.jpg)
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Indonesia |
|---|
 |
Pancasila (Indonesian:[pantʃaˈsila]ⓘ) is the official, foundationalphilosophical theory withinsocialism that became the ideology ofIndonesia.[1]The name is made from two words originally derived fromSanskrit:pañca 'five' andśīla 'principles; precepts'.[2]
It is composed of five principles:
The legal formulation ofPancasila is contained within the fourth paragraph of the preamble of theConstitution of Indonesia.
In 1942, theEmpire of Japan invaded andoccupied the Dutch East Indies. Following setbacks in thePacific War, the Japanese promised future self-government for Indonesia and in September 1943, established theCentral Advisory Council (CAC) in Java, chaired by pre-war independence activistSukarno. On 15 November 1944, at the fourth session of the CAC, Sukarno gave a speech listing five guidelines for life for the Indonesian nation. These had been produced by a committee headed by Sukarno, and were dubbed the "Five Obligations" (Panca Dharma). They were:[4][5][6]
On 1 March 1945, theJapanese 16th Army, which was responsible for Java during theJapanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, announced the establishment of theInvestigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK) to work on "preparations for independence in the region of the government of this island of Java." The first session of the BPUPK opened on 28 May 1945, and the following day began discussions on a basis for the future independent Indonesia. A number of speakers put forward proposals, andWiranatakusumah suggested thePanca Dharma.[7][8]
On 1 June 1945, the final day of the first BPUPK session, Indonesian nationalistSukarno made a speech, later to become known as the "Birth of Pancasila Address",[9] in which he outlined five principles, which he proposed would form the philosophical basis of an independent Indonesia. His original formulation was:[10][11][12]
In his speech, Sukarno rejected thePanca Dharma as a name, saying that "dharma" meant 'obligation', but that he was proposing principles. He further said that he liked the symbolic meaning of "five" as there wereFive Pillars of Islam, five fingers to a hand and five senses. He named the principlesPancasila.[13] With this formulation, Sukarno made a compromise between the ideas of an Islamic state and of a secular state.[14] Sukarno outlined these five principles could be compressed into three principles ("trisila"), namely: the principle of socio-nationalism, of socio-democracy, and of the one Lordship and then those three can further be compressed into one principle (ekasila), which is the principle of gotong royong (mutual cooperation).[15]
During the recess between the two BPUPK sessions, the Committee of Nine (Panitia Sembilan), composed of Sukarno,Mohammad Hatta,Mohammad Yamin,Alexander Andries Maramis,Achmad Soebardjo, Ki Hadikusumo,Wahid Hasyim,Agus Salim, andAbikusno, formulated a preamble to aconstitution including Sukarno's philosophy. This became known as theJakarta Charter. The order of Sukarno's principles was changed, thus: the fifthsila oftheism andfreedom of religion became firstsila; the secondsila remained, the original firstsila was re-numbered as the thirdsila, and the original third and fourthsila were re-numbered as the fourth and fifthsila.[16] Sukarno accepted this proposition of the other members. Further, the firstsila of theJakarta Charter and the Preamble of theConstitution of Indonesia of 1945, being the first of the originalsila of Sukarno, was amended to read"Ketuhanan dengan kewajiban menjalankan syariah Islam bagi pemeluk-pemeluknya" ("The one divinity with the obligation for its Muslim adherents to carry out Sharia law"). On 18 August 1945 the PPKI amended it further by deleting "with the obligation for its Muslim adherents to carry out Sharia law" and therefore left the firstsila as simply "Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa".[17]
By the first half of the 20th century, some ideologies that had been established or made their way to the Dutch East Indies includedimperialism and its antithesisanti-colonial nationalism, traditionalJavanese statecraft,Islamism,democracy,socialism, andcommunism. Proponents of these ideologies had formed political organizations or parties to forward their respective causes. The Islamist partySarekat Islam was established in 1905 followed byMasyumi in 1943. TheCommunist Party was established in 1914, while Sukarno's nationalistIndonesian National Party was established in 1927. Favoring one ideology over another would not satisfy the whole spectrum of Indonesian people, thus it was decided that the new republic needed to synthesize a new ideology derived from indigenous Indonesian values as well as common shared values derived from various ideologies.[citation needed] Indonesian nationalism could not be identified with Islam regardless of how important the Islamic contribution was, hence that neither of the two options—“Islamic” or “secular” in nature—is the best choice with respect to the unity and the diversity of Indonesia.[14] Pancasila was suggested as the ideal notion of civic nationalism, an effort to replace an old political culture based on primordial or religious loyalties with a new civic sense of “inclusive nationalism,” in which the existences and differences of groups were recognized without discriminations.[18]
