REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BOGOR -- President Joko Widodo has reminded the dangers of intolerance which could easily happen in Indonesia due to its diversity in various aspects. He made the remarks in a meeting with participants of the Indonesian Millennial Movement Congress 2018 at the Bogor Palace here on Monday.
"I will continue to remind people of this everywhere, because we forget this matter very often. Because we forget it, we often feel we are not brothers, whereas in fact, we are brothers as one country and nation," the president or Jokowi as he commonly known noted.
On the occasion, Jokowi spoke directly to the congress participants who were specifically invited to the palace. The Congress coincided with the Heroes Day on Nov 10, organized by the Maarif Institute of Culture and Humanity.
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Through the congress, the Indonesian millennial generation is committed to promoting peace, preventing extremism, and violence. The congress has a six-point declaration, which was read out before Jokowi.
In front of the congress participants, the president again reminded the audience of the diversity of the Indonesian nation. The diversity that Indonesia has, according to him, is often overlooked by the community, which causes the community to sometimes feel as if they are not the same fellow countrymen.
This was compounded by the proliferation of actions that led to intolerance and extremism among the people. However, the head of state argued that many acts of intolerance occurred not because they were driven by their own desires, but as they were influenced by unfavorable impacts of political events.
"Actually, what is related to intolerance, especially in our country, is more driven by unfavorable impacts of political events, such as the election of district heads, mayors, governors, and president. Many unfavorable impacts of political events started there," he remarked.
Temporary political interests expressed in unethical ways cause people to clash with each other. That is where intolerance in this country started from, according to him.
"Just look at the social media and see what it is like. This is the political influence which often stirs us up. Intolerance often arises because it is pitted against each other. This is why I often say it is very dangerous," the president explained.
Jokowi added that if the society is left to drag on in that condition, it could be that the Indonesian people will have difficulty facing challenges that already exist before their eyes. The fourth industrial revolution that has taken place has caused many landscapes to change.
The people must respond immediately to this, so that they will be able to face change. "This is what we must continue to be aware of, lest these changes will lead us to intolerance and extremism," he elaborated.
Therefore, he greatly appreciated what the Maarif Institute had done with the congress. By playing a similar active role, the president feels confident that more parties will be moved to bring progress to this country.
"But it should be in cool and good ways. This is why I insist on changing hatred utterances into utterances of truth, moving from pessimism to optimism, changing consumptive to productive mind, moving from noises to unity and harmony. This is what is needed," he pointed out.
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