If the law is arranged arbitrarily and difficult to fight, the public will consume it without chewing, and then vomit it back up creatively into daily reality, according to each taste.
By
Ariel Heryanto
·6 minutes read
SALOMO TOBING
Ariel Heryanto
It is hard to digest with common sense why an understanding is considered as threatening a state; let alone if the understanding is similar to Marxism. It will be much stranger if the reason for forbidding it is that the understanding is deemed contrary to Pancasila. This strange but real thing is called the Criminal Code, or KUHP.
Marxism was present in the Dutch East Indies colony before this region was called Indonesia. Together with other isms, Marxism encouraged the struggle for Indonesian independence before the birth of Pancasila. Thanks to the establishment of Pancasila as the foundation of the state (1945), this pluralistic nation could unite, become independent, and tolerate each other despite the differences in ideologies, understandings, and isms.
The idea that Marxism is contrary to Pancasila was raised during the New Order in the mid-1960s. Two decades later, Islamism is deemed a threat to Pancasila. No wonder that in the new Criminal Code, it is said that there are other understandings besides Marxism that are deemed contrary to Pancasila. So, it is increasingly difficult to distinguish today's government from the New Order regime.
Those who are threatened by the Criminal Code are not only spreading thinking that opposes Pancasila, but also fake news. Ironically, if the Criminal Code was arranged based on the New Order’s fake news, it is not in line with Pancasila, which originally strengthened national integrity and tolerance.
Pancasila was hijacked by the New Order as a political weapon to tackle its political opponents and President Soekarno's power. Since then, the function of Pancasila is contrary to Pancasila as the foundation of the state (1945). Since then, the term "anti-Pancasila" has been spread for decades and its victims have fallen everywhere.
Sukarno was not only the “Proklamator” of Independence and the first President of the Republic of Indonesia; he was also a big fan of Marxism. This was common for educated people in Soekarno's generation, including those who later became high-ranking state officials in the early years of the independent Republic of Indonesia. The influence of Marxism is global, including among religious people.
If the Criminal Code was arranged based on the New Order’s fake news, it is not in line with Pancasila, which originally strengthened national integrity and tolerance.
Marxism fever in the first half of the 20th century was similar to the fever of modernization, democratization, or long hair for men in the second half of the century. It is similar to the feverish concern of young people today over the environment and climate change. Criminalizing fans of Marxism is similar to criminalizing the millions of fans of democracy or environmental movements. It is stranger if that happens when Marxism is less popular than K-Pop among young people.
Perhaps the anti-Marxists never learned about Marxism. Where can they learn? It is prohibited, yes. Perhaps the widespread assumption of Marxism as contrary to Pancasila is due to a lack of teaching the history of the birth of Pancasila and the strong legacy of the New Order’s brainwashing.
How will the Criminal Code be applied? What about the allegation of spreading illegal understandings that will be welcomed by people who are not even given the opportunity to learn freely and critically about these understandings? We'll see, but history has given many important lessons.
If the law is arranged arbitrarily and difficult to fight, the public will consume it without chewing, and then vomit it back up creatively into daily reality, according to each taste. The results will be full of surprises and funny, difficult to explain with Marxism, let alone with the study of law. Here are some examples.
In the New Order era, thanks to overseas scholarships, I was able to buy Marxism books. After my studies, I sent the books home by post. All passed through. The one title that was confiscated by immigration officers was the novel Atheist by Achdiat Kartamihardja. The publisher was the Indonesian government, the officers’ employer. The book had been printed 13 times, sold in stores and discussed in senior high school classes. Its content was anticommunist.
The predecessor of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) was called the State Intelligence Coordinating Board (Bakin), and when it was led by Lt. Gen. Sutopo Yuwono, he told his kitchen secret: "As intel, we compose issues that we then throw in either the print media, radio or television. We make it as if this story is real. Usually, [afterwards], people will discuss it and tend to add to it. Finally, the issues return in the form of reports.
“Well, the funny thing is, from [these] reports, we ourselves believe that they are real,” he laughed. “We even fear ourselves and think, perhaps the issues were [real]. "
In the early 1990s, my child was among the generations required to watch the G30S/PKI betrayal film. One day, he returned from school and aggressively told me about "playing the PKI [the defunct Community Party]" with a number of classmates during the school break. What game was that? He explained: "The children demonstrated the story of the G30S. Everyone wanted to be a PKI member. Because they could kick, hit those in the roles of generals. Those who were generals ran. We kept chasing [them]. They hid in the toilet and did not dare come out,” he laughed.
In 1995, the city of Pemalang was shocked by the issue of the rise of communism. Initially, local officials were worried about watching the best-selling inflatable children's toy shaped like palu (gavel). After an investigation, the intelligence officers concluded: When hitting a hard object, the toy made a sound like a doll. According to the security forces, it sounded like "arit [sickle], arit, arit"! It became palu-arit (gavel and sickle), so this must be the PKI.
The more intensely they are battled, "the PKI" games of the New Order become increasingly widespread. Later, there came those who held a ritual at the end of September: make their own PKI flag that they then burned themselves. There are those who have accused President Joko Widodo of being a “descendant” of the PKI. Fortunately, he did not answer, "So what?"
A country as big as Indonesia feels threatened by a school of thought or the sexual activity of a handful of minorities? How come?
Marxism does not need to be made sacred. The golden age of Marxism, as the inspiration behind the political movement, has passed. In academic forums, it is no longer as popular as it was before. However, as one of the classical theories, its insights must be known to anyone who pursues the social and cultural sciences.
Indonesia’s population is more than 276 million. What percentage can Marxism captivate if the people were free to study it? What percentage adheres to other schools of thought that are threatened by the Criminal Code? What percentage live together outside of marriage or make love with people of the same sex?
A country as big as Indonesia feels threatened by a school of thought or the sexual activity of a handful of minorities? How come?
ARIEL HERYANTO, Professor Emeritus, Monash University, Australia
