MID TERM PAPER

Prepared for: GLOBAL WOMEN LEADERSHIP AND HRD

Prepared by : AGNI ISWARANI
Date : APRIL 17TH, 2011
Title : SOEKARNOʼ LEADERSHIP AS THE
FOUNDING FATHERS OF INDONESIA
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Outline
1. Introduction
a. Biography 2
b. Roles in Independence of Indonesia 3

2. Literature Review
a. Charismatic Leadership 4
b. Authentic Transformational Leadership 5

3. Analysis 7

4. Conclusion 9
Reference 12

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1. Introduction
a. Biography
Sukarno, born with the name Kusno Sosrodihardjo (June 6th, 1901 – June
21st, 1970) was the first president of Republic of Indonesia. The son of a
Javanese primary school teacher, an aristocrat named Raden Soekemi
Sosrodihardjo and his Balinese wife named Ida Ayu Nyoman Rai from
Buleleng regency, Sukarno was born as Kusno Sosrodihardjo in Blitar, East
Java in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). Following Javanese custom,
he was renamed after surviving a childhood illness. The spelling “Sukarno” is
frequently used in English as it is based on the newer official spelling in
Indonesia since 1947, but the older spelling “Soekarno” based on Dutch
orthography is still frequently used.

At an early age the family moved to Mojokerto, where his father taught
school. Soekarno's adequate knowledge of Dutch made it possible for him to
enter the Europeesche Lagere School (Dutch-medium junior secondary
school) in Mojokerto. In 1916 he enrolled at Hogere Burger School (Dutch-
medium secondary school) in Surabaya. During this period he lived with
H.O.S. Tjokroaminoto a prominent Islamic leader and head of Sarekat Islam.
The five years (1916-1921) Soekarno spent in Surabaya were the most
important period in his future intellectual and political development, where he
came in contact with prominent Indonesian nationalists and with Dutch
socialists.


Since a young age, even when still in school at HBS (Hogere Burger School,
secondary school level high school) in Surabaya, he has plunged his people
to fight for independence, by entering the Tri Koro Darmo organization, youth
organization that later changed its name to Jong Java. Even while it is in HBS
Soekarno also began writing political articles against Dutch colonialism in the
newspaper leadership of SI leader, HOS. Tjokroaminoto, Oetoesan Indies.

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b. Roles in Independence of Indonesia

Soekarno
Sukarno in Indonesian constitutional history was recorded as the first
President of the Republic of Indonesia. But his role in the struggle of the
Indonesian nation is actually much broader. He was one of the people who
read the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence on August 17th, 1945, so
given the title of “Proclamator”. He also acknowledged as the father of the
Nation (founding fathers) that many play a role in generating, providing
national identity and then laid the foundation of the Republic of Indonesia,
Pancasila, which was first raised on June 1st, 1945.

He refused to become employees of the colonial government after finished

from the Technische Hoge School, Bandung (Bandung Institute of
Technology now). Instead on July 4, 1927 with other colleagues and others
he established the PNI, a political party that has a program to achieve the
independence of Indonesia. In 1927 he also spearheaded the establishment
of PPPKI (Deliberative Political Parties Nationality Indonesia), as a mix of
organizations and political parties that fought for the independence of
Indonesia, including PNI, PSII, Budi Utomo, Pasundan, Sumatranen Bond,
and The Betawi. 


Because of his political activities in 1930 he had been arrested by the colonial
government and later sentenced for 4 years. Landraad his defense speech in
Bandung, entitled “Indonesia Menggugat” stirred internationally, so that the
colonial government on December 31, 1931 Sukarno was forced to release
before his sentence is completed. O

 ut from prison of Sukamiskin Sukarno
activity was not reduced. In fact he decided to go into Partindo Party, and led
the party's radical magazine, Fikiran Ra'jat. In 1934 President Sukarno was
exiled to Ende (Flores), and then in 1938 moved to Bengkulu in Sumatra.
Soekarno was released when the Japanese occupied Indonesia in March
1942. The Japanese, familiar with Soekarno's strong anti-colonialist views,
made him a leader in their various organizations, and in June 1945 he

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headed the very important preparatory Committee for Indonesian

Independence.

