Megawati Sukarnoputri, the chairwoman of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), delivers a speech during the party's congress in Bali on Sunday. (Antara Photo/Fikri Yusuf)

Pancasila and 'Gotong Royong' Dominate PDI-P's New Political Manifesto


AUGUST 12, 2019

Jakarta. The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, delivered their latest political manifesto, titled "Moving Solidly for a Great Indonesia," during a congress in Bali on Sunday. 

In the manifesto, the party stated its support for the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to retain its status as the highest governing body in the land, with the authority to decide on State Policy Guidelines (GBHN).

The party also rejected the idea of turning Indonesia into a caliphate and poured scorn on political ideologies that contradict the Indonesian state ideology Pancasila

In a show of the party's burgeoning confidence, its chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri – the daughter of Indonesia's first president Soekarno – mentioned during the congress that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo should pack his cabinet with ministers from PDI-P since the party has now helped him win the presidential election twice in a row. 

The following is the full text of PDI-P's political manifesto.

'Moving Solidly for Great Indonesia'

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle has seen signs of disintegration that have been emerging systematically since the 2019 elections and nearly torn apart the unity and integrity of this nation. For us, this is a serious issue that cannot be ignored. The party is fully aware that unity is the absolute condition for [the survival] of this country. 

Having paid close attention to this development, PDI-P is reminded of its historical duty to become a vehicle for the Indonesian people to get organized and to become a political tool of the people to realize their struggle for a politically sovereign, economically independent and culturally strong Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), a nation based on the state ideology Pancasila as a manifestation of the ideals contained in our Proclamation of Independence. 

Pancasila must represent belief and hope for a shared future. Pancasila must inspire state responses to problems such as poverty, unemployment, social inequality and the spread of intolerance that has disrupted social cohesion and prevented the state from guaranteeing the rights of its citizens. 

PDI-P's victory in the 2019 legislative and presidential elections has proved that Pancasila and Trisakti (Three Powers) provide the only avenue to achieve a prosperous and socially just Indonesia.

The party has the determination and commitment to establish itself as the fulcrum of national politics, a ruling party in support of the government that continues to work with the people to safeguard the programs and policies of the Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin government. The party will help ensure the government move in a direction guided by the Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and the Trisakti concept.

The following is a list of the party's political commitments, as expressed at its fifth congress: 

1. PDI-P solidly moves together with the people to face the threats of conflict and national disintegration triggered by radicalism, terrorism, monolithic claim to truth and forced imposition of the will of certain groups that have acted in contradiction to the Pancasila ideology, including the caliphate movement that intends to supplant the Pancasila. The PDI-P urges the government to take immediate constitutional steps, in a planned, measured and systematic way, to protect the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and its foundations: Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and our official motto, "Unity in Diversity."

2. PDI-P solidly moves with the people to ensure economic independence, support young people as a production force geared for a people-oriented economic system, aka gotong royong (mutual cooperation) based on the Pancasila, to correct the faults of the neoliberal economic system.

3. PDI-P solidly moves with the people to create a national cultural identity by participating in cultural campaigns throughout the archipelago. 

4. PDI-P solidly moves with the people to eradicate poverty and structural inequality, stop the exploitation of Indonesian workers and ensure that the basic rights of every Indonesian citizen are met. 

5. PDI-P solidly moves with the people to produce superior, productive, competitive and independent human resources with a strong cultural identity. 

The fifth congress of the PDI-P hereby declares its political manifesto:

1. Pancasila is the basis and ideology of the Indonesian state. This should be a final and binding commitment [of every Indonesian citizen].

2. Pancasila is a design for life at all levels of society, local and national. 

3. Pancasila is a guideline for formulating development plans and for deciding, implementing and overseeing development policies.

4. Pancasila must be manifested in research-based development policies that will create prosperity and social justice for all Indonesians. Science and technology will be at the forefront of these policies. 

5. Pancasila must be manifested in development policies with the goal to create a Trisakti Indonesia (Triple-Powered Indonesia): a country with political sovereignty over its territory, economic independence and a strong cultural identity.

6. The state must strengthen the country's legal-political basis by adopting the Pancasila as a "basic norm" (grundnorm) – the only parameter to form laws and regulations.

7. The state must ensure a sustainable national development, if necessary by making limited amendments to the 1945 Constitution. It must re-establish the pre-eminence of the People's Consultative Assembly as the highest institution in the land with the authority to determine State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) – the guidelines for governance.

8. The state has the responsibility to build a strong and robust national defense system to guard against invasion of thoughts, ideologies or hostile global powers, and ensure national security, national integrity and peace in the republic. It must build a national security system capable of integrating all military forces to deal with extraordinary security threats such as terrorism, widescale riots and natural disasters.

9. The state must eradicate crimes that put women and children at risk of exploitation in the working place, or make them vulnerable to become victims of human trafficking domestically and abroad.

10. The state must impose maximum penalties on corruptors to create a deterrent effect at all levels of the bureaucracy. 

11. The state must draw up a national development plan according to the spirit of the Universal National Development Plan (PNSB) to create a just and prosperous society based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. It must make adjustments to policies and regulations that do not adhere to the above goal. It must create an economic system based on gotong royong, Pancasila and the sovereignty of the republic.

12. The state must continue to develop a national economy that puts as its first priority economic sovereignty and the avoidance of structural inequalities – the ultimate source of socio-economic injustices. It must develop new programs to improve the management of economic assets and increase access to capital and the open market.

13. The state has the responsibility to manage state finances with the ultimate intention of fulfilling the basic rights of all citizens. It must ensure that public expenditure receives more public funding than expenditure for state apparatuses. 

14. The state must provide social security for all its citizens in accordance with the National Social Security System (SJSN) Law and Social Security Administration Body (BPJS) Law. It must also protect and fulfill the rights of all people with disabilities.

15. The state must guarantee environmental sustainability by ensuring sustainable development that sticks to enforced standards of environmental quality. It must also fulfill its commitment to climate change mitigation by preventing forest degradation, restoring peatland and developing renewable energy.

16. The state must be at the forefront of the mental revolution movement and develop it further into a "New Life Movement" by encouraging changes in ways of thinking and working and behavior that will strengthen national sovereignty, make the nation more independent and strengthen its cultural identity. It must also pioneer changes in thinking, attitude and behavior to enrich cultural diversity and at the same time strengthen national unity.

17. The state must revise the 2003 Law on National Education to improve the quality of science and character education based on the values of the Pancasila.

18. The state must facilitate universities to become centers of excellence by developing cultural distinctiveness, scientific innovation and technology to solve problems in society.

19. The state must maintain national unity based on a diversity of cultural expressions and enriched by inclusive intercultural interactions. It must also encourage more interaction and gotong royong between different cultural groups. 

20. The state must take concrete actions to reduce malnutrition and undernutrition in children under five years old, reduce cases of stunting, prevent child and adult obesity and ensure universal vaccination by involving community and religious leaders and educational institutions to inform residents of the importance of mandatory vaccinations. 

21. The state is responsible for preventing drug trafficking, stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS, protecting people with HIV/AIDS and ensuring equal distribution of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs for people with HIV/AIDS.

22. The state must develop electoral and party systems that will ensure an effective presidential system of government. The systems must be created through democratic, efficient and effective governance.

23. The state must provide legal protection on intellectual property rights, including biodiversity and cultural intellectual properties, encourage research and innovation and ensure easy, fast and inexpensive procedures to obtain patents.