The Pancasila of : A Lost Ideal?

John Titaley

1. INTRODUCTION

Ever since the proclamation of independence on August 17, 1945, Indonesia has struggled with the problems of identity. Because Indo­ nesia is a nation comprised of many traditional societies with great social and cultural diversity, many questions arise regarding the nature of this new nation and its future. The struggle to keep it as a nation­ state starting from its independence is not over yet. Recently it had reached a critical point of break down into several nation-states. So far, the Pancasila, the national ideology of the country, had been suc­ cessfully served as an integrator that keeps the country together. 1 During its short history as a country and a nation-state, the Pancasila proved to be able to accommodate the people of Indonesia with their various political interests democratically, and bound the nation to­ gether. This is especially true during the period of , when Soeharto ruled as the president for 32 years. However, during the era of reform recently, the Pancasila seems to be disappeared. People, including government officers, no longer speak of Pancasila. Under the theme of Indonesia Baru (New Indonesia), Pancasila is no longer part of the discourse. A new 'language' is being introduced into public discourse. The questions raised from this situation include, Is the Pancasila still relevant to Indonesia? If it is, how will it make its course under the strong drive to replace it with a new jargon called Indonesia Baru? What really is the meaning of Indonesia Baru? Or has the Pancasila really lost its course in Indonesia? If the Pancasila is no longer relevant, what will be the future of Indonesia? Will there still be an Indonesia as it is now? To answer these questions, with a thesis that Indonesia is a new phenomenon created just in 1945 and had never had precedence, I will argue that the Pancasila and Indonesia are like head and tail of a coin. Without the Pancasila there is no Indonesia, and without Indonesia there is no Pancasila. This I will do first by describing the history of the birth of the Pancasila and how it developed into a national ideol-

I. C. Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures, New York 1973, 204. 38 JOHN TIT ALEY ogy. I then will analyze the nature of the Pancasila and its relevance to Indonesia. Finally I will argue on theoretical significance of the Pan­ casila, especially under the need to develop inter-religious relation­ ships in a global era.

2. A BRIEF

In this section, a brief history of Indonesia will be presented with an emphasis on the development and treatment of the Pancasila in Indo­ nesia. The name Indonesia used to designate this new nation is also significant. It was first used politically by the Indonesian students in The Netherlands in 1922 to designate the people of the archipelago colonized by the Dutch, to name their movement for independence.2 This name became popular to denote political unity of the people of Indonesia after a youth congress in October, 1928. At this congress they pledged their unity as one People of Indonesia, one Fatherland of Indonesia and to value the Unified Language, the Indonesian Lan­ guage. However, the pledge by the youth does not necessarily refer to Indonesia, until its independence in 1945, it was recognized interna­ tionally in 1949. As such, Indonesia is indeed a new phenomenon. In the efforts to solve the problems of diversity, be­ came committed to one common understanding on the nature of the nation, that is the Pancasila (Five Basic Principles) as formulated in the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution, accepted as the foundation of the new state. The principles are: • Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa (Belief in the One and Only Lord) • Kemanusiaan yang adil dan beradab (A just and civilized human­ ity) • Persatuan Indonesia (Unity of Indonesia) • Kerakyatan yang dipimpin o/eh hikmah kebijaksanaan dalam permusyawaratanlperwakilan (People-hood based on the wisdom of deliberation and representation) • Keadilan sosial bagi seluruh rakyat Indonesia (Social to all people oflndonesia).

2. M. Hatta, Pengertian Pancasi/a, Jakarta 1977, 33. However, the name Indonesia was used by an English ethnologist G. Windsor Earl. He suggested the word 'Indunesians' or 'Malaya-nesians.' The name Indonesia was then used by Adolf Bastian, a German ethnologist. See E. Darmaputera, Pancasila and the Search for Identity and Modernity in Indonesian Society, Leiden 1988, 32.