Reorganizing National Life on Pancasila Basis
On the occasion of the commemoration of the 61st
anniversary of Pancasila, the national philosophy,
on June 1, 2006, in Jakarta, President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono delivered a political speech,
which is presented here below.
Why now should we talk again about
Pancasila, Indonesia’s national philosophy? This is
a fundamental question, indeed, one to which we
should all together give an answer. We feel that in
the last eight years, we have not had enough
courage, restraining ourselves to speak about the
Pancasila (Five Principles of state/national
ideology: belief in the almighty, a just and
civilized humanity, national unity,
deliberation-consultation based on inner wisdom, and
social justice for all the peoples of Indonesia),
the 1945 Constitution (UUD: Undang-Undang Dasar
1945), the unitary state of the Republic of
Indonesia (NKRI-Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia),
the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (University in Diversity),
the national perception, stability, development, and
plurality. We feared that we would be considered
non-reformist, not in line with the reformation and
democratization movements.
Since 1998, we have been living in a
state of transition, with its various phenomena,
tendencies, and new realities. We sometimes felt, in
certain periods, that there was a kind of
disorientation, rejection, conflict, doubt,
pessimism, apathy, demoralization, emptiness, anger,
and even hate. We had left behind an old order and
its values, while the new order and values had not
yet taken shape.
We passed a part of it; we still feel
its remnants, some of them still gripping our heart.
Some say that we should build a new Indonesia,
remake Indonesia, give birth to a new nation. The
transition we are experiencing is within the global
scope which keeps changing. The world is in a
globalization and universalism mode that has an
extraordinary impact on all nations in the world,
including our own.
In the name of reformation, there were
waves of de-new-order-ization. Discourses on
pre-independent ideology and the state structure are
now an unavoidable reality. The collapse of the
authoritarian political order, the emergence of
egalitarian-democratic order, the uprooting of the
centralistic system and replacement with
decentralism, and replacement of the old concentric
system with deconcentrism are other phenomena.
The changes are so great that we do not
realize that—for better or for worse, directly or
indirectly—the power of the central government has
weakened, which also weakens the power of the state,
which in the final analysis causes imbalances to
prevail, as well as the emergence of instability and
disorder sensitive to social and political
conditions.
In the meantime, in its efforts to
guard, organize, and secure this important process,
the state and the government are facing difficulties
and are even being misunderstood. As an example,
enforcement of order and the rules of the game,
including the rule of law, are perceived as
returning to authoritarianism. Thus, a reminder of
the basic consensus, i.e. the Pancasila, the 1945
Constitution, the unitariness of the Republic of
Indonesia, and the motto Unity in Diversity, is
looked upon as being contrary to the people’s
political rights and the spirit of liberalization.
Efforts of the state police to enforce the law, to
prevent people from taking the law into their own
hands, including prevention of anarchic and
destructive demonstration, are perceived as
repressive acts and violation of human rights.
Efforts to re-organize the implementation of
decentralization and regional autonomy within the
framework of stabilizing the system of government
are perceived as returning to centralism. Criticism,
the uprooting of an undemocratic system, which are
in line with the spirit of reformation and
democratization, are indeed our reformation agenda,
but if there is anything not related to the
reformation agenda, then critical reflection and
re-organization are necessary to protect the
framework of a good state life. If we are honest
with ourselves, [we must admit that] the current
political uproar is rooted in and began with these
fundamental issue.
For the reason, let us, all state
executives and operators, all national components,
clearly view the problems and put them in the right
context, re-organizing them within the framework of
a healthy state life. The state and the nation are
ours. We, all of us, should reconstruct our common
future through dialogue and the building of a
consensus.
What we are going to reorganize and
rebuild should, of course, be based on and refer to
the values, the very existence, of the basic
national consensus, which is the Pancasila, laid
down by the Republic’s founding fathers. Pancasila
is an open philosophy, the basis and the ideology of
the state; it is not a static and fearsome dogma. We
place the Pancasila as a source of enlightenment, a
source of inspiration, and at the same time, a
source of inspiration, and at the same time, a
source of solution for all problems needing
solution.
Let us not forget that in 1998, when
reformation began, the consultative Assembly (MPR”
Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat), the highest state
organ, issued Decision No. 18/MPR/1998 annulling MPR
Decision No 2/MPR/1978 on the P-4 (Pedoman
Penghayatan dan Pengamalan Pancasila) or Guidance
for Understanding and Implementation the Pancasila.
