Another Look at Indonesia's Pancasila

VIVAnews – Before sunset, dozens of youth and parents in the Bhakti Persada Indah (BPI) Housing, Ngaliyan, Semarang, looked busy on the streets.  They were not hanging out. They were building a stage for shadow puppet show in the middle of the road. 

That was how the residents of IAIN Walisongo village prepared the birth of Pancasila on June 1.  

“This is the seventh commemoration in a row,” said one resident. 

The Committee’s Chairman, Bambang Husodo, said the celebration is actually a campaign to promote Pancasila which is deemed important.

In fact, Indonesia these days have witnessde the rise of anti-pluralism movement while diversity and difference are essentially a gift from the Almighty.  

If Pancasila is actually implemented in our daily lives, he said, there would be no sweeping of entertainment places and ban on music concerts. Bambang believed that the government has forgotten the campaign of Pancasila. “Very few youths now truly understand the history of Pancasila,” he said.

The shadow puppet show is one of the activities continually being held during the commemoration of Pancasila. It has been taking place seven years in a row.  “A lot of elementary school children are waiting for this moment.”

In tonight’s celebration, the residents will present Ki Ruspadi Guna Carito, who is also a local resident, in the shadow puppet show. The story will be about Antasena Cancut.

The play depicts the life of Antasena, the son of Bima and Dewi Nagagini, who restlessly watches the behavior of Astina’s officials and people. Antasena tries to bring them back to the ideology they previously professed. 

Amidst the lack of festivities of the birth of Pancasila, some people from a small village, 15 km away from the center of Semarang, still care.