Our Contribution for Indonesia Development

Bhineka Tunggal Ika existed since 14th century during Majapahit era, which later on was officially announced as our national motto in 1950. This motto has a very powerful meaning, which is “widely diverse but one nation”. As an Indonesian, we should draw this motto close to our heart and act accordingly to what it says. We should realize it now that each and every one of us holds a destiny for the future generation in our hands. What do we want our children to learn in the future? Is it the difference between “us” and “them” or acceptance that there is no more “they” but only “we”? Do we want to see the next generation to grow up as a selfish individual who exploit people and nature for their benefit or we long to raise a great, well- respected nation who always have each other back? It is a decision that we could make here and now.

The discrepancy in Indonesia exists because of unsolved problems, such as lack of access to earn a proper education and poverty, which lead to high crime rate. We are fast to blame our government for this issue but if we take a look closer, this problem was not stemmed from the government alone but also from many different aspects, such as school, entertainment industry, medical practitioner, entrepreneur and people from every profession just like you and me whether we are students or working adults. All of us contributed to building the mentality of this nation. How? By ignoring that discrepancy still does exist, we all deserve the guilt. Let me explain in more details.

The ongoing problem that no one has taken a significant action is our national television content. Our television teaches us how to joke around about physical infirmities and personal matters that should have remained confidential. Things like too fat, too short, ugly, imperfect physical structure, to relationship problem like broken relationship, getting divorced, getting cheated on are being exposed. It is been rooted in our culture that it is fine to laugh these things off and we forget there is nothing funny about it. I have witnessed many times by myself how children in a very young age made fun of his peers’ physical infirmities, race, and religion.

In the last four years, I have lived in 4 different cities, which are Singapore, Sydney, Perth and now in Melbourne. Never once, I heard someone on a television or in the real life made fun about those things because it is indeed very offensive and is not an appropriate content to entertain people. Here I learn how people still say positive words to build each other up even in the middle of competition.

Furthermore, since we were young, society taught us to adore foreigner and their home countries with no exact reason and to be afraid and surrender to those who are in powerful position without any explanation. These things will shape our generation to think unless you are physically attractive, educated and talented, speak a certain language or coming from certain family, your life does not matter; which has shaped our mindset for many years to see our nation as a second person (servant) instead of confidently taking role in a leadership position. No wonder that there is a huge gap between us as one nation. How do we inspire and promise the next generation to have a bright future if we keep being ignorant in regards to this problem? I sincerely believe that there is no incompetent person. Our society is not open-minded enough to appreciate the unique talent that each individual has to offer. For example, in school, students who achieved high grades in Mathematics and Science are considered more competent than those who are excel in Arts class, which is totally invalid. Together, we could develop Indonesia by building an online platform or provide a certain place for people to express their talents and to bring their best in where they belong like Biennale Sydney- an event in Sydney to showcase the artworks of Australian artists.

Another concern in our country is safety. Crimes happen in every corner, especially in our capital city, Jakarta. These criminals are being exposed through the media and being rejected by the society and most often they are getting beaten in a prison. I would not suggest mitigating their punishment

since I highly respect our established law. However, we could take further action by providing a consultation home before and after their sentence for them to be heard and work together with the professional, such as psychologists or volunteers to acknowledge their motivation since there must be a strong incentive before someone could commit a crime. Most of the time it happened because no one cares about his or her suffering and we never listen to what they have to say. Let us rise together as one nation who knows how to build each other up instead of belittling some people without knowing the reason behind their action.

There was a day when I had a long conversation about these topics above with my college friends. One of my friends said that the most important thing to concern about is our own family member. She added that as long as we are being good citizens then there is no guilt to live only for ourselves. I have been thinking what would happen in 20 years from now if each of us thinks and lives this way. I mean if you are a businessman, do your business; if you are a doctor, then save people life; but what if you are a criminal or you were born in the underprivileged area, would that be a life you want to live forever? We should be grateful that we won a birth lottery to be where we are now but we could be in their shoes. So what happen if we only live for ourselves? Here is the answer: In the future, our offspring would still be surrounded and trapped in things we choose to ignore today.

In conclusion, I would sum up four mains idea in this essay. First is live in accordance with Bhineka Tunggal Ika in our daily life. Secondly, we should encourage our national television to review its content before it is widely broadcasted. The third solution is to provide a platform where we could exchange our passion and idea to create a better Indonesia for the next generation. Last but not least is to provide a home consultation for people who have committed a crime to prevent a future similar action.