Why Independence Must Be Guided by Conscience

Independence—standing on one’s own feet—is a slogan frequently echoed to motivate society at large to move forward with confidence in building their lives as a nation. This call has recently resurfaced amid rising international political tensions. Ideal independence, of course, truly means starting everything from scratch, crawling up from the bottom through one’s own capabilities toward the summit, as our ancestors across the world once did.

The independence of a formerly colonized nation is often accompanied by emotionally driven narratives whose impacts extend far beyond the moment, shaping the lives of many subsequent generations. As a republic that had only gained independence in 1945, Indonesia experienced a series of political upheavals that led to deteriorating relations with the Netherlands, its former colonial ruler. The climax came with the decision to reclaim economic sovereignty by taking over approximately 700 Dutch-owned companies operating in Indonesia, along with a number of assets belonging to Chinese nationals and other foreign citizens during the period of 1958–1966.

This extreme decision, aimed at securing capital for the development of a newly born republic, did not automatically yield the desired results. Dutch professionals and entrepreneurs promptly left Indonesia after President Sukarno signed regulations legalizing the largest multisector nationalization in history, without any accompanying transfer of knowledge or expertise to the new owners. Global investor confidence declined sharply, forcing Indonesia to print new money on a massive scale to finance various infrastructure and military projects.

President Suharto, as Sukarno’s successor, was confronted with a mountain of debt at the beginning of his leadership—specifically compensation debts that the Indonesian government was obliged to pay as reparations for unilateral nationalization policies enacted in the previous era. After 1965, Indonesia stood on the brink of bankruptcy, leaving Suharto little choice but to accept the advice of economists from the University of California, Berkeley, to overhaul the economic system, including loosening restrictions on foreign currency transactions. What were the consequences?

Illustration: private collection

Why Can Ambition Be Destructive?

Like many indigenous belief systems found across the Earth, one of Indonesia’s native spiritual traditions, Kapribaden, regards the natural environment as an inseparable part of humanity. The movements of animals and plants, water, air, and soil give rise to an awareness that all substances move according to their respective natures. Human beings, however, consist of two unseen dimensions: raga (the physical body) and rasa (inner feeling or conscience). Human actions, driven by bodily desires, often fail to align with rasa.

True to its name—derived from the word pribadi (self or personhood)—Kapribaden emphasizes the cultivation of a personal character in which raga and rasa remain in harmony throughout one’s journey of making a living. Ambition that appears righteous and noble can, in fact, mislead an individual’s path, ultimately sacrificing personal happiness, family well-being, and even the welfare of future generations. Even if one achieves success, relentless pressure may continue to strike, eventually disrupting mental health through chronic stress.

For this reason, believers of Kapribaden may appear, at first glance, to be people without aspirations, as they tend to live simply until the end of their lives. As members of a broader society, they do not base their actions solely on generally accepted rules and norms. The feelings (rasa) of others around them also serve as a guide for their actions, regardless of identity. How Kapribaden adherents are able to perceive this rasa is a subject to be discussed on another occasion.

So as Not to Fall into the Same Pit

Our predecessors could make mistakes—sometimes fatal ones. Harboring resentment toward them for those mistakes is futile, as our anger cannot change what has already occurred. Instead, Kapribaden followers regard them as grandparents who were always willing to do whatever they could for the happiness of their grandchildren.

The two Indonesian leaders mentioned above did what they believed was right in fulfilling their responsibilities as leaders of a nation. The Indonesian people need not worry: all debts related to compensation payments to Dutch owners of nationalized companies were officially declared settled in 2002. Indonesia has closed the dark chapter associated with the nationalization of foreign companies within its territory—except for one remaining issue.

The 1958 regulation that served as the root of economic problems arising from the nationalization of foreign companies is still referenced in the several state-owned enterprises official documents. This regulation should no longer be cited and ought to be declared null and void, as Indonesia has fully settled its compensation obligations to the Dutch entrepreneurs who were harmed by the nationalization policy. (dswas)