Soekarno: His Mannerism and Method of Communication
Justin Wejak
Abstract
The main purpose of this article is to discuss Soekarno’s mannerism and method of
communication. Certain aspects such as Soekarno’s use of language in his speeches are highlighted
here in order to provide some basic understanding of Soekarno – both as a person and a political
leader of the nation. The article aims at stimulating further discussions concerning this very well
known leader. This article also examines Soeharto’s style of speech for a comparison.
Keywords: communication, language, power, charisma, monologue, dialogue, politics, personality,
culture, religion, revolution.
Introduction
The inaugural leader of the Republic of Indonesia, President Soekarno, is
undoubtedly one of the greatest examples of charisma
the world has ever known. For
twenty years as the archipelago’s revolutionary leader and twenty years as the
President of Indonesia, Soekarno used the power
2
1
of language
and his charismatic
appeal for political gain and national advancement. While it is easy to tell who has
charisma and who never will, it is very difficult to define this quality possessed by those
who inspire us. Soekarno’s charisma was evident in his cellubrious sexual allure and
ability, like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Xanana Gusmao, to mesmerize a
mass audience with a combination of passion, ideas and personality (Porter & Williams,
1999, p. 8).
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According to John Howard’s biographer, David Barnett, ‘the concept of charisma is
one of the most dangerous concepts in a democracy that you can find. Charisma is a sort
of totalitarian, fascist shorthand for policy and program. To talk about electing people
because you like them as if they are film stars strikes at the fundamentals of the way
the system works. The responsibility of a people is to elect a government that will
1
According to the Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, the term charisma (pl. charismata) means
[a] the ability to inspire followers with devotion and enthusiasm. [b] an attractive aura; great charm.
[c] a divinely conferred power or talent.
In the Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, the word power is defined as [a] the ability to do or
act. [b] a particular faculty of body or mind. [c] government, influence, or authority. [d] political or
social ascendancy or control. [e] authorization; delegated authority. [f] personal ascendancy. [g] an
influential person, group, or organization.
2
3
Language, according to the Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, is [a] the method of human
communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in an agreed way. [b] the
language of a particular community or country etc. [c] the faculty of speech; a style or the faculty of
expression; the use of words, etc. [d] any method of expression.
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govern responsibly. For people to be beguiled by popularity for its own sake, to choose
someone who makes them feel good, is dangerous in the extreme. To my mind, the most
charismatic personality in history was undoubtedly Adolf Hitler’ (Porter & Williams,
1999, p. 8).
How right Barnett was in assessing the charismatic appeal of Hitler. And the same
can invariably be said for Soekarno, although not to the same extent. Given Soekarno’s
Javanese background and the fact that he orchestrated the archipelago’s revolution
which led to the attainment of Indonesian independence, the people were beguiled by his
popularity and charm and chose him because he made them feel good. The amount of
choice the people had, however, was certainly arguable. Charisma implies physical
presence combined with an ability to persuade. Charisma and great talk go together.
But the chat has to be quality. Otherwise, silence is more effective.
A Leader is Born
Soekarno was brought up in a purely Javanese, old style environment which
embraced fairly tales and represented a climate of make-believe. This, perhaps, sounds
rather simplistic in academic context, however, one should bear in mind that Javanese
belief systems are indeed very complex, like all belief systems are. Soekarno never
escaped this grounding and it influenced his whole life, his whole thinking, his soul and
his longings. His grandparents even believed he had supernatural powers and was
predestined to be a great leader.
As a boy, Soekarno thought he would some day be the hero of his people. And he was
just that for a period of time. He conjured up all kinds of happenings in which he played
the hero. He believed he was capable of doing some wonderful and extraordinary things
so that the eyes of not only his nation but the world would look at him, admire him and
applaud him.
Soekarno yearned for the hero’s welcome given by the Romans to Julius
Caesar on his return from the battles of Gallia and to Prince Gadjah Mada, from the
Kingdom of Majapahit in East Java, following his defeat of the strong Kingdom of
Padjadjaran in West Java.
