UPSI Digital Repository (UDRep)
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UPSI Digital Repository (UDRep)
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| Abstract : Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris |
| My research exammes the propaganda and indoctrination campaigns carried out during Sukarno's Guided Democracy (GD) years in Indonesia. The cut-off point for my research is 30 September 1965, the date of an attempted coup which changed the course of Indonesian history. Under GD, Sukarno enjoyed almost absolute power in controlling and commanding the plans and policies formulated for the progress of the country. During these years Indonesia experienced deteriorating economic conditions and some territorial conflicts particularly with the Dutch over West Irian and the Britain over the Malaysia project. Interestingly, although confronted with such conflicts and disputes, Sukarno managed to spread his influence and authority to his people, conceived as Mar/wen, the Indonesian version of the proletariat.This thesis aims to describe and analyze the mechanisms, contents and processes of propaganda. With perhaps one exception, little serious research has been done on the propaganda of this period. My research offers an alternative to existing views that the longevity of Sukarno's ascendancy was due to his ability to construct equilibrium betweenvarious factions such as the Military and Communists. I argue that the factor underpinning his power was the making of systematic propaganda and the ability to mobilize the people to share common goals. The goals of the GD regime were centred on the personality of Sukarno as the Great Leader of Revolution. Although Sukarno came to power in 1945, propaganda bodies under direct state control were not established until the proclamation of GD. This research also aims to fill a vacuum in propaganda studies, particularly in Indonesia which is sparsely studied by students of history. It contributes to the documentation of propaganda historiography in Indonesian political history, especially to understanding the systematic approach to manufacturing propaganda. This study offers a platform for historians and scholars of Indonesia to carry out further research in this field. My initial research questions are: How did Sukarno manage to control and command Indonesian's political atmosphere?; How did he deliver propaganda speeches?; and How did he expand his political conceptions given Indonesia's vast territory and multicultural and multilingual population? I then examine the "who?" Who were the key figures around Sukarno in mobilizing campaigns?; and which agencies were involved directly in the imnlementation and execution of the propaganda and indoctrination campaigns? In doing this I also answers the question, "who did what and why?" in terms of formulating the means and methods of propaganda. There are several secondary sources for my literature review in this context. These works suggest that the GD period was one in which the symbols of the revolution, Pancasila and Manipol, were the main themes justifying Sukarno's call to build a new Indonesia. In contrast to these writings which only gloss over propaganda activities without analysis of contents and mechanisms, my research shows that Sukarno' s propaganda mechanisms tended to replicate the styles of the Cold War Communist bloc. In particular, Sukarno's cult of personality was akin to that of Communist countries and served as a means to persuade the people of his supernatural attributes and capabilities. My research also demonstrates that in propaganda making, the state was fully dependent on Sukarno's ideas and conceptions. Sukarno integrated the nation through the use of propaganda and indoctrination. One must be careful not to assume that his overthrow by coup d'etat meant that propaganda had failed. Were it not for propaganda, GD would not have had a chance to thrive and Sukarno may have been overthrown earlier than he was. The ongoing maintenance of national ideologies, including the five national tenets - Pancasila (the Five Principles); Ampera (Amanat Penderitaan Rakjat - the message of People's Sufferings), a concept used to justify peoplecentric policies; and Marhaen, the Indonesian model of a proletariat, for creating an acquiescent public, confirm the attainments and significance of GD propaganda to large sections of the Indonesian population. |
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