The rallying force for Indonesian independence was to be nationalism, and

this idea aggressively pursued. The enemies common to all groups in
Indonesia were, in his judgment, imperialism and capitalism, both exemplified
in the Dutch. Soekarno indicated clearly that his goal had always been, and
still was, Indonesia's independence. On this occasion he set forth in eloquent
terms the Pancasila, or Five Pillars: nationalism, internationalism, democracy,
social justice, and belief in God. On August 17, 1945, Soekarno, at the strong
urging of youth groups and colleagues, proclaimed his country's
independence in Jakarta, and he became the first president of the new
Republic of Indonesia, a position he retained for almost 21 years.

In 1959 Soekarno reintroduced the Constitution of 1945, which gave the

president full powers, responsible only to a very weak Congress. He
dissolved Congress, banned the Masjumi (liberal Moslem) party and the
Socialist party (PSI), and ruled by decree. He then introduced the concept of
"guided democracy" and called for the extermination of neo-imperialism and
neo-colonialism and the establishment of a socialist society. 
To achieve these
goals, Soekarno united three groups whose philosophies were respectively
nationalism, religion, and communism into an ideological front to which he
gave the acronym Nasakom. Soekarno significance in the establishment of
the Republic of Indonesia is tremendous. His devotion to his principles, since
first enunciated in 1926, was unswerving. A brilliant orator, a charismatic
leader, and an idealist, he achieved his original goal which is the
independence of Indonesia as a country.

2. Literature Review
a. What is Charismatic Leadership?
In 1947 Max Weber came out with three leadership styles such as
bureaucratic, traditional and charismatic leadership. Weber defines

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charismatic authority as: "resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity,

heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative
patterns or order revealed or ordained by him." (Hughes, 2005) Charismatic
leaders are treated having supernatural powers and abilities by their
followers. They are good at body language and as well as communication
skills. They impress people through usage of eye contact and handshake.
According to Weber, charismatic individuals come from the margins of society
and emerge as leader during times of great social crisis.

Charisma is attributed only to those leaders who can develop particularly

strong emotional attachments with followers. People are willing to sacrifice
themselves, and this willingness for self-sacrifice due to the emotional bonds
between the leader and the followers. Charismatic leaders have magnetic
personality and appeal their people. There are both socialized and
personalized charismatic leaders. (Hughes, 2005) Socialized charismatic
leaders express goals that are follower driven, and they work to develop
followers into leaders, and they work to develop followers into leaders, Burns
would define these individuals as transformational leaders.

b. Transformational Leadership
In Avolio Et. Al (2004) he suggested that transformational leadership theory
emphasize the role of empowerment as central mechanism of building
commitment to the organizationʼs objectives. Transformational leaders
transform their followersʼ aspirations, identities, needs, preferences, and
values such that followers are able to reach their full potential. Followers of
transformational leaders are expected to identify their leaders and therefore
are expected to have greater feelings that they can have an impact on their
organization.

Transformational leaders get followers involved in envisioning an attractive

future and inspire them to be committed to achieving that future. This leader
build the spirit of the followers through their own enthusiasm, high moral

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standards, integrity, and optimism and provide meaning and challenge to

their followersʼ, enhancing level of self-efficacy, confidence, meaning, and
self-determination. The five factors in the transformational leadership are
idealized attributes, idealized behaviors, inspirational motivation,
individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation.

3. Analysis
Charismatic leader differ from other leaders by their ability to formulate and
articulate an inspirational vision (inspirational motivation for the followers) and by
behaviors and actions that foster an impression that they and their mission are
extraordinary (Konger, 2000). Soekarno has always been considered as a
charismatic leader because most people see him as a great leader who
formulated and articulated the inspirational vision of Indonesia as a nation and
as an independent country by persistently promoting the idea of independence
and this mission finally achieved through the declaration of independence of
August 17th, 1945. Even after the independence his constant effort of
strengthened the nationalism of the country he pursued by establishing great
symbols of the nation. 1

Soekarno was brought up in purely Javanese, old style environment which

embraced the fairy tales and superstitious believe in the Javanese believe
system. Soekarno never escaped this grounding and it influenced his whole life,
and his whole thinking. His grandparents even believed he had supernatural
powers and was predestined to be a great leader (Wejak, 2000). As a boy,
Soekarno thought he would some day be the hero of his people. The belief in his
destiny was so strong in him that it was a constant impetus in his drive for power.
And it was this dramatic and theatrical appeal, which helped him retain the
presidency for more than twenty years. His burning ambition to be the first man
in his country and independent nation made him capable of enduring all strive
that he had gone through. The element of idealized attributes and idealized

1
He created the ideological foundation of the nation named “Pancasila” (five principles) and
established the foundation of 1945 constitution which became the country constitution.

