The president who popularized Bali with orgies
Throwing orgies, shooting dogs, and staging traditional ceremonies, Indonesia’s first president Sukarno seemed to have no limits when he visited his favorite island Bali.
For many Indonesians today, Sukarno is still their most prominent nationalist symbol. The former civil engineering student who stood up against the Dutch occupation, came to power in 1949. He managed to unite Indonesia in a common language, and, despite the archipelago consisting of 1.300 ethnic groups, Sukarno gave the country a national identity.
But as popular as he seemed, Sukarno was also a dictator, “With a flair for the dramatic,” as The New York Times put it in 1970. And what better place for him to be extravagant than the island paradise that is Bali.
Because of Sukarno’s obsession with the island, Bali would make a world-famous name for itself as the tropical, cultured heart of Indonesia.
Sukarno: the great lover
Although Sukarno was Javanese, he had a personal history with neighboring island Bali since his mother came from a prominent Balinese family. Bung Karno (= ‘brother Karno’), as the president referred to himself, was Muslim, like 87 percent of Indonesians. But he infamously disregarded religious rules and made his personal life into a spectacle of luxury.
When Sukarno married his fourth wife in 1954, for example, Indonesian women held demonstrations against his endorsing of polygamy. That’s right, the first president of Indonesia was also the country’s most famous polygamist. Although sources vary over how many wives Sukarno had, there’s knowledge of him marrying nine times.
The opening to his 1965 autobiography fittingly reads: “The simplest way to describe Sukarno is to say that he is a great lover. He loves his country, he loves his people, he loves women, he loves art and above all, he loves himself.”
Sukarno’s vanity found its way into politics. Sukarno declared himself president for life in 1963 and boasted that he had a good hold on his subjects.
The New York Times claims he once said: “The Indonesian people will eat stones if I tell them to.” The quote eerily resembles what US President Donald Trump said in 2016 about being able to shoot someone in the middle of New York City without losing any voters.
Although Sukarno learned many languages like English, French, German, Italian, and Russian, he wished his newly founded country was the center of the world and referred to the Indian Ocean as the Indonesian Ocean. Despite his aversion to the West, Sukarno found political inspiration in the aggressive former Dutch occupiers and used the Dutch language in brifing (= ‘speeches’) and in spelling his name the Dutch way, ‘Soekarno’. Sukarno also learned Balinese, the local language of Bali that was spoken before the national use of Bahasa Indonesia (= ‘Indonesian’).
Because of his personal connection to Bali, Sukarno made an effort to place the island and its traditions at the center of the new Indonesian nation. The country declared five official religions and labeled the complex Balinese one, which was known as Agama Bali (= ‘Bali-religion’), as ‘Hindu’.
The Balinese beliefs and rituals had a romantic and artistic connotation for Sukarno. He decided that Bali would be the perfect tropical paradise to entertain his national and international guests.
Bali: Sukarno’s biggest showground
Sukarno and his party went back and forth between the Indonesian capital Jakarta (situated on the island of Java) and Bali. Every time Sukarno arrived, thousands of Suku Bali (= ‘Balinese’) had to stand by the side of the roads to wave and smile as the leader passed, says the book A Brief History Of Bali: Piracy, Slavery, Opium and Guns.
Advance parties of military personnel would shoot any pigs and dogs that wandered the streets Sukarno and his party would pass. The Muslim dictator and his visitors considered the sight of the animals distasteful.
In 1957, after many state and personal visits to the island, Sukarno built a showy palace where he would house himself and his visitors. The Balinese immediately disliked the idea. Sukarno had placed the building on top of a hilltop in Tampaksiring that overlooked one of Bali’s most famous temples, Pura Tirta Tempul.
From his palace, Sukarno would be able to see Balinese Hindus bathing themselves in the holy springs and baths. He even asked them to hold fake ceremonies that he and his party could marvel at.
According to A Brief History Of Bali: Piracy, Slavery, Opium and Guns, the president “Frequently called upon the priests to stage ceremonies of welcome for himself and his guests when they landed at the airport or arrived at the palace. He called command performances anywhere and everywhere of the actors, musicians and dancers.”
Sukarno seemed to host something at his palace every evening. The dictator held receptions, banquets, concerts, and movie nights. But his favorite shows to watch were wayang (= traditional Javanese shadow puppet theatre) and Balinese dances.
The attention that Sukarno gave to Balinese dancers is said to have turned dancing into a respectable profession for women. Nowadays, tourism has made it into a lucrative career, especially in Ubud, Bali’s cultural capital.
