Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and First Lady Iriana visited the Bung Karno Contemplation Park in Ende District, East Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday, after serving as inspector for the Birth of Pancasila commemoration ceremony.
During the visit, the president and first lady were accompanied by Noncent W. Noi, who updated them on the park's history as the birthplace of the national ideology of Pancasila, according to an official statement received here.
Noi stated that Soekarno, during his exile from January 1934 to October 1938, often spent his time contemplating under a breadfruit tree in the park.
In his autobiography, Soekarno stated that he got inspiration of the national foundation, later named Pancasila and has become the national ideology after independence, after contemplating at the park, which at present remains etched in his memory, Noi noted.
"Bung Karno returned to Ende as President of the Republic of Indonesia 12 years after his second exile to Bengkulu, and in front of Ende residents, he then proclaimed 'In this city, I found five pearls and under this breadfruit tree I contemplated the noble value of Pancasila,'" he remarked.
He revealed that the founding father mandated that the breadfruit tree be replaced if the tree died. As the tree died in 1972, efforts to plant the tree first were futile, as it failed to grow.
Under the leadership of Herman Joseph Gadi Djou, who served as the district head from 1973 to 1983, he urged Soekarno's remaining fellow compatriots to plant the tree. The present tree was planted by them on August 17, 1980, Noi explained.
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"Mr President, this breadfruit tree is now thriving with its five branches. For Ende people, this proves that Ende is the womb of Pancasila," he stated.
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Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) Bambang Soesatyo, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Anwar Usman, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Indonesian military Commander General Andika Perkasa, East Nusa Tenggara Governor Viktor Laiskodat, and Ende District Head Djafar Achmad accompanied the president and the first lady during their visit.
