In his address to the nation on Aug. 15, 2009, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono mentioned self-dependency (kemandirian), competitiveness (daya saing) and excellence in civilization (peradaban yang unggul) as three important factors in nation building.
Self-dependency, or nationalism in the language of our first president Sukarno, can no longer be sustained outside the larger framework of internationalism.
Our national self-dependency must also recognize the interdependency of nations. Our world has already become a global village, where anything happening in any corner of the village, or to any villager, affects the entire village and all villagers.
In response to the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton bombings recently, some of our "knowledgeable" experts, analysts and activists remarked that the bombers had no reason to attack our country, for Indonesia was not at war with them, and that instead they could have bombed some other country at war with them, perhaps for instance the United States of America. It is very disheartening to note that even our "knowledgeable" experts lack intelligence.
What happens to America, or to any other country in the world, has a ripple effect on the entire world. We cannot escape it.
Your comments:
I take issue with his assertion that "we have just witnessed the failure of a totally decentralized and liberal Western economy."
What we have witnessed is a financial crisis whose roots lie in an asset bubble. Much like the asset bubble that affected the Asian economies in 1997.
The liberal Western economies are not immune to this, but neither are centralized, managed economies like Indonesia.
The problem with Pancasila is that when it has been used to guide economic policy, it has had some very serious affects that have retarded economic development.
Duties and excise taxes that protect domestic industry from outside competition have left Indonesia with a high-cost economy that fails to produce an adequate number of jobs for all the young people leaving school.
Faced with the double whammy of no job prospects and high prices, is it any wonder that the khilafah advocates find a ready-made audience for their philosophy.
Other examples of Pancasila's economic failure is that the government continues to spend more on fuel subsidies than it does on education; continues to restrict investment that creates jobs; allows corruption to flourish through meddling in business; and slowly kills off the people by forcing them to cook with unhealthy palm oil.
Pancasila has many admirable qualities as a social philosophy, but as an economic system it is a complete failure.
K. Highlander
Jakarta
I agree with Anand Krishna's comments that we Indonesians must unite to consolidate the state ideology of Pancasila. We must pay great attention to those who fight for khilafah, as they refuse to accept Pancasila as way of life.
Thank you for your early warning on the khilafah movement, which has been already banned in some countries. The government should pay more notice to this movement; otherwise we will lose Pancasila, for which there is no substitute, as our main ideology.
Marhento W.
Jakarta
Most of us, Indonesian, mistakenly, misinterpret the first verse of our preamble, Pancasila, as "Believe in one God", while, in fact, it means "Godliness for spirituality."
The mistake is used by those who have a hidden agenda to make the unity of this nation disintegrate through religion sentiments so they can exploit our rich natural (and human) resources.
Let's us go back to our own cultural roots which are deeply rooted in spirituality and humanity, not dogmas or doctrine from a particular religion.
Monty
Jakarta
By working together instead of competing we can make a better world. I am so proud that our country has indigenous wisdom and cooperative concepts such as gotong royong. Now we just need to apply them effectively.
Oka
Denpasar
SBY was most fearful of being opposed by others, at least during his first presidential period. He was nice guy to all sides, all the time. Sometimes, it made him less decisive and I don't think that's wise. Be brave! Be bold, Mr. President! Only then will your vision on Indonesian 2025 come true, it's all up to you!
Aisanya
Jakarta
This nation needs brave and courageous leaders who have a vision for Indonesia, or, as the article said, by 2025 we could be fragmented. From now on, Mr. SBY should be aware that our nation could break apart at any time if radicalism and fanaticism exist here.
Suryadyasa
Jakarta