But Sukarno didn’t stick to innocent shadow puppets and traditional dance shows. He allegedly held orgies and had his aides pick up young Balinese girls who were used by the president and his party. Those rumors infuriated the respectful Balinese, who, like most Indonesians, don’t show physical affection in public.
All of Sukarno’s personal expenses took their toll on the country. According to The New York Times, “The Indonesian economy foundered while Sukarno encouraged the wildest of extravagances.”
Sukarno wasn’t the only one who benefitted directly from federal finances.
Especially during the last years of his presidency, Sukarno rewarded his loyalists, so-called Sukarnoists, with power, wealth, and political influence over Bali. He made sure his Javanese allies dominated the island by giving them administrative authority. Many of Bali’s leading citizens were shoved aside, which troubled the locals.
Sukarno tried to strengthen his grip on the island by hiring Balinese actors to attack local opponents. The president also forced dancers and painters to perform visual propaganda.
In 1966, the last year of his presidency, Sukarno put the icing on the cake that was his power over Bali. He built Bali’s first big hotel to draw in tourism, which wasn’t immediately popular and sometimes stood empty. The Bali Beach Hotel (now the Grand Inna Bali Beach Hotel) is still a powerful reminder of Sukarno’s dictatorship because it’s the island’s only building over 50 feet.
When Sukarno and the Balinese governor saw the stories of the hotel stacking up, they realized it was blocking the ocean view and decided that no future building in Bali was allowed to be higher than the tallest palm tree. Today, the hotel and Sukarno’s palace are the most prominent architectural reminders of the president’s hold on Bali.
Balinese opinion: a charismatic curse
During his 17 years of Indonesian presidency, it’s said that most Balinese didn’t welcome Sukarno. Many even believed their island had fallen under a curse. That feeling intensified in 1963, when Mount Agung, Bali’s active volcano, erupted during a ceremony Sukarno had ordered.
Despite A Brief History Of Bali: Piracy, Slavery, Opium and Guns’s claim that the Balinese mostly disliked Sukarno, the book also mentions that “There are plenty of other accounts of the genuine excitement his visits to Bali prompted. Sukarno was a man of almost supernatural charisma, and right to the very end, he enjoyed a remarkable degree of personal popularity all over Indonesia, even as the country lurched towards crisis.”
Sukarno’s downfall: CIA propaganda and isolation
The end of Sukarno’s presidency reads like a movie script. It was as dramatic as his rule had been. Five assassination attempts, a financial crisis, student protests, a failed communist coup, 100.000 casualties, and even CIA propaganda preceded Sukarno’s downfall.
In 1968, the Indonesian army seized power, and general Suharto was elected president. Sukarno was placed under house arrest and passed away in isolation and obscurity, not receiving the show of a public trial for his corruption.
According to the book Indonesian Slang: Colloquial Indonesian at Work, The new president Suharto held “A campaign to get rid of all objects, reference and teachings related to Sukarno.” But Bali stayed the cultural symbol of Indonesia.
In the years that followed, the island would grow into one of the most popular Asian tourist destinations, with the Bali Beach Hotel as its majestic symbol. The Javanese elite mostly left Balinese politics. Today, a Balinese majority governs the island.
Sukarno’s heritage: Bali as we know it
In whatever way today’s Balinese like to remember him, Indonesia’s first president Sukarno left an impression on the island. Using local girls for dodgy evenings, throwing a parade every time he visited, and making a show out of one of the island’s most famous temples, Sukarno’s obsession with Balinese culture was felt throughout his entire presidency.
That his successor Suharto adopted this image of Bali as a national crown jewel, turned the island into the wealthiest Indonesian tourist destination. The low beach skylines, the popular dance troupes in Ubud, and the Indonesian language exist thanks to Sukarno. And considering how vain he was, he would be proud to know that his idea of Bali as Indonesia’s most cultured island lives on today.
Sukarno’s military shooting Balinese strays isn’t the reason 70.000 dogs are now killed in Bali every year. Learn more about the island’s bloody side here.
And if you’re interested in the Dutch occupation of Bali, read this.
Sources
Hanna, F. W., A Brief History Of Bali: Piracy, Slavery, Opium and Guns: The Story of an Island Paradise. Clarendon: Tuttle Publishing, 2016.
Torchia, C. and Djuhari, L., Indonesian Slang: Colloquial Indonesian at Work. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2011.
Sukarno and Adams, C. H., Sukarno; an autobiography. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1965.
