photo credit to: www.unsplash.com
This year, Indonesia is running to its 75 years old of independence. As an Indonesian, it is an obligation to know and remember our five fundamentals or principles of our country. The most captivated principle for me personally is the third principle which is “unity in diversity”. The spirit of unity in diversity has been embarked through every single of life aspects, especially the spirit of gotong royong or teamwork. The value behind gotong royong is to gather the different spirits into one real action in order to create fairness for everyone. It reminds me of the pirates that sailed his boat to find the treasure trove. The pirates need to team up with the ship’s crew to create a tangible strategy that will be useful by aiming one goal: find the treasure. The concept of reward plays an important role since everyone is working for it. Therefore, they deserve a “slash of the pie” from the treasure trove itself.
The concept of teamwork is similar to gotong royong. Somehow gotong royong aims for fairness and socially secured by doing it for free. Somehow gotong royong embeds the real reward, such as money or social recognition. Both concepts of gotong royong have been part of Indonesia’s collectivism. We believe that unity in diversity is well represented by the terms I can’t be “me” without “we”.
However, there is an “X” factor erodes the value of unity in diversity.
The X Factor is an unpredictable factor or on the other hand, it is a force-majure situation that forces us to dispatch the common value in a social construct. This pandemic, COVID-19, is a real example of how unpredictable factors can affect people in a wider and bigger scale of impact. Our president and following with the Indonesian Government announced to diminish social and physical interaction by imposing and extending large-scale social restrictions period until further notice. I know it will end by May 22, but are you serious?
Some of the public decision recommendations have been delivered to the central government in order to lessen the COVID curve in Indonesia. Hell broke loose when the constitutes are arguing differently with misinterpreted orders. Even though the curve has slowly decreased by now, it doesn’t mean that large-scale social restrictions work. It means that we have a certain time to control the contagious.
Health protocols and the decentralisation of orders have been an ultimate weapon to appease the illness. However, it won’t be enough to tackle this pandemic over in Indonesia. According to the WHO media briefing, Indonesia has potentially become a new epicentre of this illness in the South East Asia Region.
The beginning of the Renaissance.
The key point or keyword that the government has been doing is the decentralisation of orders. This scheme will be the best working for Indonesia because we are the archipelago state, consists of numerous islands, and rich with the culture. Thus, every region has different needs toward its people and the rules should have aligned with people’s backgrounds. Instead of strengthening nothing, why don’t we enlarge the capacity of each island to control their people? Each island needs to choose which province that will be a new centre of handling this pandemic. Each province needs to cooperate with the other to represent as an island. Therefore, they can freely control their people and the economy to keep productive amidst this pandemic.
It reminds me of the concept of the Republic of Indonesia Union (RIS) back then when I sat in elementary school and learned the History. I think it is the best time to give trust to manage their people in order to lessen and stop this pandemic. Any other restrictions are required especially the firm restrictions against this pandemic. In conclusion, this is the craziest concept that I have ever thought since we are one republic, Indonesia, and it might affect the political climate in Indonesia for the future. But at least, the meaning of gotong royong has been more flexible and adaptable through the different mediums. Aiming one goal “everyone deserves a slice of pie”, this crisis could be a medium of unity in diversity or disunity in diversity.
The concept of teamwork is similar to gotong royong. Somehow gotong royong aims for fairness and socially secured by doing it for free. Somehow gotong royong embeds the real reward, such as money or social recognition. Both concepts of gotong royong have been part of Indonesia’s collectivism. We believe that unity in diversity is well represented by the terms I can’t be “me” without “we”.
However, there is an “X” factor erodes the value of unity in diversity.
The X Factor is an unpredictable factor or on the other hand, it is a force-majure situation that forces us to dispatch the common value in a social construct. This pandemic, COVID-19, is a real example of how unpredictable factors can affect people in a wider and bigger scale of impact. Our president and following with the Indonesian Government announced to diminish social and physical interaction by imposing and extending large-scale social restrictions period until further notice. I know it will end by May 22, but are you serious?
Some of the public decision recommendations have been delivered to the central government in order to lessen the COVID curve in Indonesia. Hell broke loose when the constitutes are arguing differently with misinterpreted orders. Even though the curve has slowly decreased by now, it doesn’t mean that large-scale social restrictions work. It means that we have a certain time to control the contagious.
Health protocols and the decentralisation of orders have been an ultimate weapon to appease the illness. However, it won’t be enough to tackle this pandemic over in Indonesia. According to the WHO media briefing, Indonesia has potentially become a new epicentre of this illness in the South East Asia Region.
The beginning of the Renaissance.
The key point or keyword that the government has been doing is the decentralisation of orders. This scheme will be the best working for Indonesia because we are the archipelago state, consists of numerous islands, and rich with the culture. Thus, every region has different needs toward its people and the rules should have aligned with people’s backgrounds. Instead of strengthening nothing, why don’t we enlarge the capacity of each island to control their people? Each island needs to choose which province that will be a new centre of handling this pandemic. Each province needs to cooperate with the other to represent as an island. Therefore, they can freely control their people and the economy to keep productive amidst this pandemic.
It reminds me of the concept of the Republic of Indonesia Union (RIS) back then when I sat in elementary school and learned the History. I think it is the best time to give trust to manage their people in order to lessen and stop this pandemic. Any other restrictions are required especially the firm restrictions against this pandemic. In conclusion, this is the craziest concept that I have ever thought since we are one republic, Indonesia, and it might affect the political climate in Indonesia for the future. But at least, the meaning of gotong royong has been more flexible and adaptable through the different mediums. Aiming one goal “everyone deserves a slice of pie”, this crisis could be a medium of unity in diversity or disunity in diversity.