On being Indonesia
Nearly all Indonesians who went to school during the last 36 years will have recited an oath on Oct. 28. as part of an annual ceremony. Usually, the date is also marked by the reading out of an address, directed toward strengthening childrens' pride in being Indonesian, by the Minister of National Education.
Cultural and sports competitions are also part of the festive commemoration. Basically, the aim of the ceremony is to maintain a sense of strong nationhood among Indonesians. But how strongly the rituals are influencing the conscience of the students remains to be seen.
It was exactly 75 years ago -- or 17 years before Indonesia declared its independence -- that a group of Indonesian youth leaders from various ethnic, religious and educational backgrounds laid down a visionary and ever-lasting foundation for the forging of an independent and united nation across this hugely diverse archipelago that is now called Indonesia.
On Sunday, Oct. 28, 1928, in a modest building on Jl. Kramat Raya in the heart of what was then called Batavia (now Central Jakarta), the youths came forth with a legendary document that declared their commitment to the achievement of their long-term goal for Indonesia, which they strongly believed would become a realty in the not-too-distant future.
Their vision was formulated in a three-point declaration of commitment that has since become known as the Youth's Pledge: that they all belonged to one undivided Indonesian nation, that Indonesia was their motherland, and that Bahasa Indonesian was their common language.
In these difficult times, however, out of those three pledges, only the commitment to maintain Bahasa Indonesian as a lingua franca is still relatively well preserved. The reason is that it is has proven its worth as the most effective means of communication in an archipelagic country that comprises hundreds of tribes and about as many different languages, spoken by more than 210 million people who inhabit no less than 17,000 islands.
In effect, the pledge contains the nation's fundamental ideal of "being Indonesia" as enshrined in the motto Bhineka Tunggal Ika, or Unity in Diversity. During President Soeharto's 32-year rule, unity -- which actually meant uniformity at that time -- became the magic word. Thus, it was understood that unity was to be maintained at all costs, while diversity was sidelined. Conflicts relating to "SARA" (ethnic, religious and inter-group conflicts) were simply swept under the carpet because stability was to be held above everything else.
When Soeharto's power collapsed in 1998, however, those conflicts could no longer be hidden. Many of them exploded or rocketed out of control. Now that enforced unity is often cited as the prime source of the horizontal conflicts that have emerged in the society. The question is, where is the spirit of the Youth Pledge in our daily life as a nation?
We must also keep in mind that, actually, only those who are Indonesian citizens via naturalization can claim that they have joined this nation by choice. For most others, citizenship is not a matter of choice because they were born Indonesian. They live in this country because their parents also live here.
And there are other worrying signs: Like the poor condition of the venue where the pledge was made, known at present as the Youth's Pledge Museum. The spirit of the pledge is now also largely ignored and is only remembered as a ceremonial obligation.
Today, let us, as Indonesians, ask ourselves whether we are still really proud to be Indonesians? Proud, even though the world community views us as a sick state, if not a state on the verge of dying because of the deadly diseases that infest it?
If our answer is 'No', then the next question is, what should we do to restore that pride? This simple but basic question needs a thorough answer from all the people who identify themselves as Indonesians. When no feeling of pride remains in our hearts it will be much more difficult to unite this nation and to move forward and away from its seemingly infinite troubles.