By: Gilarsi Wahju Setijono

Yesterday, June 1, all of Indonesia commemorates the birthday of Pancasila. In Jakarta, the flag ceremony took place solemnly at the Merdeka Palace. Speeches echo the spirit of the fifth precepts: "Social justice for all Indonesian people." Officials stood straight, singing the national anthem, and took an oath to uphold justice for all people - "Without discrimination," as written in the official interpretation.

Ironically, right beneath their solemn feet beats the heart of an economy that has betrayed the fifth principle of Pancasila for decades. Greater Jakarta—the region where yesterday's ceremony took place—accounts for 26.2% of the national economy, while the remaining 17,499 islands share the rest. If this isn't the most blatant spatial discrimination in Indonesian history, then what is?

Imagine this for a moment: you are a pilot flying from Banda Aceh to Papua the day after yesterday's Pancasila commemoration. During the five-hour journey, you witness the lush green forests of Sumatra, the blue waters of the Malacca Strait, and suddenly, the co-pilot points downward: “Look there, sir. Jakarta.”

What you see is an absurd sight: a sparkling point of light like a jewel under a stage spotlight, surrounded by a vast expanse of darkness. A single point of light in the midst of a sea of darkness spanning 1.9 million square kilometers. As if someone had gathered all the stars in the night sky and placed them in one basket, leaving the rest empty.

This is the face of “Social Justice for All Indonesians” in 2025: a nation of 17,500 islands whose economy beats from a single heart at the western tip of Java Island.

When the Fifth Principle Becomes an Empty Slogan

Data from the Central Statistics Agency in 2024 records a fact that should make us shudder: Greater Jakarta—an area of 6,822 square kilometers or less than 0.4% of Indonesia's landmass—controls 26.2% of the national economy. This figure is not just cold statistics. It is a portrait of systematic betrayal of the promise of justice we made yesterday.

Social justice, according to the official interpretation read out yesterday, requires “equitable distribution of welfare” and “protection of all citizens without discrimination.” But how can it be called fair when a quarter of the national economic pie is enjoyed by less than half a percent of Indonesia's territory? How can it be called equitable when a child in Jakarta has access to infrastructure 100 times better than a child in Yahukimo, Papua?

To understand how extreme this concentration is, let's compare it with countries that also celebrate their national day with a spirit of equality. Beijing, China's capital with all its grandeur, contributes only 3.6% to the national economy. Shanghai, Asia's financial hub, contributes 4.8%. Even the legendary Tokyo Metropolitan Area, with 38 million residents—the world's largest urban agglomeration—“only” controls 33.1% of Japan's economy.

Meanwhile, Jakarta? With 32.3 million people in Greater Jakarta, we've managed to create an economic concentration nearly on par with Tokyo, despite having a population not too different in size. The difference is that Japan is an archipelago spanning 377,975 square kilometers. Indonesia? Five times larger with far more abundant natural resources. Yet for some reason, we choose to put all our economic eggs in one basket called Jakarta.

How ironic: a country that recently celebrated its commitment to social justice now faces the harsh reality of extreme spatial inequality.

A Misleading Statistical Celebration of the Pancasila Spirit

Every quarter, the same mantra is repeated: “Indonesia's economic growth reached 4.87%.” In the first quarter of 2025, Jakarta grew even higher: 4.95%. These figures are celebrated as a great victory, displayed in newspapers, boasted about in official speeches—including yesterday's speech at the Pancasila commemoration.

But hold on. Let's delve deeper into this data with the true spirit of the fifth principle.

Of that 4.87% national growth, how much truly reflects “justice for all Indonesians”? If we remove the contribution of the Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi region from the calculation, the economic growth of “the rest of Indonesia” would plummet drastically to around 3.2-3.5%. This means that nearly a third of the economic growth we celebrated yesterday actually originated from a single geographical area the size of Greater Jakarta.

This is like measuring the health of the body by only looking at the condition of the heart. Yes, the heart is important and must be healthy. But when the heart expands so much that other organs shrink and lack blood, what happens is not health—but a dangerous disease. A disease that contradicts the spirit of justice we proclaimed yesterday.

The Spillover Myth That Vanished Like Incense Yesterday

The narrative often peddled—including in the rhetoric of yesterday's Pancasila celebration—is that Jakarta will “trickle down” and create a spillover effect for other regions. The claim is that if Jakarta prospers, then all of Indonesia will prosper. As the Javanese proverb goes: “Wong gedhe mukti, wong cilik melu mukti” (when the great prosper, the small follow suit).

The reality? This spillover theory turned out to be more like the incense smoke that rose during yesterday's ceremony—beautiful for a moment, then vanished without a trace.

