[Marinir] Indonesia Digest No.02.08 ; 31 - 01 - '08

[Yap Hong Gie]

INDONESIA DIGEST
Indonesia's complex Issues in a Nutshell
By: Ms. Wuryastuti Sunario
Published by: TBSC-Strategic Communication
No.: 02.08 - Dated: 31 January 2008

Our deepest condolences at the demise of Indonesia's Second
President, Soeharto

In this issue:
Main Feature:
INDONESIA MOVES BEYOND THE SOEHARTO ERA

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Main Feature:

INDONESIA MOVES BEYOND THE SOEHARTO ERA

By : Tuti Sunario
For Indonesia Digest, 31 January 2008.

January 2008 has been a most emotionally-filled month for the larger part of
Indonesians, ever since the news broke that Soeharto, Indonesia's second
president, who had ruled the country for 32 long years - from 1966-1998 -
was admitted to the Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta in "most critical
condition".

Every morning at 10 a.m. the team of specialist doctors who were entrusted
with treating the former president would hold a press conference, explaining
very extensively the precarious condition that Soeharto was in and what
actions had been taken from hour to hour  to improve his health. For three
weeks Indonesia's television stations held the nation spellbound as they
reported from morning till even past midnight, in great detail on both the
health of Soeharto, as well as who of present and former dignitaries and
celebrities came to the hospital to wish him well.

On 11 January, the special team of doctors numbering 40 specialists in all
medical fields, confirmed that Soeharto was suffering from multi-organ
failure and edema and was therefore connected to life supporting ventilator.
Although the plan was originally to connect the ventilator for a maximum of
five days only, nonetheless 7 days after its attachment, former president
Soeharto was still unable to be completely weaned out of the machine. On
Tuesday evening, doctors told the press that Soeharto's lungs now depended
only some 40% on the ventilator. However, the ventilator had caused
infections in a number of organs which had slowed down the healing process.

On 12 January morning, after all out efforts by Indonesia's top specialists,
Soeharto was reported to be in stable condition, although still critical
since his health fluctuated from day to day between improving and worsening,
nonetheless, doctors underlined, the patient continued to be in critical
condition being treated in the Intensive Critical Cardiac Unit.

And as the weeks went by and the nation followed the daily ups and downs of
Soeharto's health, - and as the media reported how tenacious Indonesia's
former leader was fighting for his life, - the ghosts of memories that the
nation thought had long been forgotten re-emerged, and with them their
accompanying emotions. For today, 10 years after Soeharto's resignation as
President in 1998, and as the end of his life was approaching, Indonesians
had suddenly to face the decision on what Soeharto actually meant, not only
for the nation, but to each and all.

Thirty two years of undisputed authority, going through some of the world's
most turbulent years, - beginning at the height of the Cold War in 1966 and
ending at the Asian Economic Crisis in 1998, is not a short period in
history to rule such a vast and diverse archipelago as Indonesia. This
country stretches as wide as the United States, equaling the distance
between London to Moscow, is inhabited by presently more than 200 million
people, originating from more than 300 ethnic groups with as many different
languages, traditions, customs and beliefs.

Was Soeharto a villain, a dictator, a hero, a saviour, a weak father, or a
strong leader with human emotions - or all of the above?


The Final Hours

On Sunday, 27 January 2009 at 13.10 Indonesia's second President, Soeharto,
who had ruled the country as undisputed leader for 32 years from 1966-1998,
breathed his last at the age of 86 at the Pertamina Hospital in South
Jakarta, having been in critical condition for 23 days since 4 January.

The night before his demise, on Saturday, 26 January just one hour before
midnight, the team of doctors found Soeharto's vital signs much improved,
giving them sufficient optimism that his condition was on the upswing. The
patient had been able to ingest soft food orally, and his lungs were
performing 90% on their own, with dependence on the ventilator weaned, now
providing only some 10% input. However, suddenly at around 01 a.m., 
Soeharto's
blood pressure was dropping dangerously, he had problems breathing, while
his kidney, lungs and digestive systems were weakening until they stopped
working altogether, and only his heart was beating weakly.

 In the daily 10 am press conference that fateful Sunday morning, Team
Chairman, dr. Mardjo Soebiandono declared that Soeharto was in most critical
condition as never before since his admittance into hospital. Between 3 -7
a.m., dr. Mardjo said doctors had affected resuscitation efforts, but at
time of giving this press briefing, only Soeharto's heart was beating
weakly, while the ventilator had already totally taken over the function of
the lungs.  At 13.10 hrs doctors announced that Soeharto had passed away.

