Pancasila: The Five Principles

The name Indonesia was derived from "indos nesos", meaning islands near India, The country is in fact the largest archipelago in the world with 17508 islands, spread in an area between the Asian continent and Australia, and between the Pacific and the Indian oceans. The islands are inhabited by many tribes with diverse culture and languages, although there is a national language spoken throughout the country - Bahasa Indonesia. It is thus appropriate, that the country's motto is "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika", which means "Unity in Diversity". The state philosophy is "Pancasila", or the "Five Principles". These five principles were announced by Sukarno in a speech known as "The Birth of the Pancasila," which he gave to the Independence Preparatory Committee on June 1, 1945.

In brief, and in the order given in the constitution, the Pancasila principles are:

• belief in one supreme God
• humanitarianism
• nationalism expressed in the unity of Indonesia
• consultative democracy
• social justice.

Sukarno's statement of the Pancasila, while simple in form, resulted from a complex and sophisticated appreciation of the ideological needs of the new nation. In contrast to Muslim nationalists who insisted on an Islamic identity for the new state, the framers of the Pancasila insisted on a culturally neutral identity, compatible with democratic or Marxist ideologies, and overarching the vast cultural differences of the heterogeneous population.