Sukarno

Statesman

1901-06-06 – 1970-06-21

Sukarno was an Indonesian nationalist leader and the first president of Indonesia. He led the independence movement against Dutch colonial rule and served as president from 1945 to 1967.

Quotes by Sukarno

Bebek berjalan berbondong-bondong, akan tetapi burung elang terbang sendirian.
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Bebek berjalan berbondong-bondong, akan tetapi burung elang terbang sendirian.
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We must have a blueprint not only for a guided economy but for a social order based on justice and ensuring the well-being of the people.
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I am not an economist... I am not a business technician. I am a revolutionary, and I do what is right for an economic revolutionary.
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It is, of course, true that I have given priority to the settling of the problem of security and the problem of Irian Barat, although I knew that in order to do these things, almost three-quarters of our national product had to be spent.
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I would adore to make up with the United States of America... Oh, America, what is the matter with you? Why couldn't you have been my friend?
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Upbuilding is necessary for the uplifting of our soul... Indonesia must be a strong country packed with factories. This is our utopia.
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We must all build national unity, build all revolutionary forces, into one powerful wave to sweep away our main enemy, political imperialism and economic imperialism.
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To intoxicate the masses until they were heady with the wine of inspiration was all I lived for. To me, this was elixir... I wax lyrical. I literally am overcome, and this is transmitted to my listeners.
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I was weaned not on television or Wild West sagas but on stories of nationalism and patriotism. I would sit at my mother's feet by the hour and drink in these exciting tales of the freedom fighters in our family.
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The worst cruelty that can be inflicted on a human being is isolation.
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There is not one state truly alive if it is not as if a cauldron burns and boils in its representative body, and if there is no clash of convictions in it.
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We are living in a world of fear. The life of man today is corroded and made bitter by fear-fear of the future, fear of the hydrogen bomb, fear of ideologies. Perhaps this fear is a greater danger than the danger itself, because it is fear which drives men to act foolishly to act thoughtlessly, to act dangerously.
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Sometimes people have sympathized with me because long years of my life were spent in jail and in exile. Well, those years ... were a mixed experience. I hated them because they separated me from the dearest thing in the world-the struggle of my people for rebirth. At the same time, they were a blessing because I had what is so rare in this world-the opportunity of thinking about basic issues, the opportunity of examining afresh the beliefs I held.
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Nationalism cannot flower if it does not grow in the garden of internationalism.
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Revolution is only truly revolution if it is a continuous struggle-not just an external struggle against an enemy, but an inner struggle, fighting and subduing all negative aspects which hinder or do damage to the course of the revolution. In this light, revolution is ... a mighty symphony of victory over the enemy and over oneself.
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I am fascinated by revolution. I am completely absorbed by it. I am crazed, am obsessed by the romanticism... . Revolution surges, flashes, thunders in almost every corner of the earth... . Brothers and sisters, keep fanning the flames of the leaping fire. ... Let us become logs to feed the flames of revolution.
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