On being Indonesia
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.