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behavior of Soekarnoʼs leadership are manifested in his persistent revolutionary

effort of gaining Indonesiaʼs independence.

Soekarno is one of the greatest examples of charismatic leader the world has
ever known. For twenty years had been the revolutionary leader for Indonesiaʼs
independence and twenty years serving as the first president of this nation. He
used the power of language and his charismatic appeal in the political arena as
well as the national advancement. He has the ability to mesmerize the mass
audience with the combination of passion, ideas, and personality (Wejak, 2000).
During the 1920s, Soekarno was already dreaming of his great destiny being the
man in Indonesia to unite the beliefs of all people. He wanted to unite religious
people, nationalists, and Marxists in one big force.

Soekarno political views were influenced by the idea of Marxism, and always
opposing the idea of colonization, including the Western countries influence over
Asian countries (anti-Western view), his framework always referred to the
Soviet2 bloc that was rapidly developing during that time. Sukarno's power during
the years of Guided Democracy depended in great measure on the preservation
of a balance between the army and the PKI. In fact, he had been trying to
accommodate the ideology of Communism and Islam, which had been refused
by many people. He increased Indonesia ties to Communist China in the late
1950s and 1960s and admitted increasing numbers of Communists and pro-
Communists to his government.

In 1962 Indonesia's campaign to recover Irian Barat (now called Papua), which
the Dutch had retained in 1949, achieved final success. An agreement was
reached with Netherlands for the transfer of the territory to Indonesia after a
period of temporary UN administration, though with provision for the inhabitants
of the territory to make an "Act of Free Choice" before the end of 1969. He
launched military campaign in 1963 against Malaysia because of their

2
He had been in close relationship with Mao-Tse-Tung (founder of Peopleʼs Republic of China),
Cubaʼs President Fidel Castro, and Soviet leaderʼ Nikita Khrushchev.

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establishment of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Serawak on the island of

Kalimantan. Soekarno had done that as a positive correlation with his vision of
see comprised in his five principles called Pancasila.3

He always boldly in his public speaking4 performance for the people of Indonesia
with his delivering that always drew the audience close to him through
references of shared experiences. Soekarno speeches were undeniably
“personality-based” filled with experiences and metaphors. He used the role of
the language itself to the fullest and not only persuaded and inspired his
audience, he also invited negotiation and argument for the audience, which is
something that his follower does not have in common. Soekarno did all those by
creating emotional attachment with the people and even captivated them.

4. Conclusion
Soekarno is famously known as a charismatic leader because he is a great
orator, his indestructible belief allowed him to patiently undergo and persevere
during the Dutch as well as Japanese imprisonments5 and people admired his
perseverance. Soekarno fought hard for independence of Indonesia and also his
leadership, and always a genius in exploiting the right moments in time with his
oratorical brilliance. Soekarno undoubtedly a great orator. Even before he
assumed his position as the first president of Republic of Indonesia, he was
capable of bewitching the whole gatherings with his speeches. His language,
intonation, and gestures he made at the right time were flawless, his appearance
was impressive. The common people were captivated by his charm, exuberance
and passionate delivery of his speeches. Soekarno was the man who really

3
From Sanskrit language, meaning five pillars. The elements are nationalism (with focus on national
unity); internationalism (one nation sovereign amongst equals); representative democracy (all
significant groups represented); social justice (social welfare – Marxist influenced); and Theism
(religious aspect with a secular view).
4
Soekarno distinguished himself be becoming fluent especially in Dutch, as well as German, English,
French and his native Javanese.
5
In 1929, the Dutch jailed him for being a threat to public order and the party (PNI) collapsed in his
absence. Released in 1931, he resumed his political activity, then he was arrested again in 1933 and
exiled, first to the island of Flores, the to Sumatra. By the time of his exile, he was already known as
Indonesiaʼs leading nationalist politician. Japanese captured Soekarno in 1942 and taken him to
Sumatra but soon released.

