Sukarno Quotes & Sayings

Reach your ambition as high as the skies! Dream it as high as the skies! Because if you're fell, you're gonna fall among of the stars!! — Sukarno

Where Slavery is, there Liberty cannot be; and where Liberty is, there Slavery cannot be. — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

I don't want to be a dictator, because it is contrary to my own conscience. I am a democrat, but I don't desire democratic liberalism. On the contrary, I want a guided democracy ... I have a conception of my own, which I will put at the disposal of the party leaders if required. — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

It has been the case for some time that I have made myself dizzy thinking about the fact that the implementation of the Three-fold Program of the government, above all in the area of food and clothing, has been experiencing difficulties. — Sukarno

We feel free ... Now we are really self-reliant. This is the great advantage of teaching ourselves to become a free people, no longer one that always asks, 'Aid, aid, please.' — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

I embrace the PKI because it is a revolutionary force. PKI go forward. PKI never retreat. PKI grow. PKI be strong. Onward. — Sukarno

How terrifically dynamic is our time! We can mobilize all the spiritual, all the moral, all the political strength of Africa and Asia on the side of peace. Yes, we! We, the people of Asia and Africa! — Sukarno

I hate imperialism. I detest colonialism. And I fear the consequences of their last bitter struggle for life. We are determined, that our nation, and the world as a whole, shall not be the play thing of one small corner of the world — Sukarno

The defense of the revolution is the defense of the people. — Sukarno

This country, the Republic of Indonesia, does not belong to any group, nor to any religion, nor to any ethnic group, nor to any group with customs and traditions, but the property of all of us from Sabang to Merauke! — Sukarno

Never, ever forget history. — Sukarno

It was [the concept of] nationalism that Indonesia was established on. Not the Javanese, not the Sumatran, not the Bornean, Sulawesi, Bali or others, but the Indonesian, that together became the foundation of one nationale staat (nation-state). — Sukarno

Not only should the Indonesian people believe in God, but every Indonesian should believe in his own God. — Sukarno

If Marcos wants to aid Malaysia, that's his business, but we will continue to crush Malaysia, even if we have to fight alone. — Sukarno

What America did in Vietnam and the Congo - we feel. And as a result come these demonstrations. I am not defending the act of burning USIS books. We deplore it. But we can understand the motives of the students. — Sukarno

Yes, definitely we want to see A or B or C and so forth live safely and soundly. But as mortal creatures, they will disappear in the end. No, we are not struggling above all else for mortal individuals, but rather for the idea of the glorious and powerful nation which sustains the eighty million Indonesians. — Sukarno

If, for example, one day Ki Bagoes Hadikoesoemo becomes the Indonesian Head of State, and dies, won't his child be [his replacement]? Then because of that I do not adhere to the principle of monarchism. — Sukarno

They, OLDEFO (Old Established Forces), carry out l'exploitation de l'homme par 'homme (the exploitation of man by man). Do not let them live, so that there's no colonialism anymore in the world. — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

Indonesia is rich in natural resources. Indonesia is rich in manpower with its 103 million inhabitants - not like Malaysia with its 10 million. — Sukarno

I am very unhappy about reports that I was seeking asylum in Manila. — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

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 thoughtlessly, to act dangerously. — Sukarno

If we truly understand, remember, and love the people of Indonesia, let us accept this principle of social justice, that is, not only political equality, but we must create equality in the economic field, too, which means the best possible well-being. — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

Independence can only be obtained and secured by a nation that has its spirit raging with determination: independence or death! — Sukarno

What, exactly, did Sjahrir do for the Republic? ... His entire underground effort can be summed up by saying that he sat quietly and safely away somewhere listening to a clandestine radio. — Sukarno

Insofar as Pancasila is concerned, I am only its formulator: a formulator of those feelings which have been present silently in the heart of the Indonesian people. — Sukarno

Upbuilding is necessary for the uplifting of our soul ... Indonesia must be a strong country packed with factories. This is our utopia. — Sukarno

Do good to another man, even when they do not do you good; another will certainly do you good. if there is still shame and fear in one's heart to do good, there will certainly be no progress at all. — Sukarno

We are a fighting nation, continually struggling to overcome diseases from within ... and to face up to foreign intervention from without. — Sukarno

Which other people in this world stop up holes in their sidewalks with cassava, brothers and sisters? Only Indonesia itself, on account of the abundance of its food. — Sukarno

