The Socialist Party of Indonesia ( id, Partai Sosialis Indonesia) was a political party in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

from 1948 until 1960, when it was banned by President Sukarno.

Origins

In December 1945 Amir Sjarifoeddin's Socialist Party of Indonesia (Parsi) and Sutan Sjahrir's Socialist People's Party (Parsas), both of which had only recently been established, merged to form the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

. Sjahrir became leader of the combined party. It was popular among young intellectuals and students as well as members of the underground movements led by the two men during the

Japanese occupation of Indonesia The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history. In Ma ...

.Kahin (1952) p158 At the end of 1945 the Socialist Party gained five of the 25 seats on the working committee of the

Central Indonesian National Committee The Central Indonesian National Committee, ( id, Komite Nasional Indonesia Pusat) or KNIP, was a body appointed to assist the president of the newly independent Indonesia. Originally purely advisory, it later gained assumed legislative functions. ...

, the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' legislature.Kahin (1952) p171 Both Sutan and Amir served terms as

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

, while other Socialist Party members held senior cabinet posts.Simanjuntak (2003) From 1947, divisions appeared between Sutan and Amir as Amir and his communist allies gained more and more influence over the party. In June 1947 Amir ousted Sutan. The second party called the Socialist Party of Indonesia was founded on 12 February 1948 by Sutan Sjahrir after his departure from the Socialist Party.Feith (2007) p129Cribb & Kahin (2004) p328 Joining him in the new party were Lintong Mulia Sitorus and other followers who agreed with his position on nationalism and not having a strongly pro-Soviet line. The party also launched a newspaper called '' Sikap'' which Sitorus edited.

The PSI in the Liberal Democracy Era

Sjahrir speaking at 1955 PSI election rally in Bali

Following the dissolution of the

United States of Indonesia The United States of Indonesia ( nl, Verenigde Staten van Indonesië, id, Republik Indonesia Serikat, abbreviated as RIS), was a short-lived federal state to which the Netherlands formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies (exce ...

and the reestablishment of the unitary Republic of Indonesia in 1950, the PSI was awarded 17 of the 232 seats in the new legislature, the People's Representative Council (DPR), a total in proportion to the estimated strength of the party Ricklefs (1991) p230 The PSI held its first party congress in 1952. Wijono. ''The General Elections in Indonesia and the Partai Sosialis Indonesia'', in ''Socialist Asia'', Vol IV, November 1955/February 1956, Nos. 3-4. p. 13 In the 1955 legislative election the PSI won only 2% of the vote, resulting in five seats in the legislature. This was a far smaller share of the vote than had been expected.Ricklefs (1991) p238Feith (2007) p436 The second party congress was held in June 1955.

Decline and fall

After the 1955 elections, a clear political division between

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

and the outer islands opened up. This was followed by a military crisis brought about by army chief-of-staff General Nasution's plan to implement widespread transfers of officers, many of whom had built up private business interests in the regions. On 20 July 1956, the most prominent non-Javanese politician, Vice-president Hatta, resigned with effect from 1 December. Tired of the political infighting, on 28 October, President Sukarno called for an end to political parties. This would lead to his 1957 conception of “

guided democracy Guided democracy, also called managed democracy, is a formally democratic government that functions as a ''de facto'' authoritarian government or in some cases, as an autocratic government. Such hybrid regimes are legitimized by elections th ...

”, which the PSI opposed.Ricklefs (1991) pp. 238-243Feith (2007) p541 In December 1956, several army commanders in Sumatra announced they had taken over civil government. This crisis spread and in March 1957, the military commander of East Indonesia imposed martial law over his command area. In March 1957 the cabinet resigned and Sukarno proclaimed martial law nationwide. In May 1957, PSI economist Professor

Sumitro Djojohadikusumo Sumitro Djojohadikusumo ( EVO: Soemitro Djojohadikoesoemo; 29 May 1917 – 9 March 2001) was an Indonesian politician and one of the country's most influential economists. He held notable roles under both presidents Sukarno and Suharto intermitt ...

left Jakarta for Sumatra, followed by other political figures. In January 1958, the PSI demanded a new cabinet, and the following month dissidents in

Padang Padang () is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the 16th most populous city in Indonesia and the most populous city on the west coast of Sumatra. Th ...

