MAKASSAR – As an expression of its commitment to strengthening national values in higher education, the Hasanuddin University (Unhas) academic community held a solemn Pancasila Day (Birth of Pancasila) commemoration ceremony on the basketball court at the Unhas Student Activity Unit (UKM) complex in Tamalanrea, Makassar, on Monday (1 June). The Rector, Prof. Dr. Ir. Jamaluddin Jompa, M.Sc., personally led the ceremony.
This year’s Pancasila Day commemoration carried the theme “Pancasila, Unifier of the Nation, Foundation of World Peace” (Pancasila Pemersatu Bangsa, Fondasi Perdamaian Dunia). The theme affirms that the noble values of Pancasila not only hold together the diversity of the Indonesian nation but also offer universal principles relevant to building peace and justice amid increasingly complex global dynamics.
Prof. JJ read out the address of the head of the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Education (BPIP). The address stressed that the Pancasila Day commemoration is not merely an annual ceremonial event but a moment of reflection to ensure that Pancasila values remain alive and serve as a guide in the life of the nation and the state.
According to the address, Pancasila has proven to be the “guiding star” of the Indonesian nation in facing the many challenges of the times. Amid global uncertainty, the threat of social fragmentation and accelerating technological disruption, Indonesia has remained able to stand firm as a nation that unites the diversity of more than 17,000 islands and hundreds of ethnic groups in a single national identity.
“Pancasila is the moral anchor that keeps national development on course and, at the same time, the foundation of the nation’s resilience in the face of global change,” said Prof. JJ, quoting the address of the BPIP head.
Indonesia has a constitutional responsibility to help bring about world order, as mandated in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution. In this context, Pancasila serves as the main foundation for carrying out Indonesia’s free and active foreign policy.
“We want the world to see that peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice for all humankind. A great Indonesia is not an empty dream. However, economic and technological progress without moral direction can lead us astray,” said Prof. JJ.
Pancasila values must not stop at being symbols or texts to be memorized; they must be put into concrete action, from mutual respect and upholding unity to placing the common interest above personal or group interests.
Closing the address, Prof. JJ invited the entire Unhas academic community to reaffirm their commitment to the nation and to keep contributing to safeguarding national unity. Indonesia will remain a great nation respected by the world as long as it is able to maintain its religiosity, its spirit of unity and the values of humanity that form the core of Pancasila.
The Pancasila Day commemoration ceremony at Unhas was held in a spirit of togetherness. It was attended by the university leadership, lecturers, administrative staff and students as an expression of their shared commitment to putting Pancasila values into practice in the academic environment and in community life. (*/mir)
Editor: Ishaq Rahman
This article is an English translation of the original Indonesian report.