And with his death an era in Indonesia's history closed, where for 32 years
Soeharto led this huge nation for better and for worse.

Soon after, President Bambang Yudhoyono, in his televised statement
expressed his deep condolences with the passing away of Indonesia's long
ruling leader, declaring national mourning for 7 days with the Indonesian
red-and-white flag to be flown at half-mast throughout the country.

The next day on Monday, 28 January, former President Soeharto was given a
state funeral with official ceremonies befitting his former status as
Indonesia's second president, buried at his family mausoleum near the
Central Java city of Solo. Soeharto was interred next to his wife, Ibu Tien
Soeharto, who had preceded him. The body was officially sent off from his
home in Jakarta by Speaker of Parliament, Agung Laksono, while leading the
burial ceremony in Solo was President Yudhoyono himself.

Were all these not exaggerated efforts for a president who is today branded
by international media as dictator and corruptor?

To most Indonesians, who believe that it is most important for a dying
person to be forgiven for all wrongdoings in order to ease his of her way to
face the Creator, many stated that Soeharto should be forgiven for all his
mistakes now, since, on balance, Soeharto had contributed a large part of
his life to the welfare of Indonesia. In many parts of the country
communities held voluntary prayer sessions that his soul may rest in peace.

Others, however, especially those who had been captured or randomly exiled
and stigmatized and untried until today through their alleged direct or
indirect involvement in 1965 botched coup by the Indonesian Communist Party,
PKI, and its affiliates  - or those whose relatives had mysteriously
disappeared as they dared to dissent against Soeharto, or even those who
accuse Soeharto and his cronies of having stolen billions of dollars in
corruption cases - there can be only one solution: Soeharto must be tried.

Indeed, the People's Consultative Assembly, MPR, formerly the highest
political body in the country, had ruled that Soeharto must be tried for
alleged large-scale corruption. One case, of the Supersemar Institute was
still ongoing in Court, although years earlier, Soeharto was declared unfit
to face trial by his then team of doctors.

A Grieving Nation says Goodbye to its former Leader

But, when the reality sank in that former president Soeharto had indeed
departed for always, even the normally critical Indonesian press that had
earlier lambasted Soeharto fell silent. All eyes and attention were now
focused on his remains that was transported by ambulance from the hospital
to his private home at Jalan Cendana, and the next day, from Cendana to
Jakarta's military airport at Halim Perdanakusumah, to Solo airport to his
final resting place at Astana Giri Bangun near Solo. It is the Muslim custom
that is now adopted throughout Indonesia that the deceased be buried within
24 hours. And it was apparently also at Soeharto's request that he be buried
before noon.

And so, since early morning, as throughout the night at Jalan Cendana, all
along the route where the cortege passed, throngs of people were lining up
to bid their last farewell to Indonesia's former leader. The cortege was
forced to move very slowly through Jakarta's narrow streets as crowds tried
to touch the ambulance that carried Soeharto's remains. What surprised and
baffled everyone, especially skeptical politicians and journalists, - was
that these were silent crowds, ordinary Indonesian people, young and old,
some praying, others waving goodbye with tears in their eyes. Such was the
scene all the way from Cendana to the airport in Jakarta and again from Solo
Airport to Giri Bangun. The impression as seen through television was not
that these were angry crowds. There was no hatred in their eyes, these were
people who respected and perhaps loved Soeharto.

What did all this mean? Where was the wrath, violent demonstrations and
hatred that brought down Soeharto from power in 1998? Was this, what
political scientists call: the opinion of the silent majority?


The Rise of Soeharto

On 1 October, when I was just starting to leave for work around 07.0 am, an
announcement came through the RRI, Indonesia's national Radio station (at
that time Indonesia had barely started with black and white television). A
Col. Untung of the Presidential Security unit, known as Cakrabirawa,
declared that he had taken over as Head of State, since leaders of the Army
had been arrested the night before for treason and corruption, while nobody
knew the whereabouts of Indonesia's first President, Soekarno.

It was rumoured widely that the Communists had taken over Indonesia, as
President Soekarno had mysteriously disappeared for days. Indonesia's
Communist Party under Aidit was at the time the third largest communist
party in the world after China and Russia.