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 cen ...

issued an ultimatum demanding the dissolution of the cabinet within five days. Despite efforts by the PSI in Jakarta to forestall a rebellion, on 15 February a rebel government was proclaimed in

Bukitinggi Bukittinggi ( min, Bukiktinggi, Jawi: , formerly nl, Fort de Kock) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010 and 121,028 in 2020, and an area of 25.24 km2. It is in the Minangkabau Highlands ...

called the

Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia The Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintah Revolusioner Republik Indonesia (PRRI)) was a revolutionary government set up in Sumatra to oppose the central government of Indonesia in 1958. Although frequently refer ...

(PRRI). It was headed by Amir Sjarifoeddin as Prime Minister and included

Burhanuddin Harahap Burhanuddin Harahap ( EVO: Boerhanoeddin Harahap; 12 February 1917 – 14 June 1987) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer who served as the 9th prime minister of Indonesia from 1955 until 1956. A member of the Masyumi Party, he also se ...

from the

Masyumi Party The Council of Indonesian Muslim Associations ( id, Partai Majelis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia), better known as the Masyumi Party, was a major Islamic political party in Indonesia during the Liberal Democracy Era in Indonesia. It was banned in ...

and Sumitro Djojohadikusumo. Hatta and PSI leaders in Jakarta called for a negotiated settlement, but the government decided on a military solution, which defeated the rebellion by mid-1958.Ricklefs (1991) pp. 242-251 Sukarno implemented his plan for guided democracy by issuing a

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

restoring the 1945 Constitution. The PSI was not represented in either the new cabinet, the Supreme Advisory Council nor the National Planning Council established under the new system. Finally, in August 1960, President Sukarno formally banned the PSI and the Masyumi Party for their opposition to

Guided Democracy Guided democracy, also called managed democracy, is a formally democratic government that functions as a ''de facto'' authoritarian government or in some cases, as an autocratic government. Such hybrid regimes are legitimized by elections th ...

and their alleged support of the PRRI rebellion.Ricklefs (1991) pp. 254-256

Party philosophy

The party's philosophy was based on Fabianism with elements of Marxist social analysis. There was a distinct Indonesian character to the party's brand of socialism. It stressed the need for modernization, economic development and rational planning and organization, while opposing extreme

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and anti-foreign sentiment. It accepted the need for foreign capital, but party leaders criticized what they saw as the Hatta cabinet's overcautious foreign policy and the strong influence of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

over it. They strongly opposed the party siding with either the United States or the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Rather than building support among the masses, the party aimed to develop a well-trained core of members. It had considerable influence among high-level bureaucrats and the leadership of the army. Sultan Hamengkubuwana IX and

Nasution General of the Army Abdul Haris Nasution ( Old Spelling: Abdoel Haris Nasution; 3 December 1918 – 6 September 2000), was a high-ranking Indonesian general and politician. He served in the military during the Indonesian National Revolution a ...

did not belong to the PSI, but they had strong informal links with it.Feith (2007) p130Ricklefs (1991) p233Kahin (1952) pp. 319-322

References

*Cribb, R. B. & Kahin, Audrey (2004) ''Historical Dictionary of Indonesia (second edition)'', Scarecrow Press

* Herbert Feith, Feith, Herbert (2007) ''The Decline of Constitutional Democracy in Indonesia '' Equinox Publishing (Asia) Pte Ltd, *Kahin, George McTurnan (1952) ''Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia'' Cornell University Press, *Ricklefs (1982), ''A History of Modern Indonesia'', Macmillan Southeast Asian reprint, *Simanjuntak, P.H.H (2003) ''Kabinet-Kabinet Republik Indonesia: Dari Awal Kemerdekaan Sampai Reformasi (Cabinets of the Republic of Indonesia: From the Start of Independence to the Reform Era)'', Penerbit Djambatan, Jakarta,

Notes