Marguerite Afra Sapiie, Jakarta – Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto has called on universities to tackle the spread of ideologies that are opposed to the nation's founding principles of Pancasila.
"Universities are expected to take part in countering ideologies that are not in line with Pancasila," Wiranto told deputy rectors on student affairs from the Greater Jakarta area on Thursday.
It was important that academics use the freedom they had in academia to build the nation in accordance with the principles of Pancasila, he argued. "If there is another ideology existing besides Pancasila, that would create chaos and instability," Wiranto said.
Meanwhile, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University deputy rector Yusron Razak, who attended the meeting, acknowledged that many types of discourses that are anti-Pancasila had emerged in his university. However, he said, the university could not just ban such discourse because it was essentially a place where anyone was free to express his or her thoughts.
Yusron said the thing that should be avoided and anticipated was potential conflict arising as a result of the ideological differences. "It is the police that should step in to prevent any possible conflicts among students or members of society," he added. (saf/rin)