The Sukarno factor

Twenty-five years after his demise, the memory of the late first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, still looms over this country's political scene.

Last week's decision by the East Java provincial authorities to take charge of the commemoration in Blitar of the 25th anniversary of the death of Sukarno, which occurs today, is the latest indication of the legacy Sukarno left behind in this country's politics.

The unprecedented move, based on the idea that, as the proclaimer of Indonesia's independence, Sukarno belongs to the entire nation, and not only to his family, has come as somewhat of a surprise. By taking over the conducting of the anniversary commemorations, previously carried out by Sukarno's family, the authorities seems to be revealing concern over the possibility of a Sukarno "threat".

Ironically, instead of preventing Sukarno's family from politicizing the event -- which one might surmise to be the reason behind the move -- one can see that the event has been catapulted into an even brighter political spotlight.

Many people also wonder why there seems to have been such a lack of coordination as regards the matter. On Friday, the East Java military commander Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo decided to ban all speeches during the event, saying the participants would only be allowed to offer prayers. Then, on Sunday, East Java's Governor Basofi Sudirman stated that speeches could be made, but that no politicking would be tolerated. But, last Saturday, the Minister of Home Affairs Yogie S. Memed reportedly stated that he preferred making the event a Sukarno family affair.

The lack of coordination aside, the ebbs and flows of Sukarno's stature are interesting to study. After having fallen into disgrace because of his allegedly pro-communist stance in the 1965 communist coup, Sukarno died of disease and loneliness in 1970. But in the late 1970s his popularity suddenly returned. Attempts by some officials to downgrade Sukarno's name, including by denying his role as the conceiver of the state ideology Pancasila, failed.

The government has since wisely and rightly recognized Sukarno, together with Moh. Hatta, as the proclaimer of this nation's independence. Their names have been immortalized in Jakarta's international airport.

However, scores of officials continue to express displeasure over Sukarno's popularity, notably among the younger generation. They cannot understand why those young people idolize Sukarno, as a number of surveys have shown, without having sufficient knowledge of him.

The present concern over a possible Sukarno threat may be linked to the stronger showing of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in the last few general elections. The PDI, which is dominated by the former Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) -- the party founded by Sukarno in the 1920s -- somehow continues to tacitly capitalize on Sukarno's name. The election of Sukarno's eldest daughter Megawati to the top PDI post in 1993, despite efforts to stop her, naturally added to the concern.

Many people believe that the attempts by rebel party members to unseat Megawati from the chair of PDI -- the most flagrant attempts being in East Java, where Megawati has repeatedly been barred from visiting local party chapters -- might have been backed by the authorities. And the possible alliance between PDI and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the biggest Moslem organization in this country, has apparently caused efforts to destabilize the PDI to mount.

The move by the East Javanese authorities to take over the holding of the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of Sukarno's death should be seen in this context.

We are afraid, however, that such moves may backfire. The reason is that the masses of better educated young Indonesians are wiser and more antagonistic towards what they perceive as undemocratic policies. The more overt (and ill-concealed covert) pressure is put on the PDI, the more its popularity is likely to be boosted. As the oppressed party it might gain sympathy.

Many people see in Megawati -- and in the PDI, for that matter -- a personification of Sukarno. And Sukarno somehow symbolizes a different, if not opposite, set of values and norms from that which currently prevail. Simplicity, for example, or the wong cilik (common man) phenomenon.

We, therefore, think it is advisable for all parties concerned to be as wise and fair as possible in dealing with the current situation involving PDI.