Pancasila’s Challenge in Post-New Order

Ariel Heryanto's warning, Pancasila has been treated the same as during the New Order — needs to be taken into account. Pancasila is not an ideology, but the shared values that underlie national unity.

KOMPAS/SUPRIYANTO

Supriyanto

Prof. Ariel Heryanto's warning (Kompas, 6/11/2021) that Pancasila in the post-New Order era – yes, during Jokowi’s democracy -- should not be used in the same way as during the New Order era, deserves attention.

Ariel Heryanto underlined that it is important not to misunderstand Pancasila, in a sense that Sukarno, the originator of Pancasila, did not consider Pancasila as a kind of ideology, but as an umbrella under which all kinds of ideologies that existed at that time among Indonesian nationalists could be placed. The ideologies that Sukarno himself fought for—under the umbrella of Pancasila—were socialism, anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism and so on.