Pancasila (politics)

A depiction of the Garuda Pancasila on a c. 1987 poster; each tenet of the Pancasila is written beside its symbol.

Pancasila (Indonesian: [pantʃaˈsila]) is the official, foundational philosophical theory of the Indonesian state.[1] Pancasila comprises two Old Javanese words originally derived from Sanskrit: "pañca" ("five") and "sīla" ("principles"). Thus it is composed of five principles and contends that they are inseparable and interrelated:

  1. Belief in the One and Only God
    (in Indonesian "Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa"),
  2. A just and civilized humanity
    (in Indonesian "Kemanusiaan Yang Adil dan Beradab"),
  3. A unified Indonesia
    (in Indonesian "Persatuan Indonesia"),
  4. Democracy, led by the wisdom of the representatives of the People
    (in Indonesian "Kerakyatan Yang Dipimpin oleh Hikmat Kebijaksanaan, Dalam Permusyawaratan Perwakilan")
  5. Social justice for all Indonesians
    (in Indonesian "Keadilan Sosial bagi seluruh Rakyat Indonesia").

History

First iteration of Sukarno

Five Pancasila symbols on Indonesian stamps (1965)

Desirous of uniting the diverse archipelago of Indonesia into one state in 1945, the future President Sukarno promulgated Pancasila as the foundational philosophical theory of the new Indonesian state (in Indonesian "Dasar Negara"). His political philosophy was fundamentally an amalgamation of elements of monotheism, nationalism, and socialism. Sukarno consistently stated that Pancasila was a philosophy of Indonesian indigenous origin that he developed under the inspiration of Indonesian historical philosophical traditions, including indigenous Indonesian, Indian Hindu, Western Christian, and Arab Islamic traditions. "Ketuhanan" to him was originally indigenous, while "Kemanusiaan" was derived from the Hindu concept of Tat Tvam Asi, the Islamic concept of "fardhukifayah", and the Christian concept of neighborly love. Sukarno further explained that "Keadilan sosial", i.e. social justice, was derived from the Javanese concept of "Ratu Adil", i.e., the Just Leader, being a messianic Javanese ruler who would liberate that people from all kinds of oppression. Pancasila was intended to resolve contrasting Indonesian Muslim, nationalist, and Christian priorities.

The iteration of Pancasila that Sukarno presented on 1 June 1945 to the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (Badan Penyelidik Usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan (BPUPK)) in a speech titled "The Birth of the Pancasila"[2] originally defined the Pancasila thus:[3]

  1. Kebangsaan Indonesia: Indonesian patriotism;
  2. Internasionalisme: Internationalism emphasizing justice and the virtue of humanity,
  3. Musyawarah Mufakat: Deliberative consensus emphasizing a form of representative democracy in which ethnic dominance is absent and each member of the council possesses equal voting power,
  4. Kesejahteraan Sosial: Social Welfare premised on the theory of the welfare state and emphasizing popular socialism, and
  5. Ketuhanan yang Maha Esa: A Divinity that is an ultimate unity" (A formulation that can be seen as implying both monotheism or pantheism, thereby allowing space for all of Indonesia's major religions).

Second iteration of the Founding Fathers

Sukarno gave the first iteration of the Pancasila in his speech of 1 June 1945 to the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK), and omitted the word "Indonesia".[4][5] The Committee of Nine (Panitia Sembilan), composed of Sukarno, Mohammad Hatta, Mohammad Yamin, Alexander Andries Maramis, Ahmad Subardjo, Ki Hadikusumo, Wachid Hasyim, Agus Salim, and Abikusno, formulated the second iteration of the Pancasila for the Jakarta Charter and the Preamble of the Constitution of Indonesia of 1945[6] by reordering their original enumeration by Sukarno thus: the fifth sila of monotheism and religiosity was promoted as the first sila; the second sila remained, the original first sila was re-numbered as the third sila, and the original third and fourth sila were re-numbered as the fourth and fifth sila. Sukarno accepted this proposition of the other members. Further, the first sila of the Jakarta Charter and the Preamble of the Constitution of Indonesia of 1945, being the first of the original sila of Sukarno, was amended to read "Ketuhanan dengan kewajiban menjalankan syariah Islam bagi pemeluk-pemeluknya" ("Belief in Almighty God with the obligation for its Muslim adherents to carry out the Islamic law/Syari'ah"). On 18 August 1945 the BPUPK amended it further by deleting "with the obligation for its Muslim adherents to carry out the Islamic law/Syari'ah" and therefore left the first sila as simply "Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa".[7]

