Unity in Diversity
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago nation, is located astride the equartor in humid tropics . It is surrounded by oceans, seas, and straits except where it shares an island border with East Malaysia and Brunai Darussalam on Borneo, usually we call Kalimantan. We share an island with Papua New Guinea on New Guinea is familiar with Irian Jaya, and with Timor Loro Sae on Timor. West Malaysia lies across the Sraits of Malaka, the Philippines lies to the northeast, and Australia lies to the south.
The national moto of Indonesia, “ Bhineka Tunggal Ika”, is an old Javanese expression . We can find this expression if we read an old book of Javanese from Mpu Tantular, there are Sutasoma. It can translated to English as Unity in Diversity.
The nation’s official ideology first formulated by President Soekarno, who proclamated Indonesia with Moh. Hatta in 1945. The nation’s official ideology is the Pancasila or Five Principles, there are consist of: Believe in supreme God; Just and civilized humanitarianism; Indonessian unity; Popular sovereignty governed by wise policies arrived at though deliberation and representation; and Social justice for all Indonesian people.
Indonesia was defined from the beginning as the inheritor of the Netherland East Indies. Though West Papua remained under the Dutchuntil 1962, Indonesia conducted a successful international campaign to secure it. Indonesia’soccupation of the former Portuguese East Timor in 1975, never reorganizedby the United Nation, conflicted with this founding notionof the nation. After two decades of bitter struggle there, Indonesia withdrew.
Adapted from Improving English Skill, P2B IAIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya.