Explicitly, the MPR also decided upon the Pancasila
as the foundation of the state. Therefore, debates
on the Pancasila as the state foundation should be
terminated.
I follow the line of thinking of Bung
Karno as expressed on June 1, 1945. He said, ‘we are
going to build a national state, a nation state, a
national Indonesian entity, not Javanese
nationalism, not Sumatran nationalism, not
Kalimantan nationalism, not Sulawesi nationalism’,
and so on.
In this era of reformation, in the right
interest, we are undertaking decentralization and
regional autonomy. However, it must be truly
understood that this important process must not
shake the founding principles of the NKRI, the
unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia, the
founding principles of nationalism, because this
would shake the framework of out state.
Our nationalism is not chauvinism a
nationalism of isolation. Bung Karno said
‘internationalism cannot prosper if not rooted in
the soil of nationalism, if not rooted in the soil
of nationalism. Conversely, nationalism cannot
prosper if it is not in the seedbed of
internationalism’.
There are critical questions on the
relation between global ties and all kinds of
national ties. There are the world ties of Islam,
the world ties of Christianity, the Indonesian ties
of the Chinese, but there are always the ties of
Indonesian nationalism. In the process of human
rights and global democratization, there are ties
between components of our society and the
international community, but there are still the
ties of Indonesian nationalism.
So we ask ourselves, is it not absurd,
is it not being left behind, to speak of nationalism
in this changing world? No! Positive nationalism,
not arrow nationalism, is still needed. Were this
global community a world settlement, we would still
need a house, a home of our own. That house is our
nationalism.
On consensus or democracy with
social-welfare, let us remember our motto: all for
one and one for all, which means ‘all for all’! For
this reason, capitalism, particularly
fundamentalist-capitalism which has no spirit of
social justice, cannot produce true justice. And it
is not the choice of our nation.
We long for the end of poverty in
independent Indonesia. Thus, if we want to actualize
revitalization of the values of nationalism, there
is an easy definition: nationalism today is the
freeing of Indonesia from poverty and backwardness.
Democracy must walk hand-in-hand and co-exist with
promotion of the people’s welfare and social
justice.
What is very important is the principle
of One Supreme God. In Indonesia, in accordance with
the principle, religions are practiced in a
civilized way. Relations among religious followers,
their praying and tolerance should refer back to
that basic principle.
Pancasila is often viewed as confronting
‘global ideology’, such as capitalism or liberalism.
The Pancasila developed by us clearly constitutes
common welfare and social justice. But we live in
the era of globalization which is full of the rules
and norms of capitalism, a free market, and
openness. We must be strong and firm in our stance
that we will continue to dedicate these to the
common welfare, for social justice.
In this era of globalization, an
intelligent nation is not one that constantly
complains, gives in, and is angry; it is a nation
able to channel the existing sources of welfare in
the global arena. We will make the best use of the
technology, capital, and information to promote
welfare and our interests. Do not want to be loser!
Let us be winners in this globalization era.
On liberalism, Pancasila recognizes that
there is no absolute freedom. It is there in the UN
Declaration of Human Rights, in the 1945
Constitution, and in the principle of a “Civilized
and Just Humanity”. Article 28 of the 1945
Constitution stipulates that freedoms, moral values,
ethics, security, and order. In order to have a
healthy, peaceful, and harmonious life, we must put
the expression of freedom alongside obedience to
tolerance and the rule of law.
Let us build a dialogue, let us build a
common consensus, all for all. No once can
monopolize truth. The common consensus remains the
spirit of the enthusiasm and consensus of the
Republic’s founding fathers when they began building
Republic of Indonesia.
We do not know this major reformation
will end. Will it be in ten years’ time? Will it
stay an unfinished agenda? The most important thing
is that we manage it to the best of our ability. In
this transition period, there are latent dangers,
there are challenges, and there are threats.
Therefore, let us all, particularly the state,
create conditions conducive to this great endeavor.
The state with its authority must return to
upholding the Constitution, the laws, and the
prevailing rules of the game.
The great process of reformation,
democratization, and reconstruction must go on
peacefully, without violence, calmly, and with
stability. Only in this way ca we re-organize the
framework of statehood to which we all aspire.
