NATIONAL AWAKENING DAY

     May 20, 1948, was Budi Utomo’s day of birth and was established as National Awakening Day. Budi Utomo organization was erected by Dr. Sutomo together with STOVIA (School tot Opleiding van Indische Artsen) students. Initially, this organization was a social, economic, and cultural organization that evolved into a political organization. The advent of Budi Utomo is said to be to have triggered the establishment of other youth organizations such as, Serikat Dagang Islam in 1909 which became Serikat Islam in 1911 under the command of HOS Cokroaminoto. In 1913, the Indische Partij was formed with a triad of figures such as Douwes Dekker, Suryadi Suryaningrat, and Ciptomangunkusumo. Then in 1927, Partai Nasional Indonesia was founded with figures Soekarno and Sartono. Various youth organizations throughout the Dutch East Indies gathered; for instance, Jong Java, Jong Sumateranen Bond, Jong Islamiten Bond, Jong Ambon, Jong Celebes, and others. They all unite in Perhimpunan Pemuda-Pemuda Indonesia (PPI) and swear that they claim to have one land, one nation, and one language, namely Indonesia. Therefore, Budi Utomo is presumed as a pioneer organization also for other national organizations and his birth date is designated as the day of National Awakening Day.

     National Awakening Day reminds us to apply the spirit of nationalism and reminisce the spirit of Indonesian people to achieve independence. Nationalism is how our attitudes and behavior should be in loving our nation and country, it has a very important role in the fight and also maintaining our independence. In the future, there are a lot of subsequent problems that may have the potential to destroy Indonesia’s unity and this is where nationalism is needed to defend our nation.  The young generation is the next generation of our country, but as time progressed, nationalism is fading due to the influences of western cultures entering Indonesia, which is contradicting our culture. In this case, the young generation can do what is best for the nation, maintain the integrity of the nation and increase the dignity of the nation. Implementing nationalism can be done from small things such as proud of being Indonesian, for instance, speak Indonesian well and correctly, proud of using local products which indirectly helps the Indonesian economy. Throw garbage in its place is also a part of implementing nationalism as we take part in protecting the environment and public facilities. There are a lot of things we can do to implementing a sense of nationalism but we can start by doing those little things in our daily routine. When we can carry out these small things in our life, then slowly we can give a big impact on the country.

References:

Putri, A. (2020, May 20). Dasar Penetapan hari KEBANGKITAN NASIONAL. Retrieved April 20, 2021, from https://www.kompas.com/skola/read/2020/05/20/124323469/dasar-penetapan-hari-kebangkitan-nasional

Putri, A. (2020, May 20). Makna Hari KEBANGKITAN NASIONAL. Retrieved April 20, 2021, from https://www.kompas.com/skola/read/2020/05/20/184511169/makna-hari-kebangkitan-nasional

Nailufar, N. (2021, March 18). Makna Kebangkitan Nasional BAGI Kehidupan Saat ini. Retrieved April 20, 2021, from https://www.kompas.com/skola/read/2021/03/18/104859869/makna-kebangkitan-nasional-bagi-kehidupan-saat-ini