MPR: Commemoration Of Christmas Must Be A Momentum To Raise Tolerance Of The Nation's Children

Deputy Chairman of the MPR RI, Lestari Moerdijat (Photo; Instagram; @lestari moerdijat)

JAKARTA - The Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly, Lestari Moerdijat, said that the spirit of Christmas in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic should be used as a momentum to revive the values of tolerance and diversity of the nation's children that are starting to fade.

"This Christmas commemoration in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is the right time to re-increase the values of tolerance, unity, mutual respect between religious communities and our diversity," he said in a written statement, Friday, December 25.

Rerie, her nickname, said that the national values possessed by the Indonesian nation should always be preserved and preserved through daily behavior.

Furthermore, he said, the momentum of Christmas commemoration in the country was the right time to practice the national values contained in the four national consensus, namely Pancasila, UUD 1945, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika and the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Not only that, Rarie asked people who celebrate Christmas at this time of the COVID-19 epidemic to prioritize safety together by continuing to implement health protocols and comply with the regulations of the COVID-19 Control Task Force in their respective regions.

Meanwhile, people who do not celebrate Christmas must also be able to maintain the spirit of unity and togetherness in their environment.

"The harmony between religious communities has been exemplified by our ancestors for a long time. So I think we are able to keep the values of tolerance intact," he said.

Rerie hopes that the Christmas commemoration in the midst of a crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic is able to unite all elements of the nation to jointly spread goodness for the country. One of them is in the form of active community participation in efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their respective environments.

According to Rerie, the preventive efforts carried out by the security apparatus and the government will not be successful if they are not supported by public awareness and sacrifice to comply with health protocols.