Patriotism?

One does not have to be a political scientist or historian to know that fears of a waning of our sense of patriotism are not new. Yet if one listens to the things politicians say, it is clear that patriotism is still strong among Indonesians, 50 years after independence was proclaimed.

In the case of Indonesia, there is special reason to be worried. It must be remembered that Indonesia is one of the most diverse countries in the world, with more than 350 ethnic and racial groups, all with different cultural, religious and traditional backgrounds. From the earliest days of the Indonesian independence movement in the early decades of this century, welding all these different population groups into one undivided Indonesian nation has been one of the most important, and at the same time most formidable tasks.

It is obvious that, even today, preserving this unity remains a major concern of those in power in Indonesia. National unity is not a thing that can be taken for granted. Hence the inclusion of the principle of the "Unity of Indonesia" in Pancasila, the five- tiered Indonesian state philosophy.

Against this background, the concern expressed by the Minister of Defense and Security, Edi Sudradjat, at a seminar on "The Nation State in the Era of Globalization" is understandable. In a nutshell, the minister's address contained a warning to the nation that business interests might at some point in the future eclipse the sense of patriotism in this country.

Referring to predictions that China, rather than Japan, was likely to become the dominant economic power in the new "Asian Era", Edi Sudradjat noted, among other things, that many of Indonesia's most successful businessmen were of Chinese ancestry. He further noted that one of the determining factors for their success was their ability to penetrate regional and global networks.

While these businessmen are thus a national asset as long as their success remained oriented towards serving the nation's economic interests, "the feeling may prevail that, nowadays, not national unity and cohesion, but international cooperation for the sake of economic success is the most important thing," the minister said.

Human nature being what it is, Edi Sudradjat's concerns are of course legitimate. To put things in perspective, however, it must also be noted that defining patriotism itself is difficult. Nobody will deny, for instance, that both India's Mahatma Gandhi and Sukarno were patriots to the bone. Yet their views on the kind of economic structure that would best benefit the nation were diametrically opposed to each other. While Gandhi preached swadesi, or self-reliance based on the people's innumerable cottage industries, Sukarno was an admirer of large-scale projects and monumental industrial programs.

One could also argue that the intensive study and use of a foreign language is unpatriotic. What we mean to say is that it is not always easy, especially in this era of globalization, to define what is and what is not patriotic. We believe a good yardstick is the impact, positive or negative, on the progress and well-being of our nation.