. So how can we take care of diversity if the basic foundation and spirit of diversity is not memorized and understand. In addition, the existing of diversity in Indonesia is our own destiny and how can we take care of it if many leaders don’t even understand it.

Indonesia as an example of diversity has already starting to be questioned because it appears the various cases of potentially violent racial or other SARA case, like a gang of students who take the victims that showed the symptoms of intolerance and ruined the diversity.

There are some efforts that need to be done so that the value of diversity and multiculturalism in Indonesia does not deteriorate, such as: first, the need for particular media literacy in how to use social media wisely. However, the rapidly media social growing makes everything easily spread in society. If it happens without filter, crosscheck and literacy of social media that sustainable to the public, then there are the mutual claims of truth or error.

Second, this is the time to restore the importance of moral education in both the formal and informal, for diversity, tolerance, and mutual respect that can grow starting from the bottom informal education, such as family. 

Third, students as the agents of change must come to think of national conditions, if not then ready to be the victims of industrial education students who are not able to implement the education dharma, whereas the education is not just to educate freed. The key factor of “to liberate” is what can make the value of diversity and multiculturalism more dynamic and elastic. 

*)  Observer of social and cultural development, live in Jakarta.

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