Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat speaking at a national seminar by the Hindu University of Indonesia, Saturday (8/6/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Yuwandi.

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Saturday, August 6, 2022 | 18:30 WIB

DENPASAR (MKRI)—Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat spoke at a national seminar on “Guarding NKRI Based on Pancasila: Example by the Founding Fathers” by the Hindu University of Indonesia (UNHI) on Saturday, August 6, 2022 in Denpasar.

“Today Indonesia has lost its orientation. There is disorientation in all levels of society—among the national and regional political elite and in all members of the community. The orientation should be directed to the state’s vision and mission in the fourth paragraph of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution, which was left by the founding fathers,” he said when opening his presentation.

Founding Fathers’ Role Model

Justice Arief urged everyone, especially the young generations, to read and understand the deepest meaning of the fourth paragraph of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution and practice it in their daily lives. He asserted that “... Indonesia's National Independence shall be laid down in a Constitution of the State of Indonesia, which is to be established as the State of the Republic of Indonesia with sovereignty of the people and based on the belief in the One and Only God….” This means that the independence was not only the results of physical and mental struggles of the people, but also thanks to the grace of God.

He stressed that all Indonesians, regardless of religion, ethnicity, language, and institution, have different duties and functions but are united by the same state vision and mission as enshrined in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution.

“Students, rectors, professors, and all Indonesians shall realize the same vision and mission. For [that], we established the Republic of Indonesia based on Pancasila. Pancasila is a uniting means that teach tolerance and other values. This was shown by the founding fathers at the BPUPK and PPK sessions [where they showed a model of] behavior and thinking in order to reach the same vision and mission,” he said.

Justice Arief asserted that Pancasila is the most appropriate ideology for family, groups, political parties, CSOs, and all aspects of life in Indonesia.

“As a nation, Indonesia was triumphant in the 7th century during the reign of the Kingdom of Sriwijaya and became a center of civilization. It also triumphed in the 14th century in the era of Majapahit, being the biggest maritime nation. It will be great again the 21st century based on Pancasila. I believe that,” he emphasized.

He also talked about how civilization had moved from hunting society to agrarian society, followed by the industrial revolution that started with the invention of steam engine, electricity, etc. Years later, the world moved towards the information society with the invention of computers, until the today’s 5.0 where the super-smart society has experienced extraordinary development.

Enforcement of Law

Meanwhile, on behalf of the academic society of UNHI, rector I Made Damriyasa expressed appreciation and gratitude to Justice Arief for speaking at the event. He also thanked other speakers and the participants.

“We are grateful that this event can be held at the Hindu University of Indonesia. We thank God Almighty, that by His grace we carried out this event. Hopefully today sunny weather will spread the virus of the enforcement of law and Pancasila values to the younger generations, as stated by Prof. Arief in his presentation,” he said.

He also mentioned the importance of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Constitutional Court and UNHI, which served to improve citizens’ constitutional awareness.

“Moreover, this MoU is valid indefinitely, like a [resident ID card]. So, as long as the Constitutional Court and the Hindu University of Indonesia exist, it will too,” he said.

Cooperation a Necessity

The Head of the Court’s Public Relations and Protocol Bureau Heru Setiawan said the MoU was a necessity and was inevitable because the Court was founded thanks to the support of higher education.

“This MoU marked an important milestone for the Court and UNHI in collaborating, synergizing, supporting, guarding, and complementing one another in carrying out their duties and functions,” he said.

The MoU, which was signed digitally, would be valid indefinitely and need no renewal. Such an MoU had used to need renewal every five years.

“This MoU was meant for goodness, so there is no need to terminate it. In the event that any of the parties would like to terminate it, it could be requested,” he added.

The MoU was signed on Saturday, August 6 at UNHI. UNHI Rector I Made Damriyasa and the Court’s Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah signed the MoU onsite in Makassar. The MoU was meant to promote constitutional awareness among citizens and to improve the quality of legal higher education.

Writer        : Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 8/10/2022 14:57 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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