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Jokowi calls for healthy competition in elections, national unity
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo speaks during an event to commemorate Pancasila Day in Jakarta on June 1.
(Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau/Laily Rachev)
Calls for national unity, inclusive development and a tough stance against identity politics took the spotlight in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s speech to mark Pancasila Day on Thursday, as the country’s political machine revs up for the 2024 presidential and legislative elections.
This year, the official event to commemorate the birth of Pancasila, the state ideology, was held at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, under the theme “gotong royong [mutual cooperation] in building civilization and global growth”.
Wearing a gold-accented Sultanate of Deli outfit from North Sumatra, Jokowi said a strong society was founded in unity.
“Tolerance, unity and gotong royong are keys to building a strong nation. As such, I invite all of us to reject extremism, identity politics and the politicization of religion,” Jokowi said in his Pancasila Day address, which will be his last before Indonesians vote for a new president in February next year. “Let’s welcome the coming elections with maturity, joy and by upholding the principle of Pancasila.”
Jokowi’s remarks came amid concerns that the 2024 presidential and legislative elections could again polarize the country the way they did in the previous two elections, in which pro-Islamic sentiment, the religion professed by most Indonesians, was used to mobilize voters.
With new leadership just around the corner, Jokowi also noted that in line with the Pancasila ideology of equality, the even and sustainable development of the country must be put at the forefront of the national agenda, naming some of his flagship projects as examples.
“The government can change, but the fight [for a better Indonesia] must be continued. Justice, equality and welfare are the values we fight for through structural reforms, improving human resources, the downstreaming of industries and the development of the Nusantara capital city,” he said.
