Why Indonesia Should Stay Diverse
Pluralism is embedded in Indonesian society. Instead of denying that Indonesia is a pluralistic state, Indonesians should embrace and celebrate their diversity by strengthening multiculturalism.
Photo by Eyestetix Studio on Unsplash
Indonesia has always been prominent for its heterogeneity. It comprises around 6000 inhabited islands, 240 million citizens, 300 ethnic groups, six recognised religions and other local beliefs, and 740 languages and dialects. (Soekarba, 2018) Pancasila and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika play a significant role in keeping harmony amongst diverse Indonesians. However, since the Indonesian Reformed Era, radical groups have disagreed and aimed to distort Pancasila and reject pluralism. The significant numbers of terrorist attacks, religious intolerance, and incitement on social media perform some movements to force Indonesia to become a particular religion-based state and reject diversity.
With such a significant number of islands and cultural allures, Indonesia should maintain its diversity, as it is rooted in its history. Concerning the diversity, Indonesia was connected to mainland Asia during the Pleistocene era – around four million BC – inhabited by ‘Java Man,’ a moniker for Pithecanthropus Erectus. This human species first inhabited mainland Asia significantly two million to 500,000 years ago, which evolved. As for the origin of the Indonesian population, it all began in the Malay-Indonesian archipelago. The civilisation parallels the South-East region, primarily the Nusantara realm. This includes the islands of Indonesia, Malaya, Borneo islands, the Philippines, and Singapore, which contain two communities: Proto-Malay and Deutro-Malay. (Anas et al., 2019)
Proto-Malay is the ethnic ancestors which emerged around 2,500 years ago, consisting of the Seman (Negrito), Temiar (Senoi), Jakun, Sakai, and other ethnicities that are based on Mon and Khmer ancestors. Hence Thai, Cambodian, and Laotian have pertinence regarding ancestry. Deutro-Malay is more recent than Proto-Malay since it occurred a millennium after it. As evidence, the tools they used were made of bronze and metals. Some creations of the devices were gongs or drums, axes, vessels, weapons, ceramics, and beads. (Anas et al., 2019)
Not only are they divided geographically, but the people are also of varying ethnicities, like the Chinese, the Indians, and the Arabians. We also found heterogeneous beliefs, cultures, and customs with the multiple races and ethnicities in this area. The two most common beliefs before Buddhism and Hinduism entered Indonesia were animism – beliefs in souls and spirits that can dominate humankind – and dynamism – which believes there is a greater power in nature and unliving things. (Utama et al., 2019)
The first religious diversity began when Indonesia developed into organised empire based on religions – in this case, Buddhism and Hinduism. It lasted from ancient history to the 15th century. Indians first arrived in Indonesia in 100 to 200 A.D, teaching and spreading Buddhism. The spread of Buddhism was followed by the emergence of Hinduism in Indonesia, with its most prestigious and prominent empire, the Majapahit empire.
One of the respected figures during the Majapahit empire, Hayam Wuruk, a Hinduism follower, lived with his mother, Tribhuana Tunggadewi, a Buddhist. It was an excellent example of how both believers – Buddhism and Hinduism – embrace Bhinneka Tunggal Ika. The term was created by Mpu Tantular in his book and is based on the ancient Javanese language, ‘berbeda-beda tetapi tetap satu jua,’ which translates to ‘unity in diversity.’ We can see that with this principle, tolerance had a pivotal role in preventing religious conflicts in those days. (Kompas.com, 2022)
Islam arrived in the 7th – 13th century when Arabic and Persian merchants sailed to Indonesia. As the Hindu-Buddha empires began to decline during the 14th-15th centuries due to internal conflicts, the Islamic empires began to rise through trading and marriage. Centuries later, the Europeans – Portuguese and Dutch – landed in Indonesia in the 16th century, with one of its aims, spreading Christianity. This religion was spread through missionary activities and the fact that the Netherlands colonised Indonesia for over 300 years (Goh, 2005).
