Pancasila
Pancasila was thus intended to help solve the conflicting priorities among Muslims, nationalists and Christians. The 1945 Constitution of Indonesia then set forth Pancasila as the embodiment of basic principles of an independent Indonesian state.
Since its inception, Pancasila has been the subject of differences of opinion. One prime area of contention concerns the 1st of the five "pillars", the requirement for a belief in the all-oneness of God. During the negotiations concerning this principle the nationalists were concerned that the formulation ought to promote religious freedom. The Muslims wanted a formulation where the religion of Indonesia is Islam.
A historical anachronism is found in the Constitution. On 18 August 1945, the group that ratified the Constitution unanimously agreed that the term "Allah" should be replaced by "Tuhan", a more general term which was supported by the Hindus. The word 'Ketuhanan' and 'Allah' is used in the preamble to the Constitution, but the term 'Allah' appears in Article 9, which specifies the wording of the presidential oath of office. There is an alternative presidential 'promise' in the same article which does not mention God at all.
The content of the philosophy has been changeably interpreted by different philosophers. Pancasila has been an object of philosophical discourse since 1945 onwards. The Pancasila philosophers continually reinterpreted the content, so that its meaning varied from time to time. The following are chronological analyses of the content of philosophies of Pancasila.
The 1st draft of Pancasila was formulated by Sukarno, delivered on June 1, 1945 before the Investigating Committee for the Preparation for Independence (BPUPK), without the word "Indonesia". The 2nd draft of Pancasila was formulated in the Jakarta Charter by the Committee of Nine (Panitia Sembilan) (Sukarno, Muhammad Hatta, Muhammad Yamin, Alexander Andries Maramis, Ahmad Subardjo, Ki Hadikusumo, Wachid Hasyim, Agus Salim and Abikusno). Sukarno accepted the suggestion of the other members of the committee to change the "sequence" of Pancasila. The 5th Sila of Sukarno become the 1st Sila of the Jakarta Charter and the wording became "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 August 18, 1945 the Committee for the preparation of Indonesian Independence changed the formulation of the 1st sentence of Pancasila by removing the words "with the obligation of its Muslims adherents to follow Syariah", so the 1st sila became "Ketuhanan Yang Maha Esa".The 1st draft of the Pancasila philosophy was formulated by Sukarno on 1 June 1945. Sukarno always stated that Pancasila was a philosophy of Indonesian origin, which he developed being inspired by philosophical traditions in Indonesian history, including indigenous philosophical traditions, Indian-Hindu, Western-Christian, and Arab-Islamic traditions. 'Ketuhanan', to him, was originally indigenous, while 'Kemanusiaan' was inspired by the Hindu concept of Tat Twam Asi, the Islamic concept of fardhukifayah, and the Christian concept of Hebt Uw naasten lief gelijk U zelve, God boven alles. Sukarno further explained that 'Keadilan sosial' (social justice) was inspired by the Javanese concept of Ratu Adil (the Just Leader), a messianic Javanese ruler who would set the people free from all kinds of oppression.
After several BPUPKI meetings, the five principles proposed by Sukarno in 1 June 1945, were rearranged for the Jakarta Charter and the Preamble of the Indonesian Constitution (Saafrudin Bahar et al.,1995 and Kusuma, 2004). The 5th sila concerning religiousity was promoted to become the 1st sila. The previously 1st sila about nationalism become the 3rd sila. The 3rd sila (unity) of Sukarno become the 4th sila. Internationalism, justice and humanity remain as parts of the 2nd sila. The original 3rd and 4th sila about democracy and social welfare become the 4th and 5th sila. Sukarno thus helped solve the conflict between Muslims, nationalists and Christians. The 1945 Constitution then set forth the Pancasila as the embodiment of basic principles of an independent Indonesian state.
The New Order administration of Indonesia's 2nd president, Suharto, was a strong supporter of Pancasila. His government promoted it as a sacrosanct national ideology which represented the ancient wisdom of Indonesian people even before the entry of foreign-based religions such as Hinduism or Islam. In a July 1982 speech which reflected his affiliation with Javanese beliefs, Suharto glorified Pancasila as a key to reach the perfect life of harmony with God and fellow mankind.
After initially being careful not to offend sensitivities of Muslim scholars who feared Pancasila might develop into a quasi-religious cult, Suharto secured a parliamentary resolution in 1983 which obliged all organisations in Indonesia to adhere to Pancasila as a basic principle. He also instituted a Pancasila indoctrination program (Penataran P4) that all Indonesians, from primary school students to office workers, had to regularly attend. In practice, however, the vagueness of Pancasila was exploited by Suharto's government to justify their actions and to condemn their opponents as "anti-Pancasila".
Principle 1 in particular has been criticized for it denies the rights of non-believers, as well as of believers of Christianity and Hinduism, which are sometimes considered polytheistic and which are practised by a significant minority of Indonesians.
Chapter XI. Religion Article 29 1. The State shall be based upon the belief in the One and Only God. 2. The State guarantees all persons the freedom of worship, each according to his/her own religion or belief.
Less moderate Muslims have criticized Pancasila for being too secular and inclusive, diluting the uniqueness of Islam by placing man-made precepts at a higher level than the Qur'an. For example, the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group is one of the latest anti-Pancasila manifestations. JI's precursor was the Darul Islam movement which in 1948 challenged the new secularist republic through a civil war that claimed some 27,000 lives.
Related Sites for Pancasila
- Pancasila - Wikipedia bahasa Indonesia, ensiklopedia bebas read Pancasila
- Indonesia - Pancasila - Country Studies read Pancasila
- Universitas Pancasila read Pancasila
