Examining the interplay between national ideology (rukun negara, pancasila, chat thai) and politics. For our Southeast Asian Politics class (comparative politics).

1. NATIONAL IDEOLOGY
Comparing Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia

2. FLOW OF PRESENTATION
I. National Ideology: definitions, functions,
and cases
II. Chat Thai (Thailand)
III.Rukun Negara (Malaysia)
IV.Pancasila (Indonesia)
V. Concluding comparisons

3. NATIONAL
IDEOLOGY

4. DEFINITIONS
● According to Larsen et al (1995), national ideology “concerns
itself with issues such as social norms, laws, constitutions,
opinions and the citizen's role in the larger national entity.”
● As industrialization and science created modern society from
the old, national ideology provided security which substituted
for the lost kinship relations of previous generations (Snyder
1964, cited by Larsen et al).

5. FUNCTIONS
● The functions of national ideology as follow:
○ to justify national policy (including aggression and war);
○ to boost national morale; and
○ to create and maintain national solidarity (Larsen et al,
1995).
● These functions enable society to remain integrated and
cohesive (Larsen et al, 1995).

6. CASES
Cases:
● Singapore’s Five Shared Principles
● North Korea’s juche
● Zimbabwe’s “Socialism”
● Belarus’ egalitarian nationalism
Observation:
● It is observable that significant number of states across the
world which do have pronounced/legislated/promulgated
national ideologies are characterized to be authoritarian
states.

7. CHAT THAI:
NATIONAL IDEOLOGY OF
THAILAND

8. CHAT THAI
“(...) he who is of the chat Thai is one who is born into the group which calls itself
Thai.” -King Vajiravudh
● National ideology can be found in the constitution
● Section 50 (1) of Chapter IV (Duties of the Thai People) states
that a person shall have the duty “to protect and uphold the
Nation, religions, the King and the democratic regime of
government with the King as Head of State”
○ “Nation” is closely associated with “Religion” and “King”
○ The king must reign his people justly and be guided by the
restraints of the moral law of Buddhism

9. CHAT THAI: ORIGIN
● In the 1880s, the idea of nation and the word chat became
popular
● In the last decades of the 19th century, an incipient form of
Thai national ideology developed based on three things:
○ On the traditional idea of the Buddhist monarchy
○ On the concept of national political community (chat or
chat bunmuang)
○ On a belief in the irreplaceable value of Thai national
traditions
“(...) an anticipatory strategy adopted by dominant groups who are threatened with
marginalization or exclusion from an emerging nationally-imagined community.” -
Benedict Anderson

10. CHAT THAI: CONTINUITY
Under Chulalongkorn:
● Loyalty to Nation, Religion, and King
● The concept of chat in the sense of a national political
community
Under Vajiravudh:
● Inherited and formalized the political ideas of Chulalongkorn
Continuation:
● The national ideology of Thailand, centered on the triumvirate
of Nation, Religion, and King has since been consistently
present in its constitutions.

11. CHAT THAI: PURPOSE
● To counter the influx of Western liberalism and colonialism
● To unify the Thai people
● To impose loyalty to the nation, religion, king, and constitution

12. RUKUN NEGARA:
NATIONAL
IDEOLOGY OF
MALAYSIA
Photo source: Perdana Leadership Foundation

13. Rukun negara: prelude
Post Merdeka, or the 1957 declaration of
independence from British occupation,
ethnic conflict ensues in Malaysia.
Some tragic manifestations are as
follow:
- Separation of Singapore from the
Federation of Malaya, 1965
- Multiple bloody riots (Penang riot,
1957 and 1967)
- May 13 Incident
Photo source: Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training

14. Rukun negara: prelude
The Yang di Pertuan Agong declared a nationwide state of
emergency and suspended the parliament.
Temporary governance was facilitated by the National
Operations Council (NOC) headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tun
Abdul Razak.
A Department of National Unity and National Consultative
Council (NCC) were established and tasked to propose policies
and efforts that would re-establish peace in the country and
prevent recurrence of violence ethnic clashes.

15. Rukun negara: prelude
The council, through the initiative
of Tun Muhammad Ghazali Shafie,
formulated a national ideology
intended to unify ethnicities in
Malaysia amidst their differences in
culture, religion, etc.
Rukun negara was promulgated by
the Yang di Pertuan Agong on 31
August 1970, Malaysia’s 13th
Merdeka Day.
Tun Muhammad Ghazali Shafie. Photo source: The Star

16. Rukun negara: aspirations
• to achieve a greater unity of all her peoples;
• to maintain a democratic way of life;
• to create a just society in which the wealth of the nation shall be
equitably shared;
• to ensure a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural
traditions;
• to build a progressive society which shall be oriented to modern
science and technology

17. Rukun negara: principles
1. Kepercayaan Kepada Tuhan (Belief in God)
2. Kesetiaan Kepada Raja dan Negara (Loyalty to King and
Country)
3. Keluhuran Perlembagaan (Supremacy of Constitution)
4. Kedaulatan Undang-Undang (Rule of Law)
5. Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan (Good Behavior and Morality)

