Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, Indonesian principle of National Integration and its challenges.

Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, Indonesian Principle of National Integration and its challenges.

Bambang Udoyono

        On his short visit to Indonesia on the 9^th and 10^th of November 2010 President Obama made a very interesting remark in University of Indonesia.  Let me quote him:  

“But even as this land of my youth has changed in so many ways, those things that I learned to love about Indonesia – that spirit of tolerance that is written into your Constitution; symbolized in your mosques and churches and temples; and embodied in your people – still lives on. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika – unity in diversity. This is the foundation of Indonesia’s example to the world, and this is why Indonesia will play such an important role in the 21st century.” 

He further said: “Such is Indonesia’s spirit. Such is the message of Indonesia’s inclusive philosophy, Pancasila”.

And also:”As a child of a different race coming from a distant country, I found this spirit in the greeting that I received upon moving here: Selamat Datang.”

It is clear that as a guest President Obama was trying to please his host.  There is no doubt that his remarks are part of diplomatic courtesy.  But we cannot deny that his remarks have some elements of truth.  So what is so special about it?  What make President Obama thought that it is worth citing?  Let’s see these facts.

Historical background.

            The phrase Bhinneka Tunggal Ika which means unity in diversity was first written by Prapanca, a famous writer in the 13^th century in east Java.  Prapanca worked for the kingdom of Majapahit, a kingdom that united most of present day Indonesia for the first time.  The idea of uniting the kingdoms in the archipelago, however, was born in the previous era during the reigns of Singasari kingdom in east Java. The need to unify the archipelago was sparked by a threat from the mighty Mongol empire that had conquered most of Asia and a part of Europe.    In 12^th century Mongol emperor Ku Blai Khan sent an emissary to Singasari king to ask for tribute otherwise Java would be invaded by their army.  King Kertanegara was very angry and cut the emissary’s ears.  This event spurred the idea of strengthening the position of Singasari by making alliances with other kingdoms in the archipelago.  Unfortunately the kingdom of Singasari did not last long.  It was destroyed by Mongol army in 1292.

            Wijaya was the son in law of King Kertanegara.  When the king was killed in a rebellion he fled from the capital.  Not long after that the mighty Mongol army came to Java in 1292 to punish King Kertanegara and to conquer Java.  Wijaya had anticipated it with a brilliant plan.  He warmly welcomed the invading army.  Together with them he attacked the rebel who became a new king named Jayakatwang from Kediri.  The Kediri army was no match for the Mongol army.  They were easily defeated.  Then Wijaya held a party to celebrate the victory.  In the party his army attacked the Mongol army in a surprise attack.  They won the battle and Wijaya became the new king.  He established the kingdom of Majapahit that would be the most powerful and influential kingdom in Indonesia.

            The Mongol invasion strengthens the idea of unification of the archipelago.  During the era of Majapahit most of what makes Indonesia today could be unified through alliances and also conquest.   It was in this period that Prapanca wrote the motto of Majapahit – Bhinneka Tunggal Ika.  Unity in diversity.  Unity is needed to benefit every member of the society.

            The fact that Indonesia consists of about thirteen thousand islands with hundreds of ethnic groups makes it obligatory for them to cooperate if they want to survive.  Cooperation or partnership is needed since they cannot fulfill all their needs by themselves.  Trade had been flourished in the archipelago since at least two thousand years ago.  India had been the most important foreign trade partner over the centuries.  Historical evidences are abundant such as ancient temples for Hindu and Buddhist in Borobudur and Prambanan and many others.  The Malay language also spread throughout the archipelago because of the business activities.  The language is very simple so everybody can learn it easily.  Later on the language will become the lingua franca of Indonesian archipelago.  It will further receive many influences from many cultures and now it becomes the national language of Indonesia and Malaysia.    

