Before Indonesia declared independence on August 17, 1945, the founding fathers devoted their ideas and thoughts to the form of the state as weltanschauung or the comprehensive view of the world. Pancasila was finally used as a foundation to weave unity and bring Indonesia into existence.
At that time, even though the atmosphere was fierce, the battle of ideological discourse among figures of the nation was agonistic. They argued in the context of competition among "opponents", not competition among "enemies". The spirit, mixed with intellectual strength, eventually resulted in consensus. One of the reasons was the extraordinary perspective and vision of the nation\'s founding fathers at that time who prioritized unity of the nation.
One silent witness of the event was the Volksraad Building or "People\'s Council," which after being renovated and inaugurated by Indonesia\'s second president Soeharto on August 19, 1975, was renamed the Pancasila Building. On Wednesday (29/3) afternoon there was no activity at the neoclassical-style building, which is now part of the Foreign Ministry complex.
Five doors were locked and white curtains inside the room had been drawn. A number of students who were doing internships at the Foreign Ministry took pictures in the courtyard of the building, which is located at Jalan Pejambon No. 6, Jakarta.
A contrasting atmosphere was felt when we relived fragments of history in the period between May 28 to June 1, 1945. At that time, the building accommodated a session of Dokuritsu Zyunbi Tjoosakai or the Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence (BPUPKI) with the agenda of defining the foundation of the Indonesian nation.
Based on the minutes of the BPUPKI-PPKI Session (1995), M Yamin became the first figure to deliver a speech on the foundation of the state in the first hearing of the BPUPKI, which was presided over by BPUPKI chairman KRT Radjiman Wedyodiningrat and BPUPKI deputy chairman RP Soeroso on May 29. He proposed five main points for the foundation of the state, namely nationality, humanity, divinity, democracy and people\'s welfare.
Then, two days later, it was the turn of another member, Supomo, who proposed five basic understandings, namely the unitary state, relation between the state and religion, consultative body system, promotion of the state and international relations. And on the last day Soekarno, popularly known as Bung Karno, disclosed the Pancasila formulation based on five principles, namely nationality, internationalism or humanity, consensus or democracy, social welfare and cultured divinity.
Bung Karno\'s proposal was met with resounding applause from all participants of the hearing, numbering 62 people. Based on the proposal of Bung Karno, a small committee was established, consisting of nine members led by Soekarno. The eight other members were Alexander Andries Maramis, Agus Salim, Abikusno Tjokrosujoso, Abdul Kahar Muzakir, Wahid Hasjim, Achmad Subardjo, Mohammad Yamin and Mohammad Hatta.
Agreement
After evening prayers on May 31, Bung Karno met three Muslim leaders, namely Wahid Hasjim, KH Masjkur and Abdul Kahar Muzakir, who spent the night at the house of Yamin. Andree Feillard in NU vis-à-vis the State (1999), which is based on the testimony of KH Masjkur, said in a meeting that lasted from seven in the evening until near dawn, the three clerics agreed to accept Pancasila as isim (pronunciation), and then agreed that the musamah (content) of the five principles matched Islamic values.
Later on, on June 22, 1945, a gentlemen\'s agreement was reached among members of the Small Committee of BPUPKI to name it the Jakarta Charter. The agreement, which included the phrase "with obligation to enforce sharia among adherents" in the Preamble of the Constitution was expected as the middle ground of the debate as it happened between the nationalist elite and Islamic elite.
Late in the afternoon of August 17, 1945, Hatta in Sekitar Proklamasi (Around Proclamation, 1970) said he had received a report from a Navy officer (kaigun) conveying the objection of a Christian representative in eastern Indonesian to the seven words. The officer reported that the majority of the minority considered the phrase to be discriminative.
Because of that, before the start of a meeting of the Indonesian Independence Preparatory Committee (PPKI/Dokuritsu Junbi Iinkai) on August 18, Hatta held an informal meeting with Islamic elite, such as Ki Bagus Hadikusumo, Wahid Hasjim, Kasman Singodimedjo and Teuku Muhammad Hasan. And within 15 minutes Hatta was able to convince the Islamic elite that changing the seven words to "Belief in One God" did not dilute the spirit of the Jakarta Chapter.
"It is a sign that the leaders at that time were really concerned with the fate and unity of the nation," wrote Hatta.
In interest of the nation
Feillard said the sincerity of the Islamic leaders showed they had considered the unity of Indonesia, where there were several religions and abundant ethnic groups. He said, the Islamic elite preferred the substantialistic approach rather than scriptualistic.
In The Struggle of Islam in Modern Indonesia (1982), BJ Boland explained the result of the collective agreement of the leaders that the "Belief in one God" tenet had to be regarded as the intention of the founders of the nation to provide room for people to reach a compromise over differences that were difficult to settle.
Then, in a PPKI meeting on August 18, 1945, after Bung Karno read the Preamble of the Constitution from the result of Bung Hatta\'s revision, there were only two proposals for changes.
The first one was from Ki Bagus, who proposed the phrase "Belief in one God based on just and civilized humanity," removing the clause "according to the bases" which made it two principles of Pancasila.
Later, I Gusti Ketut Pudja proposed to replace the word "Allah" to "Tuhan" (God). Without any long debate, the final proposal was approved unanimously by all participants of the session, thereby ratifying the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution, which remains valid where Pancasila was mentioned.
A Professor of History at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Suhartono, says the Islamic elite who took part in the preparation of Indonesian independence had the skills and intelligence to envision the future. It was marked by rational thought to make a decision in order to realize national unity.
"They realized the struggle had been long. However, if the issue (state\'s foundation) could not be resolved, it could disrupt unity in the new country," said Suhartono.
A researcher at the Pancasila Study Center of Gadjah Mada University, Diasma Sandi Swandaru, said the five principles of Pancasila consisted of two main ideas. First, the first principle contained moral ethos, while the second to the fifth principles contained political ethos.
Then, has the implementation of Pancasila been executed? Diasma assessed Soekarno\'s formulated Pancasila based on the essence of values rooted in the archipelago so that the cure for the wounds of the Pancasila Republic has become part of the Indonesian nation.
"Pancasila was originally intended for state officials to give guidance in realizing the ideals of the nation. If implemented properly by the stakeholders, Pancasila is a way out of all problems of the nation today," Diasma said.
Now it is up to us as the future generation of the nation to preserve the visionary thinking of the nation\'s founding fathers and continue to work toward the ideals of Indonesia. Or even reignite the discourse of the past that could return Indonesia to the zero point.
