The Petition of Fifty () was a document protesting then President Suharto's use of state philosophy Pancasila against political opponents. Issued on 5 May 1980 as an "Expression of Concern", it was signed by fifty prominent Indonesians including former Army Chief of Staff Nasution, former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin and former prime ministers Burhanuddin Harahap and Mohammad Natsir.
The critics suggested that: Suharto regarded himself as the embodiment of Pancasila; that Suharto regarded any criticism of himself as criticism of the philosophy of the Indonesian state; Suharto used Pancasila "as a means to threaten political enemies"; Suharto approved dishonourable actions by the military; soldiers' oaths were put above the constitution; and that soldiers were urged "to choose friends and enemies based solely on Suharto's assessment".
Background
Intending to avert ideological threats from the left (i.e., Communism) and the right (i.e. political Islam), in 1978 the New Order government introduced compulsory instruction in the state philosophy, Pancasila, to government departments, schools, workplaces, etc., which attracted criticism and ridicule from intellectuals.
At a general meeting of the commanders of Indonesia's Armed Forces (ABRI) on 27 March 1980, President Suharto said that ABRI had promised to commit itself to not amending the Indonesian state philosophy of Pancasila or the 1945 Constitution. He went on to say, that as a socio-political force, ABRI had to choose the right political partners that had proved their desire to maintain Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, because there were socio-political forces who had their doubts about them. He repeated these thoughts in a speech the following month marking the anniversary of the Indonesian Special Forces. These speeches prompted a spirited response, and led to the issuing of the Petition of Fifty, so called because it was signed by fifty prominent individuals.
The document
EXPRESSION OF CONCERN
By the Grace of God, we the undersigned, who are a group of voters in the last general elections, express the deep concern of the people over the remarks of President Suharto in his speeches before a meeting of the Armed Forces commanders in Pekanbaru on 27 March 1980 and at the anniversary of the Koppassandha in Cijantung on 16 April 1980. We are concerned about President Suharto's speeches that:
a) Express the presumption that among our people who are working hard to develop although they are under an increasingly heavy burden, there is a polarisation between those who want to "preserve Pancasila" on one side and those who want to "replace Pancasila" on the other, such that there are concerns that new conflicts could arise between elements of society; b) Misinterpret Pancasila such that it can be used as a threat against political opponents. In fact Pancasila was intended by the founders of the Republic of Indonesia as a means to unite the Nation; c) Justify non-praiseworthy actions by the authorities to make plans to suspend the 1945 Constitution using the Seven Articles [Armed Forced Oath] and the Soldier's Oath as an excuse, despite the fact that it is not possible for these oaths to be above the 1945 Constitution; d) Persuading the Armed Forces to take sides, not standing above all societal groups, but choosing their friends and enemies based on the based assessment of the authorities; e) Give the impression that he is the personification of Pancasila such that any rumour about him is interpreted as being anti-Pancasila; f) Make accusations there are efforts to take up arms, subvert, infiltrate or other evil efforts against the forthcoming general election Given the thoughts contained in these speeches of President Suharto are an inseparable element of the implementation of governing the nation and of the forthcoming general election, we urge the representatives in the House of Representatives and People's Consultative Assembly to respond to the president's speeches on 27 March and 16 April 1980.