During a meeting with the Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI), Sidarto Danusubroto, and the Deputy Speaker of the MPR RI, Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, in the MPR RI Leadership Meeting Room on Tuesday (17 September), the Setara Institute put forward two proposals regarding the implementation of the state constitution, one of which was the ‘Rumah Pancasila’.
According to one of Setara’s researchers, Ismail Hasani, the background to the proposal to establish or introduce a “Rumah Pancasila” stems from Setara’s appreciation of the “Socialisation of the Four Pillars of the Nation” campaign, which is being vigorously implemented by the MPR.
Setara greatly appreciates the “Socialisation of the Four Pillars of the Nation” campaign being vigorously promoted by the MPR RI. However, the question is whether these Four Pillars are alive in the cultural imagination of Indonesian society. This is what needs to be thoroughly examined. Because, as a philosophy of life, Pancasila must be alive in the cultural imagination of society. It must not merely be a slogan; it must be able to serve as a defender of the people.
“This ‘House of Pancasila’ is a forum for grassroots communities to come together and discuss Pancasila. After all, Pancasila should not merely be discussed by the state’s elite, but must also be discussed in a practical manner by the wider public. It is hoped that this ‘House of Pancasila’ will accommodate all of this,” he said.
In addition to Rumah Pancasila, Setara also revealed that it is currently conducting a special study on the implementation of the constitution, specifically examining the Constitutional Court’s (MK) performance over the past 10 years. The focus of this research is to examine how, and to what extent, the Constitutional Court has exercised its authority in promoting and protecting citizens’ constitutional rights through the analytical constitutional review of laws.
According to Hendardi, Head of the Setara Institute Delegation, this research will, at the very least from an academic perspective, provide an assessment of the progress made in protecting citizens’ constitutional rights over the past 10 years.
In Setara’s view, this research represents both an academic necessity and a political imperative for the nation, to ensure that one of the elements of constitutionalism enshrined by the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) of the Republic of Indonesia through the amendment process of the 1945 Constitution is respected, protected and fulfilled by the state. Academically, such a study is expected to contribute to knowledge, particularly in the field of constitutional law and the strengthening of the Constitutional Court itself.
The Chairman of the MPR RI, Sidarto Danusubroto, expressed his appreciation to elements of society such as Setara, which are deeply committed to and concerned about the Four Pillars of the Nation.
“I like the idea of the ‘Rumah Pancasila’. Indeed, it must be so; the aim of promoting the Four Pillars is for all sections of society throughout Indonesia,” he emphasised./dry