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5
The belief in his destiny was so strong in him that it was a constant impetus in his
drive for power. And it was this dramatic and theatrical appeal which helped him retain
the presidency for more than twenty years. His burning ambition was to be the first
man in his country capable of enduring the bitter pills fate would force him to swallow.
The Revolution
6
Beckons
4
Soekarno was referring here to the Battle of Surabaya (November 1945) in which heavily armed
British troops aided by planes and artillery met fierce resistance from the lightly armed Indonesian
irregulars.
5
Gadjah Mada was the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Majapahit which was centred in East Java
and at the zenith of its power during the fourtheenth century controlled large parts of the present
Indonesian and Southeast Asia.
6
In the Oxford Encyclopeddic English Dictionary, revolution means [a] the forcible overthrow of a
government or social order, in favour of a new system. [b] any fundamental change or reversal of
conditions. [c] the act or an instance of revolving.
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Soekarno: His Mannerism and Method of Communication (Justin Wejak)
During the 1920s, Soekarno was already dreaming of his great destiny which was to
be the man in Indonesia to unite the beliefs of all the people. He would like to unite the
religious people, the Nationalists and the Marxists in one big force. He was sure he
would find the solution, and then he would be admired and worshipped by everybody as
a new Messiah. He separated the Indonesian people into three categories: Moslems,
Nationalists and Marxists. He did all this because he believed that he was destined to be
the savior of his country and therefore prayed in his own way for the safety of his life
and the greatness of his person.
Soekarno’s deep and indestructible belief in his destination allowed him to patiently
undergo the humiliation by the Dutch and later by the Javanese. This belief allowed
him to persevere and be tough in politics. His perseverance was the primary factor
which sustained him and enabled him to surpass other leaders at the time who were
better educated than he, but who did not have the bulldog-like perseverance so necessary
for a long struggle like the fight for independence. Soekarno fought hard for leadership
and was always a genius in exploiting the right moments in time with his oratorical
brilliance.
Soekarno was undoubtedly a great orator. Even before he assumed the presidency of
the Indonesian Republic, he was capable of bewitching whole gatherings with his
speeches. His language was not too pure and often outright crude, but his use of the
language, his intonation and the gestures he made at the right time were flawless. His
appearance was impressive. In front of the common people who were captivated by his
charm, exuberance and delivery, Soekarno was in his element (Hanifah, 1972, p. 76).
Indonesia’s inaugural President often used animal symbolism to convey his feelings
during the revolutionary years under the archipelago’s Japanese occupation. From his
pre-war writings, the locals knew Soekarno considered Japan the modern imperialist of
Asia. So, during this period he coined his famous metaphor: ‘Under the blanket of the
Rising Sun the Chinese dragon co-operates with the white elephant of Thailand, the
caribou of the Philippines, the peacock of Burma, the nandi cow of India, the hydra
snake of Vietnam and, now, with the banteng buffalo of Indonesia, in ridding our
continent of Imperialism’.
To the Indonesian mind this was clear. It meant the occupied territories were united
in the desire to exterminate aggression, not by co-operating with the Rising Sun, but
rather by co-operating under the Rising Sun (Soekarno, 1965, p. 179). The Japanese
were pleased with Soekarno’s oratory and considered it purely a vehicle to keep the
vanquished in line. Little did they know just how influential and overwhelming
Soekarno would prove to be, especially against the Dutch and Japanese.
