Indonesia has been independent for 81 years. Governments have come and gone, each bringing its own dynamics and, at times, upheavals. Yet Indonesia has endured and continues to await the direction in which the leaders entrusted with the people’s mandate will take this beloved nation.
Legitimate holders of the people’s mandate including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as other government institutions, certainly understand where Indonesia should be headed. Indonesia must become a truly independent, united, sovereign, just and prosperous nation, as envisioned by the country’s founders and clearly enshrined in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution.
The primary duties of the government of the Republic of Indonesia are to “protect the entire Indonesian nation and all of Indonesia’s people and territory, promote public welfare, educate the nation’s people, and contribute to establishing a world order based on independence, lasting peace, and social justice.” State officials and all citizens must understand and realize these fundamental principles in national life.
During the Old Order era, efforts to achieve these national objectives were pursued through the Planned Universal Development program. However, the effort ultimately failed as the nation faced intense political turmoil, culminating tragically in 1965. During the New Order, efforts to achieve the national objectives over three decades were pursued through short and long term development plans. Some of these efforts were successful, although they also left behind numerous problems.
Both eras came to an end because of the excessive concentration of presidential power, which gave rise to authoritarian regimes fraught with problems. Such political upheaval and national crises must not be repeated, as governance cannot be based solely on the exercise of power. Reformasi subsequently emerged, ushering in a democratic system.
The Reform Era brought unprecedented democratization as an antithesis to the two preceding eras. Yet Indonesia’s direction has often lacked continuity because it has been heavily dependent on the vision and mission of each elected president, which frequently change from one presidential term to another. Meanwhile, the substance of the political system has tended to return to an executive-heavy model, as the president holds a direct mandate from the people. Checks and balances, a fundamental pillar of democracy, have weakened because of political coalitions within the government.
Another strategic agenda that must be ensured is transforming the vision and mission produced through electoral politics into a process of sustainable national development through a series of national programs and policies aimed at realizing the country’s national objectives. The key lies in achieving these objectives through the government’s programs and policies in each period of administration. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that all such programs and policies are genuinely important and strategic and are properly directed toward the national objectives.
Those entrusted with public office and government authority must share a common commitment and direction in guiding Indonesia toward its goals. The executive, legislative and judicial branches, along with other government institutions, must operate on the democratic principle of “Democracy guided by the wisdom of deliberation and representation” to realize “Social justice for all Indonesian people,” in accordance with the noble values of Pancasila.
This is where the aspirations, perspectives and voices of the people become essential in overseeing every policy and major decision of the executive, legislative and judicial branches, as well as other government institutions. Public participation should help ensure and safeguard that governance remains directed toward achieving the nation’s objectives.
When all government institutions share a common direction while remaining open to clear public aspirations that genuinely represent the people’s voice, Indonesia will possess collective strength to move toward its national objectives. Conversely, if there is a disconnect among them, it will become more difficult to guide this beloved nation toward becoming the country envisioned by its founders.
What must be built today is a comprehensive collective awareness across all state and national institutions that Indonesia belongs to everyone. The government and all elements of society must move together in guiding Indonesia toward its national objectives. No one should invoke the people’s mandate as justification for acting independently or believing that they can accomplish everything on their own.
The most important and strategic agenda to pursue together, 81 years after Indonesia’s independence, is to create prosperity for all within a framework of social justice for all Indonesian people, as President Prabowo Subianto has frequently emphasized and expressed as a political priority. Those who possess significant political and economic power must therefore be willing to devote themselves fully to realizing social justice and prosperity for the people.
As we reflect once again on the meaning of independence for the welfare of the people, it is worth recalling the views of Indonesia’s founding figures. During a session of the BPUPKI (Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence), for example, Soekarno stated that “the Indonesian state is not a state for one person, nor a state for one group, even a wealthy group. Rather, we are establishing a state ‘for all, ‘one for all, all for one.’” Therefore, no force should become so dominant as to control Indonesia, causing this beloved nation to lose its fundamental spirit: Indonesia belongs to everyone.
