(Unila): The rector of the University of Lampung (Unila) Prof. Karomani, claimed that the values of local wisdom through which individuals band together in society, facilitate government to counter radicalism, terrorism, and intolerance.
He gave an example of the local wisdom, piil pesenggiri, where the indigenous people of Lampung necessarily keep in touch with, bersilaturahmi (nemui-nyimah), and help each other (sakai sambayan).
According to Karomani at the Webinar hosted by the State University of Semarang (Unnes) in collaboration with the Rector Forum of the Nation’s Character Strengthening (FRPKB) virtually, Tuesday, August 31, 2021, titled “Defending the Country Against Covid-19 Terror and Hate Speech in the New Normal Era” that local wisdom is believed to have been a good value to prevent the existence of our ideology and culture from getting extinct.
We in the midst of modernity need to accommodate local cultures as an attempt to anticipate the negative effect of modernization.
Further, Karomani in his presentation titled “Defending the Country through Strengthening the Character of the Nation in the Digital Age to Eradicate Radicalism, Terrorism, and Intolerance”, explained that Indonesian societies’ characters living in the past significantly differ from those living in the era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0.
Gotong Royong, the community practice which highly values tolerance, politeness, and hospitality tends to erode.
In spite the fact that 4.0 era provides people with a positive effect to every single aspect of lives, it results in negative effects, endangering national resilience. The danger may take the forms drug abuses, cyber crimes, radicalism, extremism, and intolerance, which ultimately degrades the national ideology.
Prof. Karomani showed a study by Microsoft that the communication ethics of Indonesian citizens, especially on social media, is regarded as being very worrying compared to other countries. As a result, so far, Kominfo has shut down more than 2 million negative sites and accounts for spreading approximately 1,387 hoaxes in Indonesia during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This suggests that communities necessarily preserve the local wisdom values so that social bonds and unity continue to exist. The Collaboration between academics, government, media, and organizations is also needed to maintain resilience and to preserve the country.
Karomani in his closing statement conveyed some of the best practices conducted by Unila in terms of character building, i,e., reorientation of student institutional regulations and regular supervision of student activities, reposition functions, and campus management, all which are intended as a means to strengthen the state-defense character.
Lecturers need to keep their professionalism with respect to the cultivation of the national defense character as the basis for their career promotion regarding the national defense character as stated in the meeting of establishment of the rector forum on national character building.
The meeting was also attended by other speakers Prof. Wiku Adisasmito, Spokesman of the Task Force on Handling Covid-19, and Rector of the Tni Vice Admiral Defense University, Prof. Amarullah Oktavia, the rectors who are the members of FRPKB, Unnes leaders, and participants. [PR Team]
