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Calls mounting for MPR to drop expensive Pancasila program
The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) antigraft group has urged the Peopleâs Consultative Assembly (MPR) to cease its public relations campaign to promote âthe four pillars of nationhoodâ following the Constitutional Courtâs decision to drop the term from the Law No
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he Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) antigraft group has urged the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to cease its public relations campaign to promote 'the four pillars of nationhood' following the Constitutional Court's decision to drop the term from the Law No. 2/2011 on political parties.
Fitra said that the program, if continued, would result in wasteful spending.
'The public education program on the four pillars of nationhood is only a waste of state budget with no clear objectives,' said Fitra investigation coordinator Uchok Sky Khadafi on Sunday.
Uchok added that if the MPR insisted on carrying on with its program, it would contradict the Court's decision.
The public education campaign kicked off during the tenure of the late MPR chairman Taufiq Kiemas in 2011.
The ideology consists of four pillars: the state's five founding principles of Pancasila; the 1945 Constitution; the concept of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia; and the national motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity).
On Friday, the Court issued a verdict to drop the phrase ' the four pillars of nationhood ' after conducting a judicial review of Article 34, paragraph 3, of Law No. 2/2011 on political parties.
However, chief justice Hamdan Zoelva said that the MPR was allowed to continue its campaign to promote the four pillars to the general public.
'It just means that they are not allowed to use the phrase 'the four pillars of nationhood' in any of their promotional programs. That is what the Court has rendered void,' Hamdan said on Friday.
The campaign has not been without controversy in the past, including a lawsuit filed by Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, the daughter of former president Sukarno and also Taufiq's sister-in-law, related to the semantics of the phrase.
Data collected by Fitra shows the MPR spent Rp 483 billion (US$42.68 million) in 2013 on the promotional program. The budget was reduced to Rp 464.7 billion in 2014.
Uchok said that the funds were prone to abuse, especially from MPR politicians seeking cash to contribute to their political parties.
Uchok also said that the public education campaign had created confusion among the public. 'In spite of the big budget, members of the MPR who promote these four pillars of nationhood do not have enough [of an] understanding of Pancasila. This can create confusion among members of the general public,' he added.
Constitutional law expert Refly Harun said that the Court had made the right decision by dropping the term from the Political Parties Law as it devalued Pancasila.
'Pancasila is the foundation that the country is built upon, not a supporting pillar. Furthermore, our country is not only supported by Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, the 1945 Constitution and the concept of the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia. We can't limit our 'pillars' to just these,' he said.
He added that the phrase seemed often to be abused by MPR members who tended to veer toward nonsense during their 'four pillars' awareness-raising campaigns. (fss)
