Author of 'Atheis' surveys change in country

Author of 'Atheis' surveys change in country

By Kadek Adnyana

CANBERRA (JP): Most of the Indonesian writers of the 1945
generation have now left the stage. If they are still called to
witness, it is usually through their texts, through the
reconstruction of their opinions for modern meanings and
intentions.

Finding out what the remaining witnesses of this generation
have to say, might counter this tendency toward mythicizing, and
some would even say, this mystification of the past though its
literature. Still alive, their ideas are less prone to
distortions than those of their deceased colleagues. Right or
wrong, their perception of change, or resilience, has at least
the ring of authenticity.

One surviving writers of this "45 Generation" is Achdiat K.
Mihardja, 83, whose book, Atheis is arguably one of the most
important and most popular of post-independence Indonesian
literature. Published in 1949, re-edited 14 times and translated
into English at the initiative of the UNESCO, it expounds the
intellectual and ideological debate in Indonesia at the eve of
revolution. When published, the book created an uproar in
Indonesia as it raised a problem "unthought of" -- atheism. This
was largely beyond the range of the country's intellectual
tradition.

Achdiat K. Mihardja now enjoys a quiet retirement in Canberra,
where he moved in 1961 to teach Indonesian literature at the
Australian National University. It was a whim of fate that he was
present at the birth of the Indonesian republic, and far and away
when the "atheists", so brightly depicted and criticized in his
book, disappeared from the political and intellectual stage
following the attempted communist coup in 1965.

On a trip to Canberra, I had the opportunity to meet Achdiat
K. Mihardja and to interview him on his opinion about the
ideological debate of present-day Indonesian, compared to what he
knew as a young man in the pre-independence years. The old man
has retained much of his early optimism.

Q: Your book Atheis featured the intellectual atmosphere in
Indonesia prior to independence, didn't it?

A: Yes, the people of my generation and my background were
exposed through school to "progressive" Dutch and Western ideas
while being at the same time subjected to colonial expression and
discrimination. This was a fermenting mix, of which Atheis
illustrates the ideological aspect. The main characters of the
book were actually real friends of mine, and each represents a
facet of the ideas then common among the youths. But the debate
of ideas was not conflictual. In these times, it did not matter
-- not yet -- whether you were a nationalist, a Moslem or even a
communist. We had all the same single goal and were all fighting
against the same common enemy: colonialism, first the Dutch, then
the Japanese.

Q: Now, fifty years later, do the ideological contradictions
of these times still hold relevance for modern Indonesia?

A: Yes and No. Some of the ideas common in those years -- I am
thinking in particular of communism -- were foreign imports and
have lost all relevance, not only here, but all over the world.
Thus, they have disappeared. But other ones are still dear to me.
Democracy for example. To me, the difference in opinions does not
matter. I might have disagreed with Pram --Pramudya Ananta Toer,
the Indonesian novelist who fell from grace and was imprisoned
from 1965 to 1979 on account of his pro-communist convictions --
but I hold no personal grudge against him, even though I strongly
disagreed with Lekra (Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat) -- the communist
affiliated cultural association. To me, from person to person, I
respect his opinions. After all, I used to be a member of the PSI
(Partai Sosialis Indonesia) and, thus, a democrat.

Q: Can't we say that Indonesia's present day situation, and
its ideology, is more in line with the country's history?

A: Perhaps, now there is the Pancasila --the five principles
of the Indonesian state: belief in one God, humanity,
nationalism, democracy and social justice. This theory is
certainly more rooted in the nation's history, and Java's in
particular, than Western democracy has ever been. The Pancasila
philosophy is in the fact essentially a theory of irreligious
tolerance, seen from an Indonesian perspective; as such it
proposes a sort of democracy and to this extent I am myself a
Pancasilaist. But this democracy is essentially religious and
gives no room to secularism and liberalism.

Q: Are you trying to make the apology of secularism?

A: (A friendly smile alights on his face) You are referring to
my book, aren't you, and to my raising the problem of atheism? As
a person, I am not opposed to secularism. As for atheism, I was
very close, as shown in my book, with people who were convinced
atheists. The apparent rationality of their arguments confronted
me with the problem of my faith. It was unescapable and I had to
face it, at once intellectually, through reading and discussions,
and psychologically. But in the end this did not make me an
atheist. This inner turmoil gave me on the contrary a deeper
understanding of my religion and a broader, more human faith.
Doesn't God wants Man to show himself in his human rather than
devilish aspects? The inner conflict within Man's soul to achieve
this goal in his real "holy war".

