Dika Moehammad – "In our lives, there is only one thing we have, that is courage. If we don't have that, then what is the value of our lives?" This was a statement by Indonesia's foremost author Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The problem of courage or guts is what we don't have today. How can we fight if we don't have the guts.
It all collapses. After space for the democratic revolution was successfully opened in 1998, we never had the guts to create a big alternative political party. Our work was just blaming the bourgeois parties. Our hobby was just blaming the oligarchy. Meanwhile, we ourselves were impotent, unable to build a big party with a backbone of the workers and farmers. All of this was just a matter of guts.
Not having the guts to formulate an ideology of struggle. We already know the Communist Manifesto. The manifesto is the embodiment of the ideology of the left movement in Europe at that time. It clearly states that "the history of human struggle is the history of class struggle". From this statement was derived the real work to create political organisation as a tool for carrying out class struggle.
We are already familiar with the preamble of the People's Cultural Institute (Lekra). It states that "politics is the commander". This is in line with Minke's statement in Pramoedya's novel Rumah Kaca (House of Glass) that "everything is linked to politics". From there it was then realised through the creation of works that had an ideology of socialist realism. Meanwhile, today's resistance movement does not have the guts to create a manifesto. Explaining the ideology of its struggle. As a result, it is unclear what it wants to achieve and aim for.
Not having the guts to let go of group ego. There are so many organisations that claim to be left. Each competes to be the most left. But they don't have the guts to unite. They prefer to move alone with different ideas in their heads. In fact, without this unity it is impossible to build a large organisation. A large political organisation is a modern organisation, not an organisation that is created solely out of desire.
If we read Pramoedya's Buru Quartet carefully, we will find Minke's struggle to create a modern organisation. He approached people one by one to then create an organisation called Serikat Priyayi (Government Employees Union). This organisation later developed into the Serikat Dagang Islam (Islamic Trade Union) and then into Serikat Islam (Islamic Union). Now no one has the guts like Minke who was willing to go from one place to another to convey the importance of creating an alternative party, and work to make it happen.
We need to learn to have guts from reading Pramoedya. Pramoedya Ananta Toer was a brave and tough writer. In the midst of the authoritarianism of the New Order regime of former president Suharto, his works were banned. He was imprisoned without trial, and his political rights were revoked. What makes him special? Pram refused to be tamed. He used all his strength to beat back Suharto. Not alone, but together with the people's movement and many pro-democracy activists. Not from behind a desk, but from concrete political activities. An excerpt from one of Pram's works clarifies the political work he meant, that "Humans can also work to create new conditions, new realities, and not just swim among the realities that are already available".
What are the conditions for giving birth to a “new reality”? We must work among workers and farmers. Do we have the guts to do that? We don’t have the guts to go down to the grassroots (turba). We prefer to go to discussions or seminars because they don’t require any guts. Just turn up, sit down and listen. As for the grassroots, our guts shrivel away. How often do we sleep, eat and talk with workers, farmers and the urban poor? If we count them, we will be ashamed of ourselves.
Without going down to the grassroots to do the organising work, then what Pramoedya said that humans can create new conditions and realities will just be empty jargon. Everything must be attempted with courage like Arok in Pramoedya's story Arok Dedes (Arok of Java) who has great courage in carrying out a rebellion so that from being a nobody he can become a king. Or like Kartini in her biography Panggil Aku Kartini Saja (Just Call me Kartini) who has the courage to fight against feudalism and colonialism. It could also be like Saaman in Pramoedya's Keluarga Gerilya (Rebel Family) who has the courage to kill his own father who betrayed the Republic.
We understand that our enemies have manifested themselves as an oligarchy oriented towards capital accumulation and the circulation of power that only revolves among themselves. In line with their rise, the newly emerging oligarchy have passed a number of neoliberal-capitalist policy packages that subordinate the state to market fundamentalism; privatising vital public sectors, such as education and health; and dwarfing the multi-sectoral people's movement. We need guts to face this.
This effort requires a smart and collaborative strategy, as well as a commitment to building public awareness through political education and effective campaigns. This strategy needs to be implemented through a strong solidarity network among groups that share the same vision and mission: not joining the neo-Orba (new Order) "democracy" support formations of today’s oligarchy, and having a vision of seizing state power from the oligarchy. And, without the guts to make this happen, all of this will just be empty words.
Pramoedya in his essay Populist Tendencies stated that we need to eliminate the tourist character. Meaning that we are not just spectators and devotees of political dynamics. We need to go directly into the arena of battle. For that we need guts as fighters. Do we have the guts for that?
Written by Dika Moehammad from the organising committee for the commemoration of "A Century of Pramoedya Ananta Toer" at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural and arts centre Small Theatre, Central Jakarta. Dika currently holds the position of national secretary of the Indonesian People's Union of Struggle (SPRI).
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Hanya Masalah Nyali".]
Source: https://www.arahjuang.com/2025/02/25/hanya-masalah-nyali/