The Constitution of Indonesia of 1945 defined the Pancasila as the fundamental principles of the independent Indonesian state.[4][8]

Interpretation by the New Order Administration

Pancasila democracy endeavors to strike a balance between the interests of the individual and those of society. It seeks to prevent the oppression of the weak by the strong, whether by economic or political means. Therefore, we hold that Pancasila is a socio-religious society. Briefly its major characteristics are its rejection of poverty, backwardness, conflicts, exploitation, capitalism, feudalism, dictatorship, colonialism[,] and imperialism. This is the policy I have chosen with confidence.

— Suharto[9]

The New Order administration of Suharto, the second President of Indonesia, strongly supported the Pancasila. His government promoted them as a sacrosanct national ideology that represented the ancient wisdom of the Indonesian people pre-dating the introduction of foreign religions such as Hinduism and Islam. In a July 1982 speech which reflected his affiliation with Javanese beliefs, Suharto glorified the Pancasila as a key to reach the perfect life ("ilmu kasampurnaning hurip") of harmony with God and fellow men.[10]

After initially being careful not to offend the sensitivities of Muslim scholars who feared that the Pancasila might develop into a quasi religious cult, Suharto secured a parliamentary resolution in 1983, Tap MPR No. 11/1983, that obligated all organizations in Indonesia to adhere to the Pancasila. He also instituted a mandatory program to indoctrinate all Indonesians, from primary school students to office workers, in the Pancasila, which program was denominated "Penataran P4". In practice, however, the administration of Suharto exploited the vagueness of the Pancasila to justify its acts and to condemn opponents as "anti-Pancasila".[10]

Political Islam under Suharto

Under Suharto political Islamists were suppressed, and religious Muslims were carefully watched by the Indonesian government. Several Christian Generals who served under Suharto like Leonardus Benjamin Moerdani actively persecuted religious Muslims in the Indonesian military, which was described as being "anti-Islamic", denying religious Muslims promotions, and preventing them from praying in the barracks and banning them from even using the Islamic greeting "assalamu'alaikum", and these anti-Islamic policies were entirely supported by Suharto, despite Suharto being a Muslim himself, since he considered political Islam a threat to his power.[11] The Christian General Theo Syafei, who also served under Suharto, spoke out against political Islam coming to power in Indonesia, and insulted the Qur'an and Islam in remarks which were described as Islamophobic.[12][13][14]

Rationale

The formulation of Pancasila took place in the mid-20th century near the end of the Second World War. Thus, the ideology reflects the socio-political condition of the late colonial period in Indonesia and the ensuing great war. Its concept derived and synthesized from the ideas and ideals of Indonesia's founding fathers, most prominently Sukarno's. The historical period that influenced Indonesia's founding fathers, was the socio-political conditions of Dutch East Indies in the early 20th century all the way to the outbreak of the Second World War.

By the first half of 20th century, some ideologies had been established or made their way into Dutch East Indies includes; imperialism and its antithesis anti-colonial nationalism, traditional Javanese statecraft, Islamism, democracy, socialism and communism. Proponents of these ideologies had formed political organization or party to forward their cause. Islamist Sarekat Islam was established in 1905 followed by Masyumi in 1943. Communist Party was established in 1914, while Sukarno's nationalist Indonesian National Party was established in 1927. Favouring one ideology over another would not satisfy the whole components of Indonesian people, thus it was decided that the new republic need to compose a new ideology derived from indigenous Indonesian values as well as common shared values derived from various ideologies.[15]

Pluralism and inclusiveness

Indonesia is a multicultural nation, a diverse country composed of numbers of ethnic groups with different languages, culture, religions and way of life. The founding fathers had decided that the state ideology should encompass and shelter the whole spectrum of Indonesian society, in which consensus for common good must be strived to achieve and justice is served and satisfied. As the result, Pancasila is often viewed as a form of pluralism and moderation, a potpourri of different ideologies, ranging from the socialist, nationalist to religiosity.