            Since 17^th century the archipelago that once was prosperous had been conquered and colonized by the Dutch East Indies.   It was a powerful and tricky company.  When the company went bankrupt in the 19^th century the colony was taken over by the Dutch government.  Through divide and rule policy the archipelago had been split into many small powerless kingdoms.  When the wave of nationalism swept over Asia in 20^th century once again the Indonesian leaders found the need to unite.  In the struggle for independence in 20^th once again the leaders promoted unification by using the ancient motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika.  They had a common enemy – the colonialist – as their trigger.   The first president Sukarno used it effectively to integrate many factions in Indonesian society.  Finally Indonesia reached independence on August 17, 1945.

Those   factors had shaped the integration of Indonesia in the past.  How about its role in the present?

Since the fall of Suharto in 1998 people feared the danger of national disintegration.  There are many conflicts in many parts of the country.  Those conflicts are based on religion, ethnic identity, and political affiliations.  Those conflicts had taken a lot of lives and assets.  But besides the negative side, there is an outstanding achievement in recent years – the conflict resolution in Poso, Ambon and Aceh.  Bloody conflict between Christian and Muslim communities in Poso and Ambon had been settled.  Separatist conflict in Aceh is now settled peacefully.  The only way to peace is through dialog. Continued dialog and willingness to understand others are key factors.  Without these two factors it is impossible to reach compromise and consensus among different groups of faith, ethnicity or politics.

As times goes by, challenges to national integration emerge.  Religious freedom that Indonesian people have enjoyed for hundreds of years   is now under serious threat not from secular people but from their followers.  Some people used violence to destroy and threaten people from other faiths.  Some other people, however, use more subtle way to impose their faiths to followers of other faiths.  They used economic power to convert others to their religion.  This is a disguised economic threat.  There is no violence but the pattern remains the same – using power to conquer others.   Education is also used to change people.  They do improve people’s skills but we cannot deny that there are efforts to influence people’s opinion.

In politics the situation is similar.  Today Indonesian people enjoy democracy.  There are free elections in national as well as in district levels.  Now Indonesia has directly elected president, governor and major,  but the cost is high.  In many areas   local elections spurred conflicts among supporters of local leaders.  Whenever a candidate loses in an election the other candidate accuse that there are unfair practices.  Consequently hostilities mounted.  Some of the conflict can be resolved at court but sometimes they broke into violence.

Unfair distribution of wealth and opportunities pose great potential of conflict.  A large portion of wealth is in the hands of a few people.  The difference of race and ethnic groups between them makes the situation worse.  Opportunities are open wider for university graduates than to elementary school graduates.  Unfortunately tuition fees in good universities are very expensive for most Indonesians.  People have been complaining about the high fee of universities but those complaints reached deaf ears.  The widening gap between expectations and reality is like a time bomb.  It will explode anytime if the gap reaches a point that is intolerable for most people. 

Intolerance to others’ opinion and thought are stronger today.  Some people try to impose their will and their opinion to other without any willingness to respect other’s opinion and thoughts.  They think that their opinion and thought are the only truth.  Usually we think that this standpoint exclusively belongs to religious groups.  But this is not always the case.   Today there are some secular groups who impose their secular views to everyone.  They insist that others must respect their view but they do not respect the views of religious groups.  Take the case of anti pornography bill for example.  Religious groups want to pass a bill to control the spread of pornography but they try very hard to stop it on the ground of freedom of expressions.

Today Indonesian society is sharply divided by politics because of political rivalry between two presidential candidates.  The incumbent president Joko Widodo aka Jokowi has a wide support from many walks of life while lieutenant general (ret) Prabowo Subianto is not far behind.  Jokowi enjoys support from nationalist parties, secularist, and non Muslims. Prabowo has wide support from Islamic parties and Muslim community.  The competition is so hard that people mock each other in social media.  Friends and family became adversaries.   Fighting broke out in many cities like in Yogyakarta.   That is why some people feared that the current situation will lead to a bloody conflict.