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could enchant the masses into feeling as one; people will be overwhelmed by his
thundering voice and absolute conviction.

In his type of leadership in the beginning he used intellectual stimulation to

challenge the followersʼ thoughts and mindset this is exactly what Soekarno had
done in pursuing the independence of Indonesia from the colonization of
Netherlands as well as the brief occupation of Japan by very actively spreading
his thoughts whether its through media, public speaking, as well as political
discourse with his fellow colleagues. The radical nationalist movement he
founded in 1927 also served as the mean of conveying his vision of achieving
independence of Indonesia and strong nationalism of the people of this country.
He is the leader of struggles for anti-colonialism; he opposed capitalism and
tended to favor socialism because he associated capitalism with imperial
exploitation.6

Soekarno political view is clear that he never in favour of colonization moreover

western views, hence his policies during his presidential term that had been in
challenge the powerful western establishment within the global governance by
criticizing the United Nations7 for being under western control and withdrew
Indonesia from the organization in January 1965. Later that year he announced
the formation of an alliance between Indonesia and pro-communist governments
(such as China, North Korea, and Cambodia). He vigorously opposed the
formation of Malaysia in 1963, arguing that British-supported state would
function as a base for “neo-colonial” force that would influence the region. His
leadership values are strong and clear for the followers to see without ambiguity,
his strong stance in political views and this understood by Indonesia people.

6
In 1961, he found another political alliance called Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) with Egypt, India,
Yugoslavia, in the action called The Initiative of Five (Soekarno, Nasser, Tito, and Nehru). This action
was a movement to not give any favour to the superpower blocs, who were involved in the Cold War.
7
He addressed the United Nations over the issue of West Irian in September 1960, having broken
relation with Netherland in August.

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Soekarno emerged as a leader during the great social upheaval, which is the
independence of Indonesia. And according to Weber that is the time where
charismatic leader tend to emerge within the society. Sukarno's central purpose
was the preservation of national unity and the restoration of a sense of national
identity, goals he pursued through an increasingly flamboyant style. Sukarno's
concern with symbols of greatness expressed in grandiose buildings8, national
monuments, and evocative slogans and in such occasions as the Fourth Asian
Games in 1962. In his eyes one of his tasks is making Indonesians proud of
themselves and of their independence.

Soekarno is not just an ordinary politician, he could inspire and unite a nation
and paint a vision to get people to follow behind him. Nobody in Indonesia has
ever inspired such emotion as Soekarno. His vision on welding more than
thirteen thousand islands into a nation is his achievement. Often applauded for
his theatrical nature and accomplished oratory skills, Soekarno without a doubt
one of the greatest charismatic statesmen the world has ever seen. He will be
remembered for his ability of assimilating performance and language, which
facilitate his long-standing position of political power in Indonesia.

8
He won the bid for the 1962 Asian Games held in Jakarta. Many sporting facilities such as the
Senayan sport complex (now GBK), and other supporting infrastructure were built to accommodate
the games.

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Reference
Avolio, Bruce J., Weichun Zhu, William Koh, Puja Bhatia, Transformational
Leadership and Organizational Commitment: Mediating Role of Psychological
Empowerment and Moderating Role of Structural Distance, Journal of
Organizational Behavior, Vol. 25, No. 8 (Dec., 2004), pp. 951-968
Burns, James MacGregor, Transforming Leadership – A New Pursuit of
Happiness, New York: Grove Press, 2003
Conger, Jay A., Rabindra N. Kanungo and Sanjay T. Menon, Charismatic
Leadership and Follower Effects, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol.
21, No. 7 (Nov., 2000), pp. 747-767
Hauswedell, Peter Christian, Sukarno: Radical or Conservative? Indonesian Politics
1964-1965, Indonesia, Vol. 15, South East Asia Program Publications at
Cornell University, 1973, pp. 109-143
Hughes, Richard L., Ginnett, Robert C., Curphy, Gordon J. Leadership –
Enhancing the Lessons of Experience, Third Edition, Boston: Irwin McGraw-
Hill, 2005
Biography – Soekarno, http://www.biographyinstitute.com/biography/soekarno/
Wejak, Justin, English Literature Journal, English Literature Faculty, Universitas
Kristen Petra, Soekarno: His Mannerism and Method of Communication, 2000,
http://puslit.petra.ac.id/journals/letters/



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