On 30 September 1960, in a speech to the 15thUnited Nations General Assembly,Sukarno affirmed that the firstsila of Pancasila does not aim to persecute those who do not have a religion or are atheists. He said that because even those who do not believe in god have the characteristic Indonesian tolerance; they accept "belief on the one and only God" in the firstsila as a characteristic of the nation,[19]
Pancasila was influenced by certain aspects of selected world values and ideologies, such asnationalism,humanitarianism,individual rights,freedom of religion,democracy,socialism.[20] The need to unify this diverse country also led to the formulation of the national motto,Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, which can be translated asunity in diversity. It declares that despite the ethnic and cultural diversity, the Indonesian people are one.[21] Pancasila can be argued as a common platform and bridge for various ideologies in Indonesia and transformed into a different, integrated, comprehensive ideology.[22][23]
During theParliamentary era (1949-1955),liberal democracy was adopted as the basic philosophy, whereby political parties played key roles in politics. The reason was Dutch accusation of Sukarno and Hatta being Japanese supporters and the concept of the family state began to be decried by some people, particularly the Dutch, as nothing but authoritarianism with its emphasis on strong executive power and suppression of individual rights, liberal democracy. This period ended with failures as parties clashed over their ideological, regional, and ethnic interests which led into cabinet reshuffles. The newly rising army was discontented with such party politics and began to cooperate with Sukarno, introducing new political formats touted as the revival of the spirits of 1945 and the implementation of the concepts of the family state.[18]
In the campaign for the1955 legislative election, nationalist parties such as theIndonesian National Party (PNI) and theCommunist Party of Indonesia (PKI) used Pancasila to distinguish themselves from the IslamicMasyumi Party as they feared that if Masyumi won the election, Islam would replace Pancasila as the basis of the nation.[24][25] In theConstitutional Assembly, elected in 1955 to produce a permanent constitution to replace the1950 Provisional Constitution, the parties organized themselves into factions depending on their preference for the national philosophy. The Pancasila Block had 53.3% of the seats, while the Islamic Block had 44.8%. The debate over which should prevail was not resolved through debate as on 5 July 1959 due to absolutist stances, President Sukarno dissolved the assembly bydecree and reimposed the 1945 Constitution. As this included the Pancasila formulation, the Pancasila/Islam debate was ended.[26][27][14] According to Sukarno, the Indonesian-style revolution meant a struggle for harmony among all groups, an achievement of a people who were prosperous and equal, all of whom were represented by the ideals of Pancasila. This remarked the introduction ofGuided Democracy.[18]
After the collapse of Sukarno government, the Suharto'sNew Order emerged. After30 September Movement and its aftermath, Suharto dissolved theCommunist Party of Indonesia and purged the parliament from the communists and Sukarno supporters. TheNew Order was characterized by army dominance in government, centralized government, weakening democracy and press, and bureaucratic authoritarian regime.[28] While denouncing Sukarno’s failed implementation of the Pancasila State, Suharto claimed that he would properly implement its principles by legalization.[18]
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[29]
TheNew Order administration ofSuharto, 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 asHinduism andIslam. In a July 1982 speech which reflected his attachment toJavanese beliefs,Suharto glorified Pancasila as a key to reach the perfect life (Javanese:ilmu kasampurnaning urip) of harmony with God and fellow men.[30]
In 1978, Suharto secured a parliamentary resolution (Tap MPR No. 2/1978) on thePancasila Appreciation and Practicing Guide (Pedoman Penghayatan dan Pengamalan Pancasila orP4) and later began a mandatory program to indoctrinate all Indonesians—from primary school students to office workers—for the application of the P4 and in living the national values. After initially being careful not to offend the sensitivities of Muslim scholars who feared that the Pancasila might develop into a quasi-religious cult, he secured another parliamentary resolution in 1983 (Tap MPR No. 11/1983) that officially made obedience to Pancasilamandatory to all organizations in Indonesia, public or private. In practice, the administration of Suharto exploited the vagueness of the Pancasila to justify its acts and to condemn opponents as "anti-Pancasila".[31] Hence, Suharto forbade criticism that cause possible government instability and fall.[28]
