Goenawan Mohamad

Every time in history, it seems, has a moment when it s not easy to speak, bu when also it s not easy to remain silent. We do not know precisely how our words will be valued, or if a gesture will be noticed. At times like this, there is only cloud, rain, or silence — even indifference — outside the door. All is a puzzle.

Nonetheless we still need to talk to ourselves. We do not only act. Every action demands approval. At the very moment we tell others to be silent, in fact deep in our hearts we want those others to approve our action. We wish to place our capacity to conquer alongside our capacity to convince.

Certainly it cannot always be like this. But it is understandable that n our actions we seek aproval for ourselves so as to be seen as “good people” and our actions as “succesful”. In a short, people around us are something we cannot ignore –they are something we need.

Perhaps this is why there is a type of unwritten law within any power structure: no matter how authoritarian that rule, it will still need someone else who is free of it.

The great king all alone on the little planet, in the tale Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exuperry, finally had to find another person to come and be his subject. He could not rule over nothing but the silent sky.

When the Republik of Indonesia was established, it was no intended to be just forest, ocean and mute tropical island. “Order, peace, safety and prosperity”: these were the ideals. But a nation must always be prepared for reality — and reality, which often appears as confusion, can even bring with it a certain blessing.

On 1 June 1945, when Bung Karno gave his first speech about Pancasila, he spoke of this blessing:

No country can be considered alive if it does not contain conflict. Do not think that there is no conflict in Turkey — or no difference of opinion i Japan. Almighty God gave us thought so that in our daily social interaction there would always be some friction, and from this friction the raw rice would emerge and be husked to become the finest Indonesia rice.

Bung Karno then put forward the third of the Five Guiding Principles of Pancasila, namely musyawarah, or discussion leading to consensus.

In practice, it is not easy interpret musyawarah. We are often in a dilemma in resolving conflict. Sometimes there is unforeseen risk. Our entire history since 1945 could be seen a crusade to find the best method of musyawarah –with the way often blocked by bitterness.

The Indonessian Communits Party, for example, offered “proletarian dictatorship”; Kartosuwirjo mobilised people for an “islamic nation”: but up to now there has been someting within the body of Indonesia that has rejected both.

People may be debate what the force is that causes this rejection Clearly it is not just a matter of weapons. It may be something quite simple –the reality of the huge diveristy of Indonesia which itself created Pancasila, thus stipulating that there is no single force that can monopolise the whole country.

This is the very essence and aim democracy. At times, this aim may get stuck –but it cannot disappear without trace. In a field mushy with snow, when the German were murdering their enemies, there will still someone who could stand and write, “If out lot is complete annihilation, let us not behave in such a way that is seems like justice.”

*Taken from Sidelines, Hyland House Publishing, 1994; page 101-102 [translated by Jennifer Lindsay]