*) A special tribute from ASEC Founder to APUFY 2015
BHINNEKA TUNGGAL IKA IN INDONESIA: LET’S DO IT AS YOUNGS!
By :
Emmy Yuniarti Rusadi
International Delegate for APUFY (Asia Pacific Urban Forum- Youth) 2015
Founder of ASEC (Actual Smile English Club)
Researcher on Urban Planning
Indonesia is an archipelago with so many diversities on language, tribes, skins, landscape, religions and belief, ancestors, even many layer of cultural attributes. If Indonesian only see the differences, no term of Indonesia would ever get. So insane to think and make a gap between its difference. But there is a soul to unify all of them, a principle of life. How Indonesians see the difference as blessing, as potencies, as “diamond” in the world. Like if you wanna collect books in library, Indonesia is place of many knowledge to know, many tribes to learn, many wisdoms to get, and many more. Perspective in facing problems could be so dynamic. But that is a super power to get many ways in solving. For example Javanese solve it patiently, Acehnese solve it bravely, Buginese invite us to explore the world by its generation spreading in many continents, Tionghoa or what it is called today as Indonesian-Chinese spread innovation in trading. What else? Count them and you will find your library of wisdom will be full by plenty of stories. It is so called “Welcome to Indonesia”.
Experience talks better. As I live as muslim, I do aware that Indonesia has some different religion that I have to respect. Many tribes that enrich my understanding that they were there as part of ancestors. They teach us wisdom as they have to preserve nature or respect many parts in universe as their own way. My duty is taking a part as a good citizen to get many lessons from it. Of course, every country has potency to face any conflict as we can not force many people to be the same. Sam skin, same mindset, same blood. World is fantastic because of its diversity.
In urban planning context, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika put a framework on respect the land use for example. How we can see Nagari, a kampong system that is so specific in West Java for Minang tribe. If we go to Bali, it would be different in making building with specific directions by Hindunese system. Do not disobey the rule or we can get any problem with it. Modernity sometimes does not work to solve. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika teaches us to get more. Or like ASEC (Actual Smile English Club), my community, has done in teaching ourselves on how beautiful difference is. We have traveled to the highest level of Java Island in Dieng peak with its Islamic and Hindunese taste of culture. Every planting time or harvest time, people always respect nature by some of massive praying. Hindunese did as their rule, while Muslims also did though differently. People agree to preserve heritage, one of the oldest heritage of Hindu in the world. If social destruction happen among these different society, we will never know how beautiful is Candi Arjuna (Arjuna Temple).
Community is one of the smallest thing to educate people in understanding that different is a power when it shapes unity. My community is only one sample, there are many communities in Indonesia that support the spirit of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika as youth in their activities to promote landscapes and others related to urban planning. We will never see any dispute on how a city will be built only for one tribe in the future except the special traditional land like in Toraja (Sulawesi Island), Terunyan (Bali Island, or Badui (Sumater Island).
Hey youngs, do you know that peace is one of the most important thing in this world as an asset to develop a region? We have it in Indonesi, land with no war. We can still smell the best river for rafting borderless. Let’s talk heart to heart again as a youth. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika also a bridge when poor and rich can be a perfect combination. When we see no more bordess to access space information between people in rural and urban thrugh technology in here, Indonesia. Imagine if planning process on space management only known by rich people, where is democracy? Now, we are ready to face open access of information to make an equality on accessing information of space. Many planners are coming from many background in here. West Java with high philosophy in maintaining highland, people from Kalimantan who teaches us in how to preserve biodiversity, and Nusa Tenggara with its harmony of traditional forest, or Papua with deep value on solidarity. Indonesia has many kind of “recipes” to answer many kind of space characteristics. From mountain to sea. From highland to the beach. Like we have faced in Yogyakarta Special Region when Mt.Merapi (one of the most active volcano in the world) has erupted and people dispute the border of land, solidarity made it as part to make harmony. What we have done as Indonesians? Crowd funding, sending experts from neighborhood region, invited social movements to act, and at the end we could make resettlement without asking what color of our skin, what our religion are, even what the tribe we had. Seeing that I lived in Indonesia is a blessing. Inspirations are coming everywhere. What we need now as youth is maintaining this spirit to be sutain everlasting. Huge country with abundant types of blessings. Have to thanksful to Indonesia founding fathers to take it as national slogan. It is a soul, not only a tool.
