International Journal of Indonesian Studies Volume 1, Issue 2 | страница 9

International Journal of Indonesian Studies

Autumn 2015

solidarity, unity, and the common needs of Asian-African nations to make up their position
in the global society were prioritised. Thus, after gaining their independence, many AsianAfrican nations needed to recover from colonialism in terms of their cultural, economic, and
political identity.
For Indonesia, the success of Bandung Conference and its impact in the international
world made the Soviet Union and the United States of America pay attention to Indonesian
diplomacy, especially the West Irian problems and Asian-African decolonisation movements.
At the same time, Indonesia’s foreign policies after the Bandung Conference came to be
based on:
1. Cooperation among Asian-African countries to common ground and world-peace
2. Peaceful co-existence among the nations
3. Colonialism
a. General problems
 Colonialism in Asian-African states
 Racialism
b. Special problems: North Africa, Indonesia, People’s Republic of China, etc
4. Economic cooperation between Asian-African countries
5. Cultural relations between Asian-African countries
6. Nuclear usage with a peaceful aim
7. Consideration around the United Nations (Bandaro,1958)
During the Bandung Conference, nationalist icons and PNI members, such as Ir.
Soekarno, who delivered the opening speech, Prime Minister Ali Sastroamidjojo (Chairman
of Conference), Mr. Sunario (Foreign Minister) dominated the whole session of the
conference that focused on the economy, politics, and culture. The meaning of the Bandung
Conference, however, would be distorted politically by “opposition groups” who interpreted
the values of that conference as an effort to improve the image of Ali Sastroamidjojo’s
cabinet and Ir.Soekarno for the Election/Pemilu in 1955 and to conceal the chaotic
economy-political condition in Indonesia at the time.4
Towards Guided Democracy and Global Constellation

Although Ali Sastroamidjojo government had foreign policy achievements, domestic conditions had been
around inflation, the country’s unbalanced budget, corruption inside government, rebellion in many provinces,
pseudo warlordism threating in Sulawesi, and chaos in the Army (Compton, 1992, 321-334).

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After the diplomatic achievements of the Bandung Conference, Indonesia conducted its
domestic election/Pemilu in 1955 with 28 parties as contestants. The People’s
Representative Council/DPR (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat)’s election was held on September
29th 1955 and the Constituent Assembly/Konstituante’s election on December 15th 1955.
According to Ricklefs (2001,p.304), the results positioned PNI 22,3 % (57 seats), Masjumi
20,9 % (57 seats), Nadhatul Utama 18,4 % (45 seats), PKI 16,4 % (39 seats), PSII 2,9 % (8
seats), Parkindo 2,6 % (8 seats), Catholic Party 2,0 % (6 seats), PSI 2,0 % (5 seats).