The Jakarta Post:
‘We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools’: Boediono
Vice President Boediono has called on the country to unite as a nation despite people’s different backgrounds of ethnicity and faith.
Speaking before an audience at a ceremony to commemorate Pancasila Day at the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Friday, Boediono reminded all elements in the country to revisit the values of Pancasila to move forward as a solid, strong nation.
“On this day 67 years ago, President Sukarno read out for the first time the ideas of Pancasila. Sukarno and all the other founding fathers had gone through constant struggles to unite the nation and to formulate the values of Pancasila as a principle to hold the nation together. Today, we are challenged put aside our different backgrounds to remain united,” Boediono said.
He drew upon Sukarno’s friendship with Catholic priests during his exile in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara in 1938 to illustrate that a noble ideal for humanity should outweigh differences.