That same evening, on 1 October1965, the voice of General Soeharto, Chief of
the Strategic Forces (Kostrad) came over the air to declare that an
attempted coup d'etat had been quashed. Seven Army generals had been
kidnapped by the rebels the night before, on 30 September, and were most
probably killed, among whom were Chief of the Army, General Yani, and top
Army leadership General Parman, General Sutoyo, General Pandjaitan, General
Suprapto and General M.T.Haryono, while the whereabouts of President
Soekarno was still not known.

Later it was known that Chief of the Armed Forces, General Nasution who was
also on the hit list, had escaped shooting in his house, that, however,
killed his little daughter, while his aide, Pierre Tendean, who had
disguised himself as General Nasution, had been carried away by the rebels.
A few days later, the badly tortured and mutilated bodies of the seven, now
declared National Heroes, were discovered in a dry well within the Air Force
grounds called the Lubang Buaya area by the Halim Perdanakusumah airport,
which was then also the stronghold of the Communist party. Soeharto's
resolve to avenge those responsible for the death of the Army leadership
could be clearly read from his face then, as he watched the grim remains -
of most of whom were his personal close friends, -  brought up one by one by
Marine divers.

What followed remains a black period in Indonesia's history. Communists and
alleged communists and their families across the country were massacred, not
only by the army but also by local communities, who despised and felt
threatened by communism for its rejection of the Supreme Being or of any
religion. East Java, home of devout Muslims, and Bali, home of devout Hindus
witnessed the worst scenes of horizontal (public) conflict that caused the
most deaths.

One must remember that this period was the height of the Cold War that
started in 1945, when the world's superpowers faced one another in two
blocs. On the one hand were Russia and China who were bent to expand
communist power in the world, and on the other side was America who was
intent that the world must be ruled through democracy. Either side wished to
crush the other, facing each other in world arenas with escalating nuclear
warheads. The year 1961 saw the Bay of Pigs invasion, in 1962 came the Cuban
Missile Crisis, in 1965 USA sent 150,000 troops to Vietnam to halt communist
invasion from the north, even while in 1963 President Kennedy was
assassinated. These were most turbulent years in the world around 1965 when
General Soeharto emerged to become Indonesia's second president.

In 1966, Soeharto was elected President by MPR. While former President
Soekarno, who emerged after three days of disappearance, was accused of
having conspired with Indonesia's communist party, tilting the country
towards communism. Soekarno was detained in house arrest at Wisma Yaso,
the house in Jakarta built by his fourth - Japanese wife, Dewi, where he 
stayed
until his death.

Besides leaving a heritage of political upheaval, Soekarno had left a legacy
of a nation in economic shambles, suffering a galloping inflation of 600%.

General Soeharto, apparently, had climbed the rungs of the Army from a
simple peasant's son. He married Ibu Tien, a royalty from the Mangkunegaran
Palace in Solo. It is this military and agricultural background that had
stood him in good stead in the early days of his rule.

His first action as president was to completely abolish the Indonesian
Communist Party, PKI (and all Communist teachings), who masterminded the
coup, calling this the "Gerakan 30 September/PKI" or G30S for short.   And
so, almost overnight, Indonesia routed the then powerful communist party
from this country.  Soeharto then restored Indonesia's political direction
to be based on the Five Pillars of Indonesia's democracy, known as
Pancasila, as formulated by former President Soekarno and Indonesia's
founding fathers in 1945. With Indonesia's foreign policy to remain that of
a "free and active foreign policy", meaning leaning to neither bloc, but
based on the best interests of the nation.
To restore the economy, Soeharto gathered together Indonesia's best brains -
later known as the Berkeley Mafia, among whom were Prof. Widjojo Nitisastro
as economic team leader, Emil Salim, Sumarlin, and others who were entrusted
with the difficult task of reining in Indonesia's inflation rate and to
restore balance to the economy.

In an obituary talkshow on television, Prof. Emil Salim emphasized that
Soeharto's vision, focus and priorities to improve the people's welfare were
very clear. These were:
1. cut inflation; 2. build food self sufficiency, 3. improve people's
education, and 4. cut the population explosion through birth control. All of
these had one central aim, namely: to reduce poverty.

These were the priorities during the first 3 Five-Year-Plans, known as
Repelita. Coming from an agricultural background, Soeharto understood well
the needs of the common peasants. They needed infrastructure support,
irrigation, fertilizers, pest control, which became his first priority.
Until indeed in 1984 Indonesia declared that it was now self sufficient in
rice production, a turn around from having been the largest rice importer in
the world. It was then that President Soeharto was named "Indonesia's Father
of Development".

