Pancasila (politics)
Pancasila is the official, foundational philosophical theory of Indonesia. Pancasila comprises two Old Javanese words originally derived from Sanskrit: "pañca" and "sīla". Thus it is composed of five principles and contends that they are inseparable and interrelated:
| Original text | English translation |
|
History
First iteration of Sukarno
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. 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 in a speech titled "The Birth of the Pancasila" originally defined the Pancasila thus:
- Kebangsaan Indonesia: Indonesian patriotism;
- Internasionalisme: Internationalism emphasizing justice and the virtue of humanity,
- 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,
- Kesejahteraan Sosial: Social Welfare premised on the theory of the welfare state and emphasizing popular socialism, and
- Ketuhanan yang Maha Esa: A Divinity that is an ultimate unity".
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, and omitted the word "Indonesia". The Committee of Nine, 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 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". On 18 August 1945 the PPKI 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".The Constitution of Indonesia of 1945 defined the Pancasila as the fundamental principles of the independent Indonesian state.
Interpretation by the New Order administration
The New Order administration of Suharto, the second President of Indonesia, strongly supported Pancasila. His government promoted the five principles as a key national ideology. They were outlined as representing 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 attachment to Javanese beliefs, Suharto glorified Pancasila as a key to reach the perfect life of harmony with God and fellow men.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 that obligated all organizations in Indonesia to adhere to 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 - P4 itself means Penghayatan dan Pengamalan Pancasila. In practice, however, the administration of Suharto exploited the vagueness of the Pancasila to justify its acts and to condemn opponents as "anti-Pancasila".
Rationale
The formulation of Pancasila took place in the mid-20th century immediately after the end of the Second World War. Thus, the ideology reflects the socio-political conditions of the late colonial period in Indonesia and the ensuing war. Its concept derived and synthesized from the ideas and ideals of Indonesia's founding fathers, most prominently Sukarno's. The historical period that most influenced Indonesia's founding fathers was the socio-political conditions of the Dutch East Indies in the early and mid 20th century.By the first half of the 20th century, some ideologies that had been established or made their way to the Dutch East Indies included imperialism and its antithesis anti-colonial nationalism, traditional Javanese statecraft, Islamism, democracy, socialism, and communism. Proponents of these ideologies had formed political organizations or parties to forward their respective causes. The Islamist party Sarekat Islam was established in 1905 followed by Masyumi in 1943. The 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 spectrum of Indonesian people, thus it was decided that the new republic need to synthesize a new ideology derived from indigenous Indonesian values as well as common shared values derived from various ideologies.
Pluralism and inclusiveness
Indonesia is a multicultural nation, a diverse country composed of various ethnic groups with different languages, cultures, religions, and ways of life. The founding fathers had decided that the state ideology should encompass and shelter the whole spectrum of Indonesian society, in which a consensus for common good must be strived for and justice is served. As the result, Pancasila is often viewed as a form of pluralism and moderation, a potpourri of different ideologies, ranging from the socialist to nationalist and religious.Some compromises were made during the formation of Pancasila to satisfy certain 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 only recognizes the following world religions:
The adoption of Indonesian instead of Javanese as the national language had practical value as a lingua franca and reduced concerns about favoring the Javanese majority.
Pancasila was influenced by certain aspects of selected world values and ideologies, such as nationalism, humanitarianism, democracy, socialism, and religiosity. The need to unify this diverse country also 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.
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. Pancasila encourage its proponent to practice moderation and toleration, thus radicalism and extremism are discouraged. In order to live harmoniously in a pluralistic Indonesian society, one's membership in a religious, ethnic, or social group should not dominate, discriminate, or be prejudiced in their relations with other groups.Criticism
The International Humanist and Ethical Union 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." Followers of other religions, in particular Judaism, also face discrimination as they are not officially recognized by the government. Jewish Indonesians often have no choice but to state their religion as Christian on their government issued ID cards.Criticism of the Pancasila is forbidden by the criminal code because the National emblem of Indonesia includes the Pancasila. According to article 68, its defamation carries a sentence of up to five years imprisonment or half a billion Indonesian rupiah. In 2018, the controversial Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, was charged under 154a and 320 of the Criminal Code on insulting the state ideology and defamation. The charges were later dropped.