All these historical facts prove that Indonesia had been diverse even before its independence. Diversity has already been a part of Indonesia since the prehistoric era. Therefore, with pluralism in Indonesia, there are three essential things to describe how Indonesian nationalism was then created. Firstly, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika has been a prominent motto for fellow Indonesians to live in pluralism and harmony since the era of the Majapahit empire in the 14th century. (Kompas.com, 2021) This writing is also embedded in Indonesia’s coat of arms, the Garuda, to show the main characteristic of the Indonesian nation.
Secondly, Sumpah Pemuda is another fundamental aspect of Indonesian nationalism. It was an acknowledgment of pluralism unification, declared by the Indonesian youth on 28 October 1928. The statement that claims to be one nation, even though they come from different ethnicities, religions, and races, became a force to build Indonesian nationalism. Lastly, Pancasila is Indonesia’s central ideology, which shows Indonesia’s five main principles: beliefs, humanity, unity, democracy, and social justice. Pancasila was officially born on 1 June 1945 as an agreement of the Indonesian founding fathers despite their diversities.
Although Bhineka Tunggal Ika, Sumpah Pemuda, and Pancasila have become the basis and adhesive of pluralism in Indonesia, the reality remains problematic in the last two decades. Along with the diversities, conflicts and disputes continue. This is true in the case of Tanjung Balai incident on 20 July 2016, where a Buddhist temple was set on fire by Muslims (Mahadi, 2022) and the Sampit tragedy, an ethnic dispute between the Dayaks and Maduras, which transpired on 18 February 2001. (Hasugian, 2015) One of the most devastating events in Indonesia was the May 1998 incident, where countless Chinese-descent Indonesians were maltreated, subjugated, marginalised, and killed. (Gerry van Klinken, 2002)
The downsides of pluralism are the emergence of extremism and radicalism, mainly when they are covered by religion. Regarding this, Peter Berger (2005) confirms that when religion has been institutionalized, conflicts easily occur. When religion is no longer perceived as an embodiment of faith and an essential relationship between God and His people but as an institution that has a set of rules, norms and sanctions, then religion is very likely to be a source of conflict.
Religious repression can contradict the whole idea of Indonesia being pluralistic. People claimed to be acting in the name of a particular religion to refuse the establishment of houses of worship and prohibit the implementation of worship of other religions, such as in the case of GKI Yasmine in Bogor. (Catherine, 2021) Moreover, Sharyn Davies (2018) noted that many of Indonesia’s minority groups are being targeted by violent conservatives, and the law is failing to protect them.
In such cases, efforts to strengthen multiculturalism are essential. Multiculturalism is an ideology to respect, protect and promote human rights in a diverse society. More significant than pluralism which solely acknowledges the differences of race, ethnicity and culture in a particular area, multiculturalism is an ideology that requires the unity of various cultural groups with the acknowledgment of equal rights and socio-political status. (Isabela, 2022) Multiculturalism is then often used to describe the unity of various ethnic groups in a country. (Reed, 1997)
There are two ways to strengthen such multiculturalism in Indonesia. Firstly, the government should implement affirmative actions to sustain minority groups in enjoying their rights and everyday life, which has been regulated in the law. The government’s firmness is needed to avoid division and tension due to majority-minority issues. Secondly, education concerning pluralism, multiculturalism, ethics, and morals should be enhanced from a young age. Civics is one of the subjects that teach elementary students morals, norms, ethics, multiculturalism, and pluralism, so they can acknowledge their surroundings and the importance of varied cultures in Indonesia. Teaching these at a young age can shape a student’s mindset, which remains into adulthood.
In conclusion, pluralism is embedded in Indonesian society. It is an inevitable reality which had happened ever since a millennium ago. Hence, instead of denying that Indonesia is a pluralistic state, Indonesians should embrace and celebrate their diversity by strengthening multiculturalism. To achieve that, Indonesians must meet these conditions: justice, mutual respect, and tolerance.
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