18. Implementation
● National Education Philosophy (1988) is based from the
tenets of rukun negara.
● In line with the aspirations of rukun negara, the New
Economic Policy was implemented in 1971.
● The Department of National Unity and Integration
(PERPADUAN) serves as the primary implementing agency
of the Rukun negara.
● Recitation of rukun negara is required in official functions,
following the singing of Negaraku (national anthem).
● Placement of the rukun negara in commodity goods
packaging (e.g. bread loaf, milk can)

19. Photo source: https://aeshahadlina.wordpress.com/tag/rukun-negara-gardenias-white-bread/

20. Criticisms
● There are recent efforts to make rukun negara as the preamble of
Malaysia’s Federal Constitution. The intention is to reinvigorate the
abidance of Malaysians to rukun negara. Moreso, it would suppose
to provide clarity to the overall direction of the Malaysian people as
laid down by the 230-article constitution. However, the following are
the criticisms:
○ Denigration to Islam as the Federation’s religion (Art. 3)
○ Eroding the position of ethnic Malay (Art. 153)
● Rukun negara highlights the issue of ethnic divide as the central
problem in the Federation. Consequently, it glosses over the issue
of class domination that cuts across ethnicity and culture. (Hui,
1980)

21. PANCASILA:
NATIONAL IDEOLOGY OF
INDONESIA

22. Traits of Pancasila
The national identity of Indonesia….
● Has its basis in
○ Gotong royong (cooperation)
○ Musyawarah (decision-making through deliberation)
○ Mufakat (consensus)
● Rejects any single regional / ethnic / ideological affiliation

23. Principles of Pancasila
“Panca” (five) + “Sila” (principle) =
The Five Principles
1. Belief in the one true God
2. Just and civilized humanity
3. National unity
4. Democracy guided by the
unanimity among wise
representatives
5. Social justice for all

24. Pancasila Development - Sukarno
● Need for “unity in diversity” pre-independence
● 3 iterations of Pancasila:
1. Sila that underwent the most change was “Belief in
Divinity that is an ultimate unity”
2. Each sila was rearranged and rephrased; “Belief in the
True God” was promoted to first sila and rephrased as:
1. The above sila was shortened to:
*cries in
pancasila*
“Belief in the One True God with the obligation for its
Muslim adherents to carry out Syari'ah law”
“Belief in the One True God”

25. Pancasila Development - Sukarno
“...the independence of Indonesia shall be formulated into a
constitution of the Republic of Indonesia which shall be built into
a sovereign state based on a belief in the One and Only God, just
and civilised humanity, the unity of Indonesia, and democratic life
led by wisdom of thoughts in deliberation amongst
representatives of the people, and achieving social justice for all
the people of Indonesia”
- Preamble, 1945 Constitution of Indonesia

26. Pancasila Development - Suharto
Implementation of Pancasila:
1. Government requirement for all
organizations to adopt Pancasila as
base ideology
2. Penataran P4 mandatory
indoctrination program (“Guidelines
for Living and Practicing Pancasila”)

27. Pancasila Development - Suharto
“Non-pancasila” persecutions during the New Order:
● Communist persecution
● Muslim persecution
SUHARTO
MUSLIMS

28. Pancasila Development - Reformasi
● Abolition of Penataran P4 in 2003
○ Little if any implementation remains
● Religious criticisms
○ Criticism of compulsory monotheism by non-monotheistic
and atheist groups
○ Criticism of religious moderation by extremist Muslim
groups
● Indonesia’s weak party system
○ Mostly patronage, not ideology-based parties

29. Pancasila Development - Reformasi
INDONESIAN PARTY PLATFORMS ONLY DIFFER ON THEIR PREFERRED IDEOLOGY (Aspinall et al)

30. COMPARISONS
Historical context - political usage - continuity

31. Historical context
Made to address concerns of diversity (Malay, Indo) vs. concern of
Western ideology (Thai)
Archipelagic (Malay, Indo) vs. Landlocked (Thai)
Established in 20th century (Malay, Indo) vs. 19th century (Thai)
Established post-colonization (Malay, Indo) vs. after no history of
colonization (Thai)

32. Usage in politics
Found in constitution (Thai, Indo) vs. not in constitution (Malay)
Implemented by government institutions (Malay, Indo) vs. not
implemented (Thai)
Used to protect the interests of the majority group (Thai, Malay) vs.
suppress the interests of the majority groups (Indo)
Tool to protect the position of monarch (Thai, Malay) vs. the
position of a dictator (Indo)

33. Continuity / Discontinuity
Lessening emphasis across regimes (Malay, Indo) vs. increasing
refinement across regimes (Thai)
Contends with alternative ideologies (Malay, Indo) vs. uncontended
(Thai)
Criticised (Malay, Indo) vs. consistent (Thai)

34. References
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Baker, C. & Phongpaichit, P. (2014). A history of Thailand (3rd ed.). Melbourne, AU: Cambridge University Press.
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35. References
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Malay Mail. (2017). Isma: Making Rukunegara preamble to Constitution denigrates Islam’s position. Online.
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