1 June has been a national holiday in Indonesia since 2016. On this day the Indonesian people commemorate Pancasila Day. On 1 June 1945 Indonesia’s first president Sukarno gave a famous speech to the Committee for Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence (Badan Penyelidik Usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or BPUPKI), wherein he outlined the Pancasila; the five principles or guidelines that should form the foundation of the huge and diverse nation.

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At the inauguration of the People's Conscience Party (Hanura)'s new central leadership board on Wednesday (22/02), Indonesian President Joko Widodo said "Indonesian democracy has recently gone over the top". He referred to the various controversial cases and demonstrations that have emerged in recent months involving hate speech related to race, religion, ethnicity and class.

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Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Islamic Defenders Front (in Indonesian: Front Pembela Islam, or FPI), has been named a suspect of insulting the Pancasila (Indonesia's state ideology) by the West Java branch of Indonesian Police on Monday (30/01). Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of Indonesia's first president Sukarno, had filed a police report against Shihab after a speech surfaced in which the latter insulted and criticized the Pancasila as well as national hero Sukarno.

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By the mid-1960s, politics and the economy of Indonesia had turned into disaster. After Independence in 1945 (and the cessation of hostilities with the Dutch in 1949), the young nation was plagued by hostile internal politics in which several political forces - consisting of the army, nationalists, Muslims, and communists - opposed each other. For over a decade, Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president, had reasonable success in keeping these forces in check by the force of his own personality. However, by the mid-1960s his failure became evident.

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