Hatta always gave the impression of rain. If I was in a real good mood and full of ideas and then happened to encounter Hatta, I felt I was suddenly surprised by a shower of rain and got wet all over the body. My good mood was gone, and also my ideas. — Sukarno

Don't ever forget the history. It will make and change who we are. — Sukarno

Crush Malaysia! Indonesia may change its tactics, but our goal will remain the same. — Sukarno

Peking welcomed me with tremendous parades and gun salutes. The people with me are proud of me, proud that our downtrodden country has taken its place among the great nations. And now, people of America, I ask you, why didn't Eisenhower accord me the same respect? — Sukarno

We are not facing great economic difficulties. The Indonesian people are faring reasonably well - just compare us to India or some other countries. — Sukarno

Even if you were a general in 1945, if you split the revolutionary national unity today, if you are an enemy of the main pillars of the revolution today, then you have become a force of reaction! — Sukarno

I liked Kennedy. So far, he is the only American president who could talk with me and with whom I could talk. I know Johnson, but I have not yet a clear opinion of him. — Sukarno

If some nation says to us, 'You can have aid, but you have to end confrontation,' then I say, 'Go to hell with your aid.' — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

America likes you only if you're on the side she selects. If you don't go along with her totally, you're automatically considered to have entered the Soviet bloc. — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

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? — Sukarno

The principle of building an economy without foreign monopoly capital has become a principle which, for us, is no longer subject to amendment. — Sukarno

If I used to say that Indonesia would be free when the corn ripens, I can now say that Indonesia will be free before it blossoms. — Sukarno

Am I not peaceful? We want to be free - completely free. Free to be free. We want to be left alone. — Sukarno

The sophisticates of Java, the traders of Sumatra, the peasants from the outer islands found no common ground. During siesta time from one to five, the Islamic group met separately, the Nationalist group met separately, the Federalist and Unitarians met separately. — Sukarno

Let us not be bitter about the past, but let us keep our eyes firmly on the future. — Sukarno

We liberate our nation's heart inside of Indonesian independence!! Ibn Saud liberated Arabian's heart inside of Saudi Arabian independence one by one!! Stalin liberated Soviet-Russian's heart inside of Soviet one by one!! — Sukarno

I myself am sometimes fed up with Hatta's policies. Hatta and I sometimes bug each other, but omitting Hatta from the Proclamation Text ... that is the action of a coward! — Sukarno

Our socialism does not include extreme materialistic concepts, since Indonesia is primarily a God-fearing, God-loving nation. Our socialism is a mixture. We draw political equality from the American Declaration of Independence. We draw spiritual equality from Islam and Christianity. We draw scientific equality from Marx. — Sukarno

Rose never propagandize its fragrant, but its own fragrance spreads through its surrounding. — Sukarno

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. — Sukarno

I always start from the stand that it is imperialism that needs us, not we who need the imperialists. — Sukarno

If I am not mistaken, it was a British poet who said that 'no one is properly dressed unless he wears a smile.' — Sukarno

Even a child, if he looks at a map of the world, can point out that the Indonesian archipelago forms one unity. On the map, there can be shown a unity of the group of islands between two great oceans - the Pacific Ocean and the Indies Ocean - and between two continents - the continent of Asia and the continent of Australia. — Sukarno

Nationalism cannot flower if it does not grow in the garden of internationalism. — Sukarno

No one shrieked, 'We want Bung Hatta.' I did not need him. Just as also I did not need Sjahrir, who refused to show himself at the time of the reading of the Proclamation. Indeed, I could do it myself, and indeed, I did it alone. — Sukarno

A thousand of old man are just able to dream, but a young man is able to change the world! — Sukarno

Learning without thinking is useless, but thinking without learning is very dangerous! — Sukarno

To me, both the Declaration of Independence and the Communist Manifesto contain underlying truths, but the West doesn't permit a middle road. — Sukarno

Conquer the thousands of man may not be called a winner, but be able to conquer yourself is called a brilliant conqueror! — Sukarno

The worst cruelty that can be inflicted on a human being is isolation. — Sukarno

At least Russia and China didn't call us names when we smiled sweetly at America. — Sukarno

Like David Copperfield, I was born amidst poverty and grew up in poverty. I did not own shoes. I did not bathe in water from a tap. I did no know about forks and spoons. — Sukarno