Together with Suharto’s downfall, the Pancasila State apparatus, including the sole basis (asas tunggal) law, the linear perspective of the state-society relationship, and political, economic, and social behaviors based on Pancasila were all dropped.[18] The end of theNew Order resulted in critical attitudes towards Pancasila, but Indonesia still maintains a consensus by declaring Pancasila as the nation's ideology.[28][32] Despite such adjustment of Pancasila practice and implementation to the regime, Pancasila is still declared to be the basis of Indonesia country and the nation's view of life.[28] Proponents of Pancasila argue that its rejection leads to massive horizontal and vertical conflicts as people loses control and further leads into weakening of Indonesian foundation of unity and integrity, and that it causes fading public awareness of Indonesia, disorientation of Indonesian, and moral destruction of Indonesian.[33]
Hence, Pancasila supporters opine that Pancasila can be practiced correctly and adequately following the noble values of the Indonesian nation.[28] Discourse on Pancasila has warmed and expanded again.[28] Pancasila is described as an open space for the constructive interpretation of its meaning for life of the state and the nation.[34] In the context of globalization today, which is characterized by multiculturality, the openness of the ideology of Pancasila also includes openness in accepting foreign cultural elements, as long as it does not conflict with the fundamental values of Pancasila.[35] Pancasila discourse during reformation has been colored by political antagonism of between radical Islamism by bold statements such as “Pancasila is in contradiction with Islam” and “those who follow the Pancasila will perish” and secular nationalist who says that “Pancasila adalah harga mati” (Pancasila is non-negotiable; now and forever).[36] However, Pancasila as an ideology has the potential to be misused if it is applied as tool for suppression or intimidation by the ruling regime.[34] Despite that, it seemed that age-old concerns with respect to feuding groups resurfaced, and the state was susceptible to the intensifying conflicts in society.[18] As the rise of transnational Islamist movements become a threat for national political elites and social harmony of society, Pancasila reawaked to counteract the negative influence of transnational Islamist movements.[37]
In recent years, there has been a discourse that claims the need to strengthen the practice of the values of the five principles of Pancasila, considering that the values of Pancasila are clearly no longer practiced and it tends to be seen as naive to mention Pancasila in public, even sarcasm has arisen that Pancasila is a "non-existent" concept. According to Pancasila proponents, the actualization of Pancasila is experiencing degradation due to internal and external pressures that have resulted in the need for special-institutions to foster Pancasila values in Indonesia. ThePancasila Ideology Development Agency formed as a revitalization of the Presidential Unit of Pancasila Ideology Development and has a strategic role in coordinating the actualization of Pancasila.[38]
Pancasila is criticized for lacking ‘a solid theoretical basis’ and being ‘too general, too broad, and too vague’.[32] However, one scholar argues that these qualities are not weaknesses of Pancasila but ‘exactly the key to its strength and effectiveness in dealing with the reality of diversity in Indonesia’.[39] The foregoing kind of universalistic and exclusionary articulations of Pancasila indicates the ideology’s functioning as anempty signifier.[32]
TheInternational Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) has criticized the firstsila because it does not include a right toatheism, i.e. a rejection of theistic belief. The IHEU argued that this enables a culture ofrepression againstatheists and that, as long as Indonesian law only recognizes the religions ofBuddhism,Confucianism,Hinduism, andIslam, as well as bothCatholic andProtestantChristianity, people who did not identify with any of them, including atheists, would "continue to experience official discrimination."[40]
The ideal of Pancasila has not effectively translated into a functioningliberal democracy in Indonesia. Instead, Pancasila has become a symbol of Indonesianexceptionalism, embodying the nation's values and identity. Pancasila is open to abuse, which in this case was the invitation to criminalise all kinds of ideologies but Pancasila itself. The concept of the primacy of decision-making based on consensus (musyawarah mufakat) has been the perfect pretext for the repressive purposes byauthoritarianism. Pancasila legitimises and preserves the status quo, especially when the religiousgrandees use it to urge the state to prosecute religious minorities, especially “heretics.” Pancasila legitimises the ambiguousness of the status of religion in public life by insistence on the supremacy ofPancasila as the primary source in regulating public life, which is, by definition, a rejection of state neutrality.[41]
In 2018, the controversialIslamic Defenders Front leaderMuhammad Rizieq Shihab was charged under 154a and 320 of the Criminal Code on insulting the state ideology anddefamation. The charges were later dropped.[42]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)Authority control databases: National |
|---|