Pancasila, pronounced ´Panchaseela´, is the philosophical basis of the Indonesian state. Pancasila consists of two Sanskrit words, ¨panca¨ meaning five, and ¨sila¨ meaning principle. It comprises five inseparable and interrelated principles. They are :

1.Belief in the One and Only God
2.Just and Civilized Humanity
3.The Unity of Indonesia
4.Democracy Guided by the Inner Wisdom in the Unanimity Arising out Deliberations Amongst Representatives.
5.Social Justice for the Whole the People of Indonesia.

Elaboration of the five principles is a 5 follows:

1.Belief in the One and Only God

This principle of Pancasila reaffirm the Indonesian people's belief that God does exist. It also implies that the Indonesian people believe in life after death. It emphasizes that the pursuit of sacred values will lead the people to a better life in the hereafter.

The principle is embodied in article 29, Section 1 of the 1945 Constitution and reads: ¨The state shall be based on the belief in the One and Only God¨.


2.Just and Civilized Humanity

This principle requires that human beings be treated with due regard to their dignity as God's creatures. It emphasizes that the Indonesian people do not tolerate physical or spiritual oppression of human beings by their own people or by any other nations.


3.The Unity of Indonesia

This principle embodies the concept of nationalism, of love for one's nation and motherland. It envisages the need to always foster national unity and integrity. Pancasila nationalism demands that Indonesians avoids superiority feelings on ethical grounds, for reasons of ancestry and color of the skin. In 1928, Indonesian youth pledge to have one country, one nation and one language, while the Indonesian coat of arms enshrines the symbol of ¨Bhineka Tunggal Ika¨ which means ¨Unity in diversity¨.


4.Democracy Guided by the Inner Wisdom in the Unanimity Arising out
of Deliberations Amongst Representatives

On this type of democracy, President Soeharto said: The democracy that we practice is Pancasila democracy of which the basic principles and legal basis are laid down in the 1945 Constitution: Pancasila democracy calls for decision-making through deliberations, or musyawarah, to reach a consensus, or mufakat. It is democracy that lives up to the principles of Pancasila. This implies that democratic right must always be exercised with a deep sense of responsibility to God Almighty according to one's own conviction and religious belief, with respect for humanitarian values of man's dignity and integrity, and with a view to preserving and strengthening national unity and the pursuit of social justice.


5.Social Justice for the Whole of the People of Indonesia

This principle calls for the equitable speared of welfare to the entire population, not in a static but in a dynamic and progressive way. This means that all the country's natural resources and the national potentials should be utilized for the greatest possible good and happiness of the people.

Social justice implies protection of the weak. But protection should not deny them work. On the contrary, they should work according to their abilities and fields of activity. Protection should prevent willful treatment by the strong and ensure the rule of justice.

These are the sacred values of Pancasila which, as a cultural principle, should always be respected by every Indonesian because it is now the ideology of the state and the life philosophy of the Indonesian people.

 

The Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia is usually referred to as the 1945 Constitution. This is partly because the constitution was drafted and adopted in 1945 when the Republic was established, and partly to distinguished it from two other constitutions, which were introduced in free Indonesia. Furthermore, the articles of the 1945 Constitution spell out the ideals and the goals for which independence was proclaimed on August 17, 1945, and defended thereafter. I reflects the spirit and vigor of the time when the constitution was shaped. It was inspired by the urge for unity and for the common goals and democracy built upon the age-old Indonesian concepts of gotong royong (mutual assistance), deliberations of representatives (musyawarah) and consensus (mufakat).

Preceded by a preamble, the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia consists of 37 articles, forum transitional clauses and two additional provisions.
The preamble is composed of four paragraphs and includes a condemnation of any form of colonialism in the world, a reference to Indonesia's struggle for independence, a declaration of independence and a statement of fundamental goals and principles. It further states, inter alia, that Indonesia's national independence shall be established in the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia with sovereignty vested in the people. The state shall be based upon the following philosophical principles: Belief in the One and Only God, just and civilized humanity, the unity of Indonesia, democracy guided by the inner wisdom of deliberations of representatives, and social justice for all the Indonesia people.

Guided by these fundamental principles, the basic aims of the state are to establish an Indonesian Government which shall protect all the Indonesian people and third entire motherland, advance the public welfare, develop the intellectual life of the nation, and contribute toward the establishment of a world order based on freedom, peace and social justice.