[Unpad.ac.id, 10/12/2012] Pancasila as the state ideology seems to fade. This, in addition to the ever-growing gaps between the rich and the poor, has been the concern of many scholars.
“It’s an anomaly of an economic growth which carries no relevance to public welfare,” said the professor of law in Unpad Law School, Prof. Bagir Manan, when speaking in the “1st Padjadjaran International Conference on Human Rights, Economic and Social Rights Today: Developed and Developing Countries Perspective”, on Monday (10/12) in the Auditorium Perpustakaan Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, The seminar was organized by the Human Right Association (Paham) Unpad.
To address such issues, it is necessary that social and economic rights be enforced. Pancasila clearly states the importance of social and economic rights in the second principle, ‘just and civilized humanity,’ and the fifth principle, ‘social justice for all of the people of Indonesia.’
“The values for humanity that Indonesian law and politics have guaranteed in reality are often neglected. Humanity is often determined by the social and economic condition of an individual,” said he.
The fifth principle of Pancasila means that social justice is pursuant to the preamble of the Indonesian Constitution UUD 1945, that is to improve public welfare and to educate the life of the people and to participate toward the establishment of a world order based on freedom, perpetual peace, and social justice.
Social and Economic rights are the basis of a welfare state. The law limits the state power as the maintainer of world order and forbids the state in meddling with personal life. “Principally, the government has to provide excellent service for the people, not otherwise,” said the former Chair of Indonesian Supreme Court.
Similarly, the professor of law from Universitas Hasanudin, Prof. A. Hamid Awaludin, Ph.D. argues that there are reasons that the government should now focus on economic and social rights. “Due to global condition during cold war, human rights have been stressing civil and political rights and forsaking economic and social rights,” said he.
The new paradigm should put more emphasis on building social welfare. Sadly, Indonesian government has somehow forgotten the importance of social and economic rights of the people. After reformation, Indonesia has been focusing too much on politics. “Without social and economic rights, the social construction we have built on the foundation of democracy will collapse. We should change orientation immediately,” the former minister of law and human rights concluded.
