Good for What Ails Indonesia

(6/18/2017)

Doctors from across Bali and other regions of Indonesia - all members of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) gathered recently to make a formal declaration and ring a symbolic bell signifying nationalism and a nation-wide commitment to the State Principle of Pancasila.

As reported by Metrobali.com, the declaration was the inspiration of the Stovia Bali Forum – a medical association named in honor of Indonesia’s first medical school in Jakarta.

In a ceremony held in the parking area of the Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar on Saturday, June 17, 2017, the gathering of doctors proclaimed their loyalty to four national consensus points, namely: the five principles of Pancasila; the 1945 State Constitution; the state dogma of “Unity in Diversity” (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) and the embracing of Indonesian Sovereignty (NKRI).

The ceremony in Denpasar was a follow-on from a similar, but larger gathering of Indonesian doctors held in Jakarta on June 1, 2017 – Pancasila Day - that saw a manifesto of support for the nation from doctors across the Nation

The five principles of Pancasila are:

1. A belief in the Almighty.
2. A just and civilized society
3. National Unity.
4. Democracy through consensus and representative government.
5. Social justice for the Indonesian people.

The chairman of the Forum Stovia Bali, Dr. Wimpie Pangkahila, said the new moral initiative identifies itself as Doctors for Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Doctors for Unity in Diversity).

Pangkahila said he and many fellow doctors feel the condition of the Nation is under threat from some quarters trying to separate the nation from the founding principles of State. For this reason, he explained doctors have come to view themselves as a moral force and a part of the silent majority working on behalf of national unity and encouraging all elements of society to join their front for sovereignty and unity.

Pangkahila said that Indonesia’s doctors work for all humanity without reference to tribe, race or religious belief – committed to the principles of Pancasila in all they do. Adding, “Doctors must be brave enough to speak plainly and with a unified voice that Pancasila guides our lives. We can be of different tribes, different religions, and different races – but we must all act in humanitarian ways.”

Dr. Pangkahila said the doctors of Bali would now work to share their message of national unity with the people of Bali via the patients and patient’s families they treat.