Bali doctors vow to protect pluralism

The Jak Pos, Denpasar | Sat, June 17, 2017


Hundreds of doctors from across Bali gathered in Denpasar on Saturday to pledge allegiance to the national ideology of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

“The threat the nation is facing has become more real. Our diversity is in danger. We can no longer stay silent. We have to make movement before it is too late,” said Wimpie Pangkahila, the chairman of the Stovia Bali Forum, which organized the event.

The gathering was held at Sanglah Hospital and attended by doctors from all hospitals and professors from all medical schools in Bali.

The Stovia Bali Forum, Wimpie said, was initiated following a national meeting of doctors on June 1 at the National Awakening Museum in Jakarta.

Stovia is the name of a medical school during the Dutch colonial period.

“Besides doctors, Stovia also produced many figures that led the independence movement and helped lay down the foundation of Indonesia. We have to use their spirit to defend Pancasila and fight those who want to destroy it,” Wimpie said.

The head of the Badung chapter of the Indonesian Doctor Association (IDI), Gede Putra Suteja, said many doctors were expected to disseminate Pancasila values to their patients. He added that doctors had been sworn in to uphold Pancasila values, the 1945 Constitution, the national motto of Bhineka Tunggal Ika (Unity and Diversity) and the unity of the republic of Indonesia.
“So, this is actually not a new thing,” he said.


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