There is no doubt that freedom of expression is a pillar of democracy.  But some people want to manipulate it for their own interests.  They want freedom of expressions is exclusively their own.  They try to make sure that others such as religious groups must not have it.  Is this a good practice of democracy?   It is clear that certain people who speak for freedom of expressions are actually enemy of democracy.

It is ironic when a foreign president tries to promote it worldwide Indonesian on the other hand, do not respect it.  So from now on let’s try to put its dignity back. 

Unless measures are taken to put back the true notion of democracy where freedom of expressions is for everyone and nobody tries to impose their views to others, then democracy in Indonesia will deteriorate.  Democracy will only serve as a mask to cover the real identity of undemocratic practices.  Now it is the right time for both leaders to demonstrate their leadership qualities.  They must tell their supporters to make peace. 

                 

The Girl from the coast

The Girl from the Coast.

Author : Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

This story is a portrayal of the poor fate of a village girl under Javanese feudalism.  For thousands of years even up to 20th century the Indonesian people suffered from feudalism. The main character is just called Gadis pantai (the girl from the coast), who represents girls from poor and uneducated families in villages. She came from a poor fisherman village in the regency of Rembang in north coast of Java, Indonesia in early 20th century.

At the age of fourteen, a local government official that she did not know married her. What she knew was that she had to obey and respect her husband whom she addressed Bendoro (an honorific title for Javanese nobility). She never had any personal relationship with her husband. In her husband's house there were parts that she never set foot. Even there were rooms where she never saw forever. Her husband had married several women before but he had divorced them. She knew it when she saw several babies who had no mother. Their mothers had been divorced so the maid took care of them.

Pramoedya described class discrimination in the novel. Mardinah, a new maid, came. She was a daughter of a low rank official. She was arrogant. Her attitude to the girl from the coast was very impolite. Eventually when she accompanied the girl from the coast came home to village, people revealed that she had a mission. She was sent by regent's wife of from Demak to persuade bendoro to marry her daughter. If Mardinah succeeded she would be married as the fifth wife.

Besides disappointment, the girl from the coast enjoyed financial and social advancement. she became a respected member of village society. When she came home to see her parents everybody in the village warmly welcomed her. She threw party and gave presents to the elderly people.

Until one day she was pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl. The gender made Bendoro disappointed. When her parents came to see them, Bendoro called her father to get in his house. When he got out from the house he was downhearted because his daughter was divorced ! Bondoro gave him some money but he had to take her daughter home immediately, while the baby must stay. Maids would take care of her. Gadis pantai (the girl from the coast) was deeply hurt, disappointed and ashamed.  So as she got home she did not want to stay. She immediately left because she could not bear the humiliation.

When I read Pramudya’s interview with Time magazine I realized that the novel is based on true story. He told Time he came from a wealthy family in a small town in central Java.  One day an old poor woman came to his home to buy old stuff that she would resell.  Soon her mother and the old woman had a warm conversation.  But not long after that her mother was very surprised when she found out that the old woman was her mother.  Unfortunately Pramudya’s grandfather divorced her when Pram’s mother was still a baby.  Then out of desperation and frustration she left her home.  She never met her daughter again until that day God had them reunited.  Pram’s mother offered her to stay with them but she refused.   So Gadis pantai in the novel is actually Pram’s grandmother. 

It is a touching novel based on true events. The novel has been translated into English so you can enjoy it.  If you want to know the social condition of Java in the past, this novel is a good choice.

Visiting Dieng Plateau

Dieng plateau is located in the province of central Java, Indonesia. What's so special about it? You might ask. Well, at least the nature gives us splendid view. Furthermore ancient people had built temples in the exotic plateau. What can we see there? Let's find out.

Dieng is a high land deep in the heart of the island of Java. The height of the plateau is more than 2000 meters above sea level so the weather is very cold. It is always cloudy there especially in the afternoon. In the morning usually the weather is clear. The view is splendid. Visitors can see the beauty of some valleys, hills and potato plantations.