Q: Is this "humanized" perception of religion at the root of
your democratic convictions?

A: Perhaps, there is certainly no contradiction, as some would
think, between the one and the other.

Q: So how do you see the prospects of democracy in Indonesia?

A: What we now have is the dominance of Javanese political
concepts, with its sacralization of power. We do, of course, have
formal institutions of democracy such as the DPR and MPR (the
House of Representatives and People's Consultative Assembly
respectively). But do we have the practice of it? I let the
question open. We should not forget the fact that we have never
had to this day any tradition of democracy in Indonesia, as
opposed to Western societies, where it origins go back to the
Renaissance.

Q: Don't you think that Indonesia, with its growing middle
class, might become more politically mature and thus more ready
to convert to democracy?

A:(Laughing) Allow me to disagree with you as I do with the
experts of all hues who vaunt the existence of this middle class
to predict the dawning of democracy in Indonesia. In my opinion,
such a democracy will take a long time before coming into being.
Our mentality is just not ready. We have been shaped too long by
the feudal system, whose negative effects have been further
reinforced by Dutch colonialism. hence the "feudal" and
bureaucratic tendencies of our so-called middle class. We should
keep in mind that Indonesia has experienced "genuine" democracy
for three years only, following the 1955 elections, the first
ones ever held in Indonesian history, and until 1958, with the
arrival of Sukarno's guided democracy. This does not mean, of
course, that Indonesians should not strive to achieve democracy.
It is a long process.

Q: Referring to what you were saying earlier, are you against
the religious perception of democracy?

A: No indeed. I am a convinced Moslem, and to me there is no
contradiction between Islam and Pancasila: like the Pancasila,
Islam emphasizes the belief in One God: it also supports, under
various formulations, the ideas of humanism, nationalism,
democracy and social justice. To me, the Pancasila is the
Indonesian way to formulate the universal values of all
religions, including Islam.

Q: As a Moslem, what is your assessment of modern Indonesian
Islam?

A: As a democrat and a Moslem, I am a supporter of reason.
Those in Indonesia and elsewhere whose affiliation to Islam rests
more on passion than reason are on the wrong track. This is why I
am a member of ICMI (Association of Indonesian Moslem
Intellectuals). As an association of modern Moslem intellectuals,
ICMI is a bulwark against the kind of extremism we see in some
Middle Eastern countries. We must guard ourselves against all
sorts of dogmatic and irrational excesses. The alternative is the
resurgence of old fears of which there are now enough signs
around, as in Bosnia for example.

Q: Although you have been residing abroad for over 30 years,
have you retained your Indonesian citizenship?

A: (He smiles again before adding) Indeed, I am active in a
number of Indonesian and Indonesian-Australian associations. For
example I set up the HPPIA (Association of Indonesian Researchers
and Studentsof Australia) but I am still a citizen of Indonesia,
albeit with a cosmopolitan tinge.

Q: What did you publish after Atheis?

A: I published short stories and a novel Debu Cinta Bertebaran
(The scattered dust of love) in 1972. But, as this book was
published in Malaysia, believe it or not, it cannot enter
Indonesia. Our bureaucrats prohibited the import of books almost
40 years ago to protect the nascent publishing industry, but they
have somehow forgotten to rescind the order, although no
protection is needed anymore. I am now working on a sort of
memoirs in the Albert Schweitzer style: "My life and My Thought".
I hope I can complete it, if God blesses me with a few more years
of life.

Achdiat K. Mihardja has obviously answered the questions he
raised in his book Atheis. He has also, from the calm of his
Canberra house, where he lives with his wife of fifty-eight
years, Suprati Noor, retained much of the idealism of his youth.
Hailing the successes of the New Order in the fields of economy
and education, he hopes, as he puts it, "that it will be as
successful at sweeping away the feudal-colonial vestiges which
still hampers the process of democratization of the country."
Having witnessed fifty years of his country's upheavals, tensions
and, of late, economic success, he sees its future with resolute
optimism and tolerance.