His inspiration came from the villages, where after long deliberation (musyawarah) a consensus (mufakat) was reached. Two proposals embodied his vision: a cabinet representing all major parties, and a 'National Council' comprising 'functional' social groups, such as farmers, artists, religious leaders, women, the military and others.
The parties were divided on the proposals. The PKI and PNI supported, while the Muslims opposed, them. They feared that the Communists, who, their electoral strength notwithstanding, had always remained out of the cabinet, would acquire unprecedented powers. Military and business leaders felt sidelined in the Outer Islands. Their chief bugbear was the PKI. Islanders were also very religious - both Muslims and Christians - and resented the increasing secularism of Jakarta.
In late 1956 and early 1957, regional military commanders in Sumatra and Sulawesi seized power. The Prime Minister resigned, and Sukarno, taking General Nasution's advice, declared martial law. Nevertheless, in February 1958 the Outer Islanders announced a rebel government. Sulawesi followed suit. On Sukarno's orders, Nasution defeated the rebels : the centre had triumphed, along with Sukarno and the army. In 1958, Nasution made it official.
We do not and we will not copy the situation as it exists in several Latin American states where the army acts as a direct political force; nor will we emulate the Western European model where armies are the dead tools (of the government) or the example of Eastern Europe.
Secure, Sukarno moved towards guided democracy. In 1959, he asked the Constituent Assembly, elected in 1955 to write a new constitution, to adopt the constitution of 1945, which gave the president greater powers than the provisional constitution of 1950. The move was widely supported as the Assembly had failed to write a new constitution. The sticking point was whether the state should be based on Islam or the Five Principles (Pancasila), which referred to 'belief in God', rather than only Allah. After three consecutive failures to secure the needed two-thirds majority, an impatient Sukarno unilaterally revived the 1945 constitution.
Guided Democracy: late 1950s - mid- to late 1960s
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