Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah entering the room for public lecture at the Institute for Rural Community Development (STPMD) “APMD” in Yogyakarta, Thursday (8/25/2022). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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Thursday, August 25, 2022 | 16:13 WIB

JAKARTA (MKRI)—The most important thing to building rural communities is not promoting the villages but building the right mindset and culture, said Secretary-General of the Constitutional Court (MK) M. Guntur Hamzah in his public lecture on “The Strategies and Challenges of Rural Community Empowerment Based on Pancasila Values and the 1945 Constitution” at the Institute for Rural Community Development (STPMD) “APMD” in Yogyakarta on Thursday, August 25, 2022.

“Building rural communities is not about making villages great, but about building the right mindset and culture, especially by promoting education,” he said.

Village and City

Guntur then talked about the development of technology in the village. Electricity must be available in all villages, otherwise the people would lack access to internet, which would help them advance into cities.

“The difference between villages and cities is merely administration,” he said.

He also talked about the little difference between villages and cities in developed countries such as the Netherlands and Germany. This is because technology has advanced rapidly there, as evidenced by the internet connection that almost never stops.

“The villagers there are advanced. They’re called villages but all their equipment is electric. There is not difference with cities,” he revealed.

State Functions

Guntur then explained that the state serves to, among others, build infrastructure. This echoes Adam Smith’s view in his book The Wealth of Nations, in which he lays out three state functions” to keep state security and order, to build public infrastructure and facilities, and to enforce justice.

Those functions are in line with Bung Karno’s trisakti concept: political sovereignty, economic independence, and cultural personality.

“The aim is to make our people have strong confidence,” he said. 

MoU with STPMD “APMD”

Before the lecture, the Constitutional Court and STPMD “APMD” had first signed a memorandum of understanding digitally, represented by Secretary-General M. Guntur Hamzah and STPMD “APMD” campus director Sutoro Eko Yunanto.

“Thank God, the signing went well. With digital signatures, the document is OVO—authentic, valid, and original. There is no doubt about it. The Supreme Court ruled that digital signatures are equal to traditional paper signatures. I’d even say it holds more weight than the latter,” Guntur stressed.

Writer        : Nano Tresna Arfana
Editor        : Nur R.
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 9/14/2022 13:25 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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