Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, an Indonesian principle of national integration

BHINNEKA TUNGGAL IKA, INDONESIAN PRINCIPLE OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION

On his short visit to Indonesia on the 9^th and 10^th of November 2010 President Obama made a very interesting remark in University of Indonesia. Let me quote him:

“But even as this land of my youth has changed in so many ways, those things that I learned to love about Indonesia – that spirit of tolerance that is written into your Constitution; symbolized in your mosques and churches and temples; and embodied in your people – still lives on.Bhinneka Tunggal Ika –unity in diversity. This is the foundation of Indonesia’s example to the world, and this is why Indonesia will play such an important role in the 21st century.”

He further said: “Such is Indonesia’s spirit. Such is the message of Indonesia’s inclusive philosophy,Pancasila”.

And also:”As a child of a different race coming from a distant country, I found this spirit in the greeting that I received upon moving here:Selamat Datang.”

It is clear that as a guest President Obama was trying to please his host. There is no doubt that his remarks are part of diplomatic courtesy. But we cannot deny that his remarks have some elements of truth. So what is so special about it? What make President Obama thought that it is worth citing? Let’s see these facts.

Historical background.

The phrase Bhinneka Tunggal Ika which means unity in diversity was first written by Prapanca, a famous writer in the 13^th century in east Java. Prapanca worked for the kingdom of Majapahit, a kingdom that united most of present day Indonesia for the first time. The idea of uniting the kingdoms in the archipelago, however, was born in the previous era during the reigns of Singasari kingdom in east Java. The need to unify the archipelago was sparked by a threat from the mighty Mongol empire that had conquered most of Asia and a part of Europe. In 12^th century Mongol emperor Ku Blai Khan sent an emissary to Singasari king to ask for tribute otherwise Java would be invaded by their army. King Kertanegara was very angry and cut the emissary’s ears. This event spurred the idea of strengthening the position of Singasari by making alliances with other kingdoms in the archipelago. Unfortunately the kingdom of Singasari did not last long. It was destroyed by a rebellion.

Wijaya was the son in law of King Kertanegara. When the king was killed in a rebellion he fled from the capital. Not long after that the mighty Mongol army came to Java in 1292 to punish King Kertanegara and to conquer Java. Wijaya had anticipated it with a brilliant plan. He warmly welcomed the invading army. Together with them he attacked the rebel who became a new king named Jayakatwang from Kediri. The Kediri army was no match for the Mongol army. They were easily defeated. Then Wijaya held a party to celebrate the victory. In the party his army attacked the Mongol army in a surprise attack. They won the battle and Wijaya became the new king. He established the kingdom of Majapahit that would be the most powerful and influential kingdom in Indonesia.

The Mongol invasion strengthens the idea of unification of the archipelago. During the era of Majapahit most of what makes Indonesia today could be unified through alliances and also conquest. It was in this period that Prapanca wrote the motto of Majapahit – Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. Unity in diversity. Unity is needed to benefit every member of the society.

The fact that Indonesia consists of about thirteen thousand islands with hundreds of ethnic groups makes them to cooperate if they want to survive. Cooperation or partnership is needed since they cannot fulfill all their needs by themselves. Trade had been flourished in the archipelago since at least two thousand years ago. India had been the most important foreign trade partner over the centuries. Historical evidences are abundant such as ancient temples for Hindu and Buddhist in Borobudur and Prambanan and many others. The Malay language also spread throughout the archipelago because of the business activities. The language is very simple so everybody can learn it easily. Later on the language will become the lingua franca of Indonesian archipelago. It will further receive many influences from many cultures and now it becomes the national language of Indonesia and Malaysia.

Then since 17^th century the archipelago that once was prosperous had been conquered and colonized by the Dutch East Indies. It was a powerful and tricky company. When the company went bankrupt in the 19^th century the colony was taken over by the Dutch government. Through divide and rule policy the archipelago had been split into many small powerless kingdoms. When the wave of nationalism swept over Asia in 20^th century once again the Indonesia leaders found the need to unite. In the struggle for independence in 20^th once again the leaders promoted unification by using the ancient motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. They had a common enemy – the colonialist – as their trigger. The first president Sukarno used it effectively to integrate many factions in Indonesian society. Finally Indonesia reached independence on August 17, 1945.

Those factors had shaped the integration of Indonesia in the past. How about its role in the present?

Since the fall of Suharto in 1998 people feared the danger of national disintegration. There are many conflicts in many parts of the country. Those conflicts are based on religion, ethnic identity, and political affiliations. Those conflicts had taken a lot of lives and assets. But besides the negative side, there is an outstanding achievement in recent years – the conflict resolution in Poso, Ambon and Aceh. Bloody conflict between Christian and Muslim communities in Poso and Ambon had been settled. Separatist conflict in Aceh is now settled peacefully. The only way to peace is through dialog. Continued dialog and willingness to understand others are key factors. Without these two factors it is impossible to reach compromise and consensus among different groups of faith, ethnicity or politics.

As times goes by, challenges to national integration emerge. Religious freedom that Indonesian people have enjoyed for hundreds of years is now under serious threat not from secular people but from their followers. Some people used violence to destroy and threaten people from other faiths. Some other people, however, use more subtle way to impose their faiths to followers of other faiths. They used economic power to convert others to their religion. This is a disguised economic threat. There is no violence but the pattern remains the same – using power to conquer others. Education is also used to change people. They do improve people’s skills but we cannot deny that there are efforts to influence people’s opinion.

In politics the situation is similar. Today Indonesian people enjoy democracy. There are free elections in national as well as in district levels. Now Indonesia has directly elected president, governor and major. But the cost is high. In many areas local elections spurred conflicts among supporters of local leaders. Whenever a candidate loses in an election the other candidate accuse that there are unfair practices. Consequently hostilities mounted. Some of the conflict can be resolved at court but sometimes they broke into violence.

Unfair distribution of wealth and opportunities pose great potential of conflict. A large portion of wealth is in the hands of a few people. The difference of race and ethnic groups between them makes the situation worse. Opportunities are open wider for university graduates than to elementary school graduates. Unfortunately tuition fees in good universities are very expensive for most Indonesians. People have been complaining about the high fee of universities but those complaints reached deaf ears. The widening gap between expectations and reality is like a time bomb. It will explode anytime if the gap reaches a point that is intolerable for most people.

Intolerance to others’ opinion and thought are stronger today. Some people try to impose their will and their opinion to other without any willingness to respect other’s opinion and thoughts. They think that their opinion and thought are the only truth. Usually we think that this standpoint exclusively belongs to religious groups. But this is not always the case. Today there are some secular groups who impose their secular views to everyone. They insist that others must respect their view but they do not respect the views of religious groups. Take the case of anti pornography bill for example. Religious groups want to pass a bill to control the spread of pornography but they try very hard to stop it on the ground of freedom of expressions.

There is no doubt that freedom of expression is a pillar of democracy. But some people want to manipulate it for their own interests. They want freedom of expressions is exclusively their own. They try to make sure that others such as religious groups must not have it. Is this a good practice of democracy? It is clear that certain people who speak for freedom of expressions are actually enemy of democracy.

It is ironic when a foreign president tries to promote it worldwide Indonesian on the other hand, do not respect it. So from now on let’s try to put its dignity back.

Unless measures are taken to put back the true notion of democracy where freedom of expressions is for everyone and nobody tries to impose their views to others, then democracy in Indonesia will deteriorate. Democracy will only serve as a mask to cover the real identity of undemocratic practices.