Given that he was Soekarno, the man who really could enchant the masses into
feeling as one, the masses forgave him for his constant boasting. He was really an orator
of exceedingly great strength. Whether one heard his speeches and stories once or
multiple times, one could not help being overawed and overwhelmed by his thundering
voice and absolute conviction. After all, he was charming, calm and fatherly. If he
wished, he could be very disarming and pleasing. He was constantly aware that he had
that kind of influence on his listeners who believed Soekarno was indeed their Savior. In
his autobiography, Soekarno was quoted as saying:
I learned to grab my audience’s attention at the very beginning. I not only
grabbed it, I held it. They listened spellbound. A shiver went through me when I
first discerned I embodied the kind of power that could move masses. I made my
points simply. My hearers found them easy to grasp because I relied on
descriptive terms rather than facts and figures. I appealed to the emotions …
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They looked up at me as I spoke. They stared at me adoringly, eyes open wide,
faces turned up, drinking it all in trustingly, expectantly. It seemed apparent I
was becoming a great public speaker. It was in my blood (Soekarno, 1965, p. 179).
President Soekarno and the Dawn of his New Nation
The combination of Soekarno and Hatta during the revolution and initial years of the
Republic of Indonesia was indeed a fortunate one. Soekarno alone could not have brought
about the revolution, but in union with Hatta he was neutralized. Soekarno, the
dreamer of great things to come, the man of the unbridled imagination, could be a great
danger in a real crisis, just because he was full of wishful thinking and was a credulous
person if only you could please him the right way.
Soekarno’s vanity, in fact, made him from the very beginning a bad security risk.
But Soekarno was undeniably the more popular and charismatic man among the
masses because he had been known for so long. His name had already become a legend.
Hatta, on the other hand, was strict, cool-headed, realistic and practical. He was a
scholar, an economics expert, a pragmatist—essentially the right man to have beside
Soekarno. According to Soekarno:
I never thought of mundane things like money. Only people who have never
breathed the fire of nationalism can concern themselves about such trivia. Liberty
was the food I lived on. Ideology. Idealism. The nourishment of the soul. That’s
what I fed on. I myself lived in rags, but what did it matter? Pulling together my
party and my people, that’s all I lived for … I formulated my people’s hidden
feelings into the political and social terms which they would have spoken
themselves if they could. I called to the old to remember their sufferings and to
see them redeemed. I called to the young to think for themselves and to labor for
the future. I became their mouthpiece … Soekarno, the Great Ear of the
Indonesian people, became Bung Karno, the tongue of the Indonesian people …
You can force a person to stand, but you cannot force him to smile trustingly or
gaze admiringly or wave at you happily. I call upon humanity to examine the
upturned faces of my people when Bapak speaks. They are smiling at me. Praying
for me. Loving me. This no government can force (Soekarno, 1965, pp. 120-121).
Draping himself in nationalist clothes, Soekarno used strident rhetoric and nimble
politicking to strengthen the executive branch and keep actual and potential opponents
off balance. Foreign policy took a decidedly anti-western tone. Soekarno intensified
efforts to wrest control of West Papua from the Dutch and launched an ill-fated military
campaign against Malaysia to protest the establishment of the Malaysian states of
Sabah and Serawak on the island of Kalimantan. Relations with Beijing and Moscow
improved while ties with Washington D.C. increasingly soured, not least because of CIA
support for the PRRI rebellion in West Sumatra.
For Soekarno, still imbued with notions of revolutionary grandeur, the economy took
a back seat to the political struggle. In a famous speech on 25 March 1964, Soekarno
told the United States to “go to hell with your aid”. Nine months later he pulled
Indonesia out of the United Nations in a pique against the latter’s admission of Malaysia
as a member state. “To intoxicate the masses until they were heady with the wine of
inspiration was all I lived for. To me this was elixir. When I speak about my land I
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Soekarno: His Mannerism and Method of Communication (Justin Wejak)
become excited. I become poetic. I was lyrical. I literally am overcome and this is
transmitted to my listeners” (Soekarno, 1965, p. 82).
Notwithstanding that Marxism was arguably incompatible with the religiously
affiliated Indonesian people, it was suggested in 1950 that Soekarno should have a party
of his own. His answer was that he knew that whatever he believed in, the people would
believe in too. Soekarno believed that in an election in which his ideas would be put at
stake, he would win the majority of people to his side. He maintained that he did not
need a party because the people, regardless of their own party allegiances, would follow
him because he was Soekarno, their real leader (Hanifah, 1972, p. 5). After all, Bung
Karno was a man not easily frightened, not easily beaten, and certainly not easily
ousted from the Presidential Palace. But perhaps it was at this point in time that
Soekarno’s vanity started to get the better of him.
