Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD has said that Indonesia is heading toward reinstating guidelines on the implementation of a Pancasila course in educational institutions, a practice that occurred during the New Order regime.
The course, known as P4, was an obligatory subject taught during student orientation in junior and senior high school as well as at the collegiate level.
Mahfud, however, said that the new P4 course would be an updated version. "Before I left [my post] at the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education [BPIP], [we had decided] that we would organize more [P4] courses.
"So [the reintroduction of the courses] basically has started," Mahfud, a former member of the BPIP steering committee, said in Jakarta on Monday as quoted by tempo.co.
He went on to say that several people had received a training-of-trainers session on P4. They were expected to teach the course once the program is fully run nationwide, added Mahfud.
"Earlier today I asked the BPIP secretary [who said] there were already some people who took the course. However, it's just the beginning – we don't have enough [trainers]. We plan to have more trainers that master Pancasila values," Mahfud said.
The P4 course was based on a People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree issued in 1978. The decree elaborated Pancasila's five main ideas into 36 points of practical guidelines to internalize and implement Pancasila values to citizen's daily lives.
In 1999, however, the MPR issued another decree that put an end to the P4 course.
Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said he agreed with the plan as it would strengthen nationalism.
"I recommend that Pak Menko have the course be delivered over a shorter amount of time per session. In the old days, the course was given over rather long hours," he said, referring to Mahfud. (gis)