Through this process of reflection and projection, it is expected that we will be able to identify what our strengths and weaknesses are as a nationJakarta (ANTARA) - Head of the People's Consultative Assembly Bambang Soesatyo has urged everyone to follow and align with the direction of the ideals of an independent Indonesia and take them into their hearts.
"The commemoration of national holidays should not be taken as a mere ceremonial activity. However, it must become a form of responsibility for (everyone) to cement the direction of the ideals of an independent Indonesia," Soesatyo noted in his statement here on Thursday.
According to him, national holidays can serve as moments for self-reflection and making projections about the future.
"Through this process of reflection and projection, it is expected that we will be able to identify what our strengths and weaknesses are as a nation," he explained.
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Soesatyo said that good lessons from the past must be preserved, and bad experiences must be left behind. Everyone must know where they are going, he added.
"We must always be welcoming to the best developments in human life in order to improve the quality of humanity and the quality of civilization," he said at the commemoration of Constitution Day and the 77th anniversary of the People's Consultative Assembly.
He also commended President Joko Widodo for executing his duty to preserve the nation’s history well by signing Presidential Decree No. 24 of 2016 on June 1, 2016, which set June 1 as the Birthday of Pancasila.
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Ever since then, citizens have been able to recognize it, and, at the same time, commemorate the birth of Pancasila, the national foundation and ideology.
He pointed out that the historical and juridical considerations outlined in the Presidential Decree were in line with the assembly's agreement on the history of the birth of Pancasila.
The history of the birth of Pancasila was then conceptualized in the Book of the Four Pillars of the People's Consultative Assembly, which became the basis of disseminating the concept of the assembly's four pillars.
The concept has been disseminated since the leadership period of the late H.M. Taufiq Kiemas, who served as chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly from 2009–2013.
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"Thus, President Joko Widodo's Decree Number 24 of 2016 has complemented the state document of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Decree Number 18 of 2008, which stipulates August 18, 1945, as Constitution Day," he noted.
The assembly has hosted Constitution Day every August 18 at the parliament building after taking the historical and juridical aspects into consideration, he added.
Translator: Boyke Ledy W, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
