89 years ago, young people from various regions gathered for the Second Youth Congress (Kongres Pemuda II), which produced congress resolutions, not the Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge) we know today. The term Sumpah Pemuda actually first appeared 29 years after the Second Youth Congress was held. At that time, Soekarno held a fairly large-scale commemoration of Sumpah Pemuda. Sumpah Pemuda was then used as a campaign tool by Soekarno to suppress various rebellions in the regions.
Seeing that Sumpah Pemuda could generate a spirit of unity and oneness, the Sumpah Pemuda campaign continued in 1961 in the struggle to reclaim West Irian. Then in 1963, Sumpah Pemuda served as a reminder that the struggle against the plan to form the Federation of Malaysia must continue. Sumpah Pemuda was also used to counter Western popular cultural symbols in 1959 that were considered likely to damage Indonesian culture. In essence, Soekarno made excellent use of the three points from the Second Youth Congress, namely one homeland, one nation, and one language: Indonesia, to generate a spirit of unity and suppress rebellions in the regions.
During President Soeharto’s time, there was a different way of interpreting Sumpah Pemuda, continuing to use the name but with a different spirit and purpose. Soeharto used Sumpah Pemuda to support his government, which prioritized discipline, stability, and security. As a result, violent approaches were used against anyone who tried to find other meanings of ‘unity and oneness’. During this era, many studies were also conducted on the history of Sumpah Pemuda, one of which is B. Soelarto’s work, From the First Youth Congress to Sumpah Pemuda (1986), a compilation of historical events between the first congress (1926) and the second congress (1928).
Now, after Soeharto fell, Sumpah Pemuda is directed toward appreciating the many differences that exist in Indonesia, especially because after Soeharto’s fall there were ethnic riots in several regions. In addition, debates about whether Sumpah Pemuda should be celebrated at all have also begun to emerge, especially on social media. Freedom to seek information means everyone is free to interpret Sumpah Pemuda, without first being force-fed by the government.
So, how do you interpret it?