It is accessible from Semarang, the capital city of central Java and also from Yogyakarta. It takes about three hours by car from Semarang. Tourists may stay in Semarang or Yogyakarta. It takes the whole day to visit Dieng from Yogyakarta, but you can visit also Borobudur temple on the way back from Dieng. Wonosobo is the closest town to Dieng where visitors may have lunch. There are two good restaurants in Wonosobo. For those who visit Dieng by bus, they have to stop in Wonosobo to find smaller cars because bus cannot go to the plateau due to the small roads there. If you stay in Semarang, you can start at 8. But if you go from Yogyakarta you'd better start earlier, let's say at six o'clock.

Along the way from Semarang and Yogyakarta visitors can see the beautiful scenery of rice fields, hills and mountains. The weather is always sunny there. But as we get to the town of Wonosobo the weather changes. It is always cool there. You'd better stop at a restaurant here in Wonosobo to take a rest for a while and to order lunch that you will have on the way back. The streets from Wonosobo to Dieng plateau is small and it begin to climb, so bus cannot go. After about ten kilometers from Wonosobo we will pass mountains with beautiful valley. We can stop somewhere to enjoy the view and to take some pictures. It takes about one hour to get to the plateau.

The best time to visit Dieng Plateau is in early morning.  So it is better for you to stay in the small town called Wonosobo.  It is not far from the plateau, only about forty kilometers away.  You would better start before 7 o clock so you can enjoy beautiful view of valleys, plantation of tobacco and potatoes and hills.   You can stop to take pictures and enjoy splendid view along the way. 

In the plateau there eight ancient Hindu temples from the 8th century. Unfortunately history of Dieng is hidden inside the cloud of history. There is now written record from 8th century so we know very little about the kingdom who built those temples. We have no ideas as to the kings and the capital of the kingdom. We can only assume that the capital must have been around it maybe in the north coast of Java where people used to trade with India and Southeast Asian countries.

The temples were found in 19th century by a Dutchman. They were in a small lake at that time. Then he dried it. Today there is a small museum in the western part of the plateau where we store small statues of Hindu gods like Nandi (buffalo), Ganesya (Hindu god with a head of an elephant), Durga (a beautiful goddess) and ornaments from the temples. Expert estimated that the temples are older than Borobudur and Prambanan temples. We do not have any ideas about the original names of those temples but today they have names like Arjuna temple, Bima temple, and Gatutkaca temple. These names are taken from Indian epic of Mahabarata.

From the temples we will continue to another temple - candi Bima, the temple of Bima. It is located several hundred meters from candi Gatotkaca. In the niche of this temple there are faces of gods. Then following the small road we will get to a crater called Sikidang. The smell of sulphur is very strong here. We can see a boiling crater here. Sometimes local people show the heat of the water by boiling eggs inside the crater. Around the plateau there are many craters. This one is the easiest to visit.

After visiting the crater then we do a little trekking by visiting a small forest where we can see Semar cave. Local people believe that Suharto, the ex president once meditated here in his youth to attain spiritual power. Unfortunately the gate of the cave is always closed so we cannot see the inside.

Then we can visit a lake called Telaga warna. It means colored lake. The color of the water is bluish green and sometimes brown. Perhaps it is the influence of the sulphur. Besides this lake we can also visit a sprig called Tuk Bima Lukar. There is an ancient bathing place here but unfortunately the location is far from the lake.

Usually tourists only visit the temples, the museum, the small forest and the lake. After this we go back to Wonosobo to have lunch. There are two good restaurants there. After lunch we continue to Semarang or Wonosobo. For those who stay in Yogyakarta, usually we visit Borobudur on the way back. From Wonosobo we can choose a different route where we will pass many beautiful rice fields and plantation of clove. Clove is an ingredient for Indonesian kretek cigarette. About two hours later we will get to Borobudur. Then we will get to the hotel in the city of Yogyakarta at about six PM.