Data shows that Greater Jakarta behaves more like an “economic black hole,” drawing all resources—capital, talent, infrastructure, even aspirations—into its gravitational pull. Every year, 500,000 people migrate to Jakarta from all corners of the archipelago. They come with dreams of experiencing the “social justice” promised. Some succeed, but the majority end up as pawns of a system that concentrates wealth in one place.

What is even more ironic is that Jakarta relies on inputs from outside its region for up to 60% of its daily needs. From rice from Indramayu, vegetables from Cianjur, to labor from all over Indonesia. Jakarta sucks, but what does it give back? Traffic jams, pollution, and a consumptive lifestyle that is then “exported” back to the regions as a standard of “progress.”

This is not spillover; it is systematic exploitation cloaked in development rhetoric. Not social justice, but organized spatial injustice.

Bandung and Si Kabayan Trapped in Anti-Pancasila Gravity

Take Bandung as an example. This city, once dubbed the “Paris of Java,” should have been an alternative growth center for West Java, in line with the spirit of equitable development mandated by the fifth principle of Pancasila. With its geographical advantages, cool climate, and strong academic traditions from ITB to Unpad, Bandung has the potential to develop independently and provide economic justice for the people of West Java.

But what happened? Bandung has instead been sucked into becoming a “satellite city” of Jakarta. The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train, touted as a flagship project—and recently mentioned in a speech as a manifestation of “development equality”—actually reinforces Jakarta's gravitational pull. Instead of making Bandung an equitable alternative growth center for West Java, the high-speed train facilitates brain drain from Bandung to Jakarta.

Bandung's top professionals can now work in Jakarta and commute back and forth in a single day. Bandung has transformed from an independent city into merely a “bedroom community” for Jakarta. Like Si Kabayan, captivated by the glitter of the city, Bandung has lost its own identity. It has become a follower, not a leader. Yet, with its potential, Bandung should be able to become “West Java's Jakarta,” not merely an extension of Jakarta.

This is the antithesis of the fifth principle: instead of creating justice through equality, we are creating inequality through centralization.

When Sumatra Becomes a “Peripheral Region” in the Pancasila Nation

Meanwhile, across the Sunda Strait, the island of Sumatra with an area of ​​473,481 square kilometers—almost a quarter of Indonesia’s area—only contributes 22.2% to the national economy. This is an irony that tarnishes the spirit of justice that we celebrated yesterday. Sumatra has everything: oil, natural gas, palm oil, rubber, coal, gold, and even extraordinary tourism potential from Lake Toba to Pulau Weh.

But look at what happened. Medan, the largest city in Sumatra with 2.5 million residents, has a GDP of only around $55 billion. Compare that to Shenzhen, which in 1980 was still a fishing village, now has a GDP of $373 billion. In four decades, Shenzhen has grown 1.2 million percent by implementing the principle of fair distribution in China’s national development. Medan? In the same period, its growth was far below 100%.

What happened was systematic exploitation that was the opposite of the spirit of Pancasila: Sumatra’s natural resources were extracted to be processed in Jakarta or exported raw abroad. The added value never stayed in Sumatra. Medan has become merely an "exit point" for Sumatra's agricultural products, not a processing center that creates added value and economic justice for the people of Sumatra.

Ironically, funds generated from Sumatra's natural resources are channeled to Jakarta to build infrastructure and finance a metropolitan lifestyle. Sumatra becomes a cash cow, while Jakarta enjoys the milk. This is not social justice—this is internal colonialism carried out by the country itself.

Sulawesi and the Dream of Delayed Justice

In the far east, Sulawesi, with its extraordinary wealth of nickel, gold, and maritime potential, is actually lagging further behind the promise of justice that was proclaimed yesterday. Makassar, Sulawesi's largest city, should be Indonesia's gateway to Australia and the Pacific, as well as a center of economic justice for Eastern Indonesia.

But the reality? Makassar still depends on Jakarta for various strategic decisions, from major investments to international market access. When Indonesia succeeded in becoming the world's largest nickel producer, Sulawesi as the main pocket of national nickel should have become the center of a fair and sustainable metal processing industry. However, most decisions and major businesses are still controlled from Jakarta. Sulawesi becomes the provider of raw materials, Jakarta becomes the controller of the value chain.

Where is the social justice for the people of Sulawesi whose land was dug for national prosperity, but only got crumbs from the economic cake they themselves produced?

Single Point of Failure: When Jakarta Sneezes, Pancasila Fever

In the world of information technology, there is a term "single point of failure"—a condition where damage to one component can paralyze the entire system. Greater Jakarta, with a concentration of 26.2% of the national economy, has become a single point of failure for the Pancasila state.