Some compromises were made during the formation of Pancasila to satisfy elements of Indonesian society. For example, despite its overwhelming Muslim population, Indonesia did not adopt political Islam nor proclaim Islam as its official religion. Other than Islam, Indonesia also recognizes several world religions:

The adoption of Indonesian instead of Javanese as the national language had practical value as a lingua franca and reduced concerns about favouring the Javanese majority.[16]

Pancasila was influenced and copied some aspects of world's values and ideologies, including nationalism, humanity, democracy, socialism and religiosity.[15] The need to unify this diverse country also has led to the formulation of the national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, which can be translated as unity in diversity. It declares the essential unity of its members despite ethnic, regional, social or religious differences.[17]

Moderation and tolerance

In 1945, during the formation of Pancasila, there was much debate between nationalists who called for a pluralistic state and Islamists who wanted a religious state ruled by Islamic law or sharia. The nation's founders chose religious tolerance.[18] Pancasila encourage its proponent to practice moderation and toleration, thus radicalism and extremism are discouraged. In order to live harmoniously in a plural society, one's membership to a religious, ethnic or social group does not mean that they could dominate, discriminate or be prejudiced in their relations with other groups.[18]

Criticism

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) has criticized the first sila because it does not define a right to atheism, i.e., a rejection of theistic belief, and enables a culture of repression against atheists. The IHEU argued that as long as Indonesian law only recognized the religions of Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Protestantism, and the Roman Catholic Church, persons who did not identify with any of them, including atheists, would "continue to experience official discrimination."[19]

Similar to the controversy surrounding the United States Pledge of Allegiance's wording, the sila has been employed as a tool to repress against people falling outside of the government's classification system. Additionally, LGBT people are also routinely attacked under the guise of enforcing it in the courts and in other public spheres by organizations of all positions on the political spectrum and even by (at the time) a sitting Supreme Court justice, Patrialis Akbar.[20]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Pancasila Plan to Affect Foreigners". The Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Saafroedin Bahar et al. (1995), pp. 55–72.
  3. ↑ Smith, Roger M. (editory) (1974). Southeast Asia: Documents of Political Development and Change. Ithaca and London. pp. 174–83.
  4. 1 2 Saafroedin Bahar et al. (1995), pp. 63–84.
  5. ↑ Kusuma (2004), p. 1.
  6. ↑ Saafrudin Bahar et al., 1995 and Kusuma, 2004.
  7. ↑ Saafroedin Bahar et al. (1995), p. 301.
  8. ↑ Kusuma (2004), pp. 150–66.
  9. ↑ Suharto to G. Dwipayana and Ramadhan K. H., in Soeharto: My Thoughts, Words[,] and Deeds: An Autobiography, p. 194.
  10. 1 2 Ken Ward. "'2 Soeharto's Javanese Pancasila' in Soeharto's New Order and Its Legacy: Essays in Honour of Harold Crouch, edited by Edward Aspinall and Greg Fealy | ANUE Press". Epress.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 22 September 2013. (Harold Crouch)
  11. ↑ http://www.trincoll.edu/depts/csrpl/rinvol3no1/east_timor.htm
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  15. 1 2 Nanda Prasandi (25 September 2014). "Keunggulan Ideologi Pancasila". Kompasiana.
  16. ↑ "The Invention of 'Lingua Franca', Language and Indonesian Nationalist Movement". Bahasa Kita. May 11, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Bhineka Tunggal Ika". Bahasa Kita. January 29, 2011.
  18. 1 2 Jayshree Bajoria (7 July 2011). "Indonesia's view of tolerance is a blueprint for others". The National.
  19. ↑ "Pancasila Blasted for Repression of Atheists". The Jakarta Globe. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  20. ↑ "Muslim organization: Same-sex marriage is contrary to religion and Pancasila | Republika Online". Republika Online. Retrieved 2017-10-14.

References

  • Department of Information, Republic of Indonesia (1999), Indonesia 1999: An Official Handbook (No ISBN)
  • Saafroedin Bahar et al. (eds) (1995), Risalah Sidang Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia (BPUPKI) Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia (PPKI), Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia, ISBN 979-8300-00-9
  • Riklefs (1982), A History of Modern Indonesia, Macmillan Southeast Asia, reprint, ISBN 0-333-24380-3
  • RMAB Kusuma (2004), "Lahirnya Undang Undang Dasar 1945", Badan Penerbit Fakultas Hukum Universitas Indonesia, ISBN 979-8972-28-7
  • Sukarno, Lahirnya Pancasila ("The Birth of Pancasila"), Guntur, Yogyakarta, 1949 and Laboratorium Studi Sosial Politik Indonesia, 1997
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