CIDISS. Remind us of Indonesia’s proud philosophy inherited by the nation’s founders, namely Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. This philosophy is very short, but has a very broad meaning for the diversity of Indonesian people. We are different, but still one, namely Indonesia.
The philosophy is beautiful because it not only guarantees equality in religious diversity, but also ethnicity, race and class in Indonesia, because religion is often attached to all three.
According to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2010, Indonesia has 1,340 ethnic groups with 1,158 regional languages. There is no country in the world that has such a level of diversity in Indonesia. Not only tribes and religions, religion and belief are also quite numerous in Indonesia, both local and transnational.
The plurality and complexity of the Indonesian nation is increasing with the existence of mass organizations, political parties, ideology, fashion, schools of thought, religious sects and schools, as well as religious expressions of each religious community. All of it deserves to be proud and celebrated, not torn apart by hatred and divisive information dissemination. The public must be really encouraged to understand that Indonesia’s plurality is ours.
In other words, plurality or plurality is something that is natural as well as cultural. It can be said to be “natural” because plurality is a social fact that cannot be denied from pre-modern times to modern times today. Plurality is also “cultural” because it is part of the product of human culture. That is, humans also contribute to creating plurality.
Therefore, if we are aware that Bhinnek Tunggal Ika is a symbol of our nation’s diversity, then if there is a group of contemporary people who do not have advanced and living thoughts who want to undermine the peace of Indonesia’s diversity, then we must be responsive to the situation, with at least no heat up the situation. In addition, the government should act very firmly to the parties who deliberately damage the peace and diversity that exists, especially those who deliberately divide the nation with slander, hate speech, and false news that is deviated.
By: Adi Saputro *)