Sumpah Pemuda (Youth's Pledge)

Eighty one years ago, young people from various ethnics all over the Dutch colony in South East Asia gathered in the capital city of Batavia.

In spite of the tight security imposed by the Dutch Colonialists against any efforts to establish an independent nation, those young people have daringly made the following pledges known as Sumpah Pemuda (Youth's Pledges) :

1) We belong to one country, a country called Indonesia
2) We belong to one Nation, the Indonesian Nation
3) We speak one Language, the Indonesian Language

The above Youth's Pledges have united Indonesians in their struggle to establish an independent country, which became a reality on 17 August 1945.

In spite of the above fact, it seems to me that many Indonesians seems to forget about the Sumpah Pemuda. This can be seen from the selection of Miss Indonesia 2009 who could not speak the Indonesian language and doesn't know our culture.

I hope that the new government, especially the Minister of Culture & Tourism and the Minister of Education would make serious efforts to make sure that the spirit of Sumpah Pemuda would not be forgotten by the Indonesian people.