People could rightly say that Soekarno was a frustrated man. During all his
speeches, he became fiercer and fiercer, to an extent where it looked as if he was trying
to surpass himself. He often appeared obsessed and probably could not help saying the
things he did say. Often contrary to the opinions he expressed in a calmer mood, many
wondered whether he really meant what he said while delivering many of his speeches.
Notwithstanding the mistakes Soekarno made as President, it cannot be denied that he
really was the savior of his country and it is this honor which people cannot and should
not deprive him (Hanifah, 1972, p. 204).
Language, Persuasion and Great Oratory:
A Comparison Between Soekarno’s and Soeharto’s Style
Virginia Hooker once examined the very distinct styles of communication
employed
by Indonesia’s founding President, Soekarno, and his long-standing, recently retired
successor, Soeharto. While the former was considered poetic, charismatic, informal,
even chaotic, the latter showed less compassion and militaristic tendencies in many
formal and impersonal deliveries. While these rivaling manifestations were arguably
indicative of the respective political environments in which these leaders found their
country at the time, I believe their mannerisms and methods of communication reveal
more about each man’s upbringing, attitude and lifestyle.
One way in which the differing styles employed by the nation’s first and second
Presidents were exposed was the Independence Day Speeches. For instance, Soeharto’s
speech assessed key events of the past twelve months, proposed future goals and was
directed at the Indonesian nation in its entirety. He would pay tribute to the significance
of the 1945 Constitution and more contemporary agendas. Moreover, Soeharto would
discuss the strength of productivity, industry, economic development and foreign policy
as well as encourage the nation to strive for success and embrace the New Order’s
endeavors. On the other hand, however, Hooker makes reference to the fact that
Soekarno was more concerned with presenting his own policies than with national policy
7
In the Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, the term communication means [a] the act of
imparting , esp. news. [b] the information etc. communicated. [c] a means of connecting different
places, such as a door, passage, road, or railway. [d] social intercourse. [e] the science and practice of
transmitting information esp. by electronic or mechanical means. [f[ the means of transport between a
base and the front. [g] a paper read to a learned society.
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during his Independence Day Speech. She argues that Soekarno’s addresses were
unplanned, unstructured, lacked an underlying theme and concerned merely the distant
and recent past.
When addressing the nation, Soeharto often used the pronoun kita, the participatory
and all-inclusive ‘we’. He spoke with full authority, without intimacy and
confidentiality, unlike his predecessor. Soeharto’s use of memper- verbal prefixes and
lebih dari pada itu (English: ‘more than that’) before a verb, although not surprising,
was intriguing and to a certain extent, unbelievable. However, any ambiguity and
argument implied by the audience would always be subsumed by Soeharto’s confident
tone and non-negotiable stance.
Notwithstanding his unmistakable authority as well, one characteristic evident in
the speeches delivered by Soekarno, and not his successor, is the way he drew the
audience close to him through references to shared experiences. Whereas Soeharto used
monologue
8
, the role of language itself, through dialogue
, was obvious during Soekarno’s
time. He not only persuaded and inspired his audience, but emotionally entangled and
even captivated them. He invited negotiation and argument when Soeharto did not.
9
Critics, however, such as Hooker allege that there was no sense of order, no rational
argument nor controlled direction in Indonesia’s founding-father’s addresses. The
element which enabled his style to succeed was that his delivery was ‘inimitable and
unforgettable’. Soekarno’s speeches were undeniably ‘personality-based’ while Soeharto’s
were more policy driven and remembered only through repetition and cliché.
