The Five Principles Pancasila

(1) Belief in the one and only God (Ketuhanan yang Maha Esa)
This principle reaffirms 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 the 1945 Constitution and reads: "The state shall be based on the belief in the one and only God".

(2) Just and civilized humanity (Kemanusiaan yang Adil dan Beradab)
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 nation.

(3) The unity of Indonesia (Persatuan 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 avoid feelings of superiority on the grounds of ethnicity, for reasons of ancestry and skin color. In 1928 Indonesian youth pledged to have one country, one nation and one language, while the Indonesian coat of arms enshrines the symbol of "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" which means "unity in diversity".

(4) Democracy guided by the inner wisdom in the unanimity arising out of deliberations amongst representatives (Kerakyatan yang Dipimpin oleh Hikmat Kebijaksanaan dalam Permusyawaratan/Perwakilan)
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 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 (Keadilan Sosial bagi Seluruh Rakyat Indonesia)
This principle calls for the equitable spread of welfare to the entire population, not in a static but in a dynamic and progressive way. This means that all of 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.

Pancasila Indonesia

Pancasila is the philosophical basis of the Indonesian state. Pancasila consists of two Sanskrit words, "panca" meaning five, and "sila" meaning principle.

History:
In 1945, facing the need to pull together the diverse archipelago, the future President Sukarno promulgated Pancasila as a recipe for Indonesian patriotism. The ideology was announced in a speech known as "The Birth of the Pancasila", in which Sukarno gave to the Independence Preparatory Committee on 1 June 1945 (Saafroedin Bahar et al 1992:65-72). He thus helped solve the conflict between Muslims, nationalists and Christians. The 1945 Constitution then set forth the Pancasila as the embodiment of basic principles of an independent Indonesian state.

History and Name the Flag of Indonesia

Its colors are derived from the banner of the 13th century Majapahit Empire. These colors were revived by students and then nationalists in the early 20th century as an expression of nationalism against the Dutch. The red-white flag was flown for the first time in Java in 1928. Under Dutch rule, the flag was prohibited. It was adopted as the national flag on August 17, 1945, when independence was declared.

The official name of the flag is Sang Merah Putih ("The Red White") according to Article 35 of the 1945 Constitution. The flag is also called Sang Dwiwarna ("The bicolor") by the people. Sang Saka Merah Putih ("The Lofty Red White") refers to the historical flag (also called Bendera Pusaka (heirloom flag)) and its replica. The Bendera Pusaka is the flag that was flown in front of Soekarno's house a moment after he proclaimed Indonesia's independence on August 17, 1945. The original Bendera Pusaka was sewn by Mrs. Fatmawati Soekarno, and was hoisted every year in front of the presidential palace during the independence day ceremony. It was hoisted for the last time on August 17, 1968. Since then it has been preserved and replaced by its replica because the original flag was deemed to be too fragile.

The red stands for courage, while the white stands for purity. The red represents human's body or physical life, while white represents human's soul or spiritual life. Together they stand for a complete human being.

Indonesian Language

Most Indonesians speak at least one of the several hundreds of local languages (bahasa daerah) as their first tongue, but the official national language, Indonesian (called Bahasa Indonesia in Indonesian) is universally taught in schools and is spoken by nearly every Indonesian. It is the language of business, politics, national media, education and academia. Yet, in isolated areas even on the major islands it is not uncommon to find villagers who are not familiar with Indonesian. It was originally a lingua franca for most of the region, including present-day Malaysia (and is thus closely related to Malay), accepted by the Dutch as the de facto language for the colony, and declared the official language after independence. Despite Islam being the dominant religion, Arabic is not spoken in Indonesia, except for some religious functions, although even then, Indonesian is mostly used.

Flag of Indonesia

The national flag of Indonesia is a simple two colored flag with two equal horizontal bands, red (top) and white (bottom). The flag is similar to the flag of Poland, and is identical to the flag of Monaco (except for the ratio).