Bambang Muryanto, Jakarta – Amid growing sectarian and religious conflicts, the head of the presidential working unit on the implementation of the state ideology of Pancasila (UKP-PIP), Yudi Latif, is calling on educational institutions to greater focus on teaching values of diversity and pluralism to maintain the unity of Indonesia.
"[Providing] knowledge on citizenship must be developed to teach us how to work together and respect differences," he said in a lecture to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the Yogyakarta State University's (UNY) School of Social Sciences, on Friday.
Yudi said Pancasila was the foundation on which to develop its students. "To learn about unity, for instance, students – regardless of their background – must gather and work together to create something useful for society," he said.
Yudi said that such values were taught in other multicultural countries, such as India, and that Indonesia needed to take a similar approach as one of the most plural countries in the world.
"Just like fractions, an Indonesia that is diverse can be united only if it has a common denominator: Pancasila. Only with Pancasila can people of different backgrounds unite."
UNY rector Sutrisna Wibawa said his university continued to develop policies that aimed to make UNY a more inclusive university. To that end, UNY had sent its students to carry out field studies in remote areas located on Indonesia's borders with other countries, such as Malaysia. (ebf)