Stability has been viewed as the engaging quality of Soeharto’s New Order and the
underlying difference between both Presidential regimes. However, it must be noted the
threat of the archipelago breaking up, the West’s endeavor to disallow the spread of
communism and the economic turmoil that followed as a result of independence, all
impeded Soekarno.
According to Hooker, stability is a quality valued highly by Javanese society.
Soeharto’s Kromo (High Javanese) style revealed that he was in authority, whereas
Soekarno’s Ngoko (Low Javanese) style suggested otherwise. Soekarno’s over-confidence,
flamboyance, aggressive posturing, and individualism were not in keeping with the
Kromo paradigm. This is in spite of the fact that both leaders were Javanese and
Soekarno came from a more upper-class background than his successor. Each, however,
assumed a contrasting aspect of ‘Javaneseness’ for his public persona and platform
(Hooker, 1993, p. 75).
I think that as an Indonesian constituent, Soeharto’s endeavor to progress and keep
developing the Indonesian economy and society alike, without corruption, would be
considerably heartening and well-received. As a public speaker, however, Soekarno’s
confident, enthusiastic and awe-inspiring deliveries would also drive me to greater
heights. A potential leader with both Soekarno’s and Soeharto’s better qualities is the
very person required to lead the Indonesian archipelago. B.J. Habibie does not appear to
be of that mould.
8
In the Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, the term monologue means [a] a scene in a drama
in which a person speaks alone. [b] a dramatic composition for one performer. [c] a long speech by one
person in a conversation etc.
9
According to the Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary, the term dialogue means [a] conversation.
[b] conversation in written form; this as a form of composition. [c] a discussion, esp. one between
representatives of two political groups. [d] a conversation, a talk.
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Conclusion
Soekarno: His Mannerism and Method of Communication (Justin Wejak)
There is no doubt that Soekarno’s confident, enthusiastic and awe-inspiring
deliveries drove Indonesians to greater heights. Soeharto and Habibie, however, would
not be justified in thinking that they achieved the same. The time will reveal how
charismatic Gus Dur is and how enthusiastic he will be to use language effectively.
Virginia Hooker’s article shows just how powerful language can be. Effective use of
language may yield Gus Dur continued success and acclaim whereas ineffective use may
ultimately signal an unfortunate fate for Indonesia’s fourth president. It may be the
very thing that leads to his downfall.
Paul Lyneham, a political commentator, argues that the general charisma shortage
in the present Australian Parliament does leave the Australian people all the poorer.
The same could be said of Indonesia during Soeharto’s New Order regime. According to
Lyneham, charisma is the essential difference between a mere politician and a
statesman: the latter can inspire and unite a community and paint a vision to get people
to fall in behind it, while the former generally fails in this regard. Nobody in Indonesia
has ever inspired such a conflict of emotion as Soekarno.
Soekarno was cursed like a villain and worshipped like a god. He admitted to having
an ego and justified it by welding more than thirteen thousand islands into a nation. He
was vain, but more so appreciated, and so often applauded merely for his theatrical
nature and accomplished oratory skills. Soekarno was without a doubt one of the
greatest charismatic statesmen the world has ever seen. Notwithstanding his affiliation
with communist ideology, Soekarno will long be remembered for his ability to wisely
assimilate performance and language which undeniably facilitated his long-standing
position of power in the Indonesian Republic’s short but dramatic political history.
References
Anderson, Ben. (1991). Language & power: Exploring political cultures in Indonesia.
Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.
Hanifah, A. (1972). Tales of a revolution. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
Hooker, Virginia. (1993). New Order Language in Context. Culture & society in New
Order Indonesia. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
Lev & McVey. Editors. (1996). Making Indonesia. New York: Cornell University.
Mani. (1986). The story of Indonesian revolution 1945-1950. Madras: University of
Madras.
Porter, L. & S. Williams. (1999). The It Factor. The Sunday Age Magazine 7 November
1999. Melbourne.
Soekarno. (1965). Soekarno: An autobiography. Hong Kong: Gunung Agung.
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