When Jakarta experiences major flooding, the entire national supply chain is disrupted. When Jakarta is completely congested, national productivity drops. When Jakarta is hit by a pandemic (such as COVID-19), all of Indonesia feels the impact disproportionately. As the saying goes, "an elephant dies leaving its ivory, a tiger dies leaving its stripes," but in the case of Jakarta: "Jakarta is sick, Pancasila is dying too."

Imagine if a major earthquake hit Jakarta right during the Pancasila ceremony like yesterday, or a tidal flood due to climate change submerged part of North Jakarta, or an even more extreme scenario such as the eruption of Mount Salak affecting the Jakarta-Bogor area. With 26.2% of the national economy concentrated in one disaster-prone geographic point, Indonesia could experience economic collapse in a matter of days.

China, with all its centralistic power, has never allowed one city to control more than 5% of the national economy. They deliberately developed seven megalopolises to spread the risk and realize equitable development. The United States, with its free market power, also has a relatively even economic distribution between metropolitan areas.

Indonesia? Instead, we proudly create an economic monster that has the potential to destroy the fifth principle of Pancasila and ourselves.

Pseudo Competitiveness in Global Competition

In international forums, Indonesia often boasts of Jakarta as a "global city" that will compete with Singapore, Hong Kong, or Tokyo. This narrative was even echoed in yesterday's speech as proof of the success of national development. It is not entirely wrong, but it is also not entirely in line with the spirit of Pancasila justice.

Yes, Jakarta has an impressive skyline, luxury malls that are no less than global cities, and technology startups that are starting to go global. But this is competitiveness that is built at the expense of the potential of other regions and violates the principle of equality. Like building a magnificent palace by demolishing the houses of the surrounding residents—beautiful to look at, but unfair to the whole.

Compare that with China. They not only built Beijing and Shanghai as global cities, but also Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, and dozens of other cities as economic centers that complement each other and create spatial justice. The result? China does not only have one or two cities that compete at the global level, but has a robust, fair, and mutually reinforcing urban system.

Meanwhile, Indonesia? We are still busy polishing Jakarta while letting Medan, Makassar, Surabaya, and other potential cities become "second-class cities" that only wait for drops of fortune from Jakarta. This is not a development strategy that is in accordance with the spirit of social justice—this is a recipe for permanent inequality.

Statistical Illusions That Endanger the Fifth Principle

This is the danger of the false growth map that we have embraced and celebrated—including in yesterday's commemoration of Pancasila. The macro figures that look impressive—4.87% growth, controlled inflation, a surplus trade balance—actually hide deep-rooted structural inequality that contradicts the fifth principle.

We celebrate growth that mostly only occurs in one geographic point. We are proud of "progress" that is actually the result of draining the potential of other regions. We admire the Jakarta skyline while ignoring the "empty skyline" in Banda Aceh, Pontianak, or Kendari.

Like someone who feels healthy because their blood sugar levels are normal, even though other organs are starting to fail. The statistics we were proud of yesterday were blood sugar levels. Jakarta is the pancreas. Meanwhile, other organs—Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua—are slowly losing their vitality and their right to social justice.

Struggling with Post-Pancasila Reality

Of course, changing this growth map is not easy, even after we proclaimed our commitment to justice yesterday. Jakarta did not become an economic monster overnight. There are historical, geographical, and even psychological factors that make Jakarta a magnet for all of Indonesia.

But the question is not whether it is easy or difficult. The question is: are we able to continue to betray the spirit of the fifth principle that we celebrated yesterday? Are we able to face the risk when this single point of failure really fails? Are we willing to see the extraordinary potential of Medan, Makassar, or Balikpapan continue to be buried just to maintain Jakarta's supremacy which is contrary to social justice?

In a country that yesterday celebrated its commitment to "Social Justice for All Indonesian People", we have created one giant emerald in Jakarta while letting other gems in Sumatra, Kalimantan, and Sulawesi lose their luster. We build a sky-high tower in one place while letting other places sink into the darkness of injustice.

As the Minang proverb says: "Buliah jadi urang, jan jadi urang bana" (maybe someone, don't be a real person). Indonesia may have a big and magnificent Jakarta, but don't let it become a real Jakarta—one that forgets that outside Jakarta, there are still 17,499 other islands that deserve to feel the social justice promised yesterday.

The question now is: are we able to free ourselves from this addiction to false growth and start building a growth map that truly reflects the fifth principle of Pancasila? Or will we continue to play around with statistics while building an economic house of cards that is ready to collapse at any time, while betraying the promise of justice that we just said yesterday?

The answer to this question will not only determine the future of Jakarta, but also the future of Indonesia as a Pancasila state that is truly committed to social justice for all its people.