It was, however after the 3rd. Pelita, continued Prof. Emil Salim, when the
cabinet's attention became divided between ministers who advocated stepping
up Development through the growth of processing industries, since Indonesia
was rich in natural and mineral resources - among these were the
economists - and others who advocated that a quantum leap was needed for
Indonesia in high-tech industries to rise at par with other countries
(understood but not named by Emil Salim - was the group behind Prof.
Habibie).  That is why, Emil Salim tacitly explained, why Indonesia now has
such problems with food supply, including cooking oil, rice, and soy beans
that are staples for the population, because Indonesia is now wanting in
processing industries.

What were then Soeharto's weaknesses? Prof. Emil Salim believes that first
and foremost, Soeharto had ruled the country for too long. For now had come
a new generation that demanded change and had new and different aspirations.
Indonesia's economic attention was then also more focused on price policies,
while decisions made were not with the people (through Soeharto's increased
autocratic rule). Moreover, the Javanese custom adhered to by Soeharto, of
not calling a spade a spade, so as not to hurt the other person's feelings
has resulted in many grey areas and unclear communications in policies and
management, leaving a lot of guesswork and misinterpretations.

Soeharto's insistence on the country's stability as undisputed top priority,
had, therefore, on the one hand benefited the country's economic growth and
welfare of the people, however, on the other hand it had stunted the
democratic process, and marginalized anyone who dared to oppose Soeharto's
decisions.
What now after Soeharto's death?

A very insightful article I found was written by Seth Mydans in the New York
Times of January 12, 2008, entitled: "A Resilient Indonesia Moves Beyond
Suharto", which I quote verbatim:

"As Indonesia's former strongman, Suharto lay on his sickbed this week, the
country that rejected him 10 years ago was in the early stages of a
democratic election campaign.
Though the nation's leaders spoke with respect of the man who had been their
master and mentor for three decades, they were by their actions repudiating
him, moving forward with a new Indonesia that contrasts in almost every way
with one he bequeathed to them.

>From one of the most centralized and controlled countries in the region, it
>has transformed itself into one of the most decentralized, free, open and
>self-regulating.

>From a brutal and corrupt regime under the heel of the military, it has
>become the standard bearer of democracy in Southeast Asia. It stands out
>for its political liberalism at a time when coups and coup attempts have
>discredited the region's two exemplars of democracy, Thailand and the
>Philippines.

"Indonesia represents a good-news story in the region and in the world,"
said Ralph Boyce, a former United States ambassador to Indonesia during the
post-Suharto period.

It did not disintegrate as a nation or fragment into a tumult of mini-wars,
as many people feared when the dictator suddenly released his grip. It was
not engulfed in Islamic radicalism, although that struggle is still playing
itself out. It did not fall back into the grip of the military or collapse
in economic ruin.

"They're well on their way to establishing a more democratic and modern
Indonesia," Mr. Boyce said, "which is quite a challenge when you are dealing
with one of the world's largest and most disparate societies."

A vast archipelago with a population of 240 million, Indonesia is the 
world's
fourth most-populous nation, whose people are 90 percent Muslim. As the
country with the largest Muslim population in the world, it is demonstrating
that Islam can be compatible with democracy.

Since Mr. Suharto was ousted as president in May 1998, Indonesia has had
four presidents, all of whom have worked, unlike him, within the democratic
system. The next election is a year away but already three of the four have
declared that they want the job again.

In the past decade, Indonesia has held three national elections and more
than 300 elections for provincial and district officials in votes that have
been judged to be relatively clean and in which the results have mostly been
accepted by the losers.

In the marketplace of elections, political Islam has failed to win support,
and Indonesians have mostly rejected the radicalism and violence of Islamist
groups. In general, the country has become more devoutly religious but has
not embraced extremism.

"I think the more hard-line Islamists discredited themselves in the early
post-Suharto period" when they attempted to bully the nation into Islamic
conservatism, said Greg Fealy, a specialist on Indonesia at the Australian
National University.
"They added to the wariness that the general public had toward strong
Islamism."

After three decades in power during which he bent Indonesia to his will, Mr.
Suharto disappeared almost completely from public life, puttering quietly in
his modest home in central Jakarta as his health grew steadily worse.

"What we learned," said Mr. Boyce, "is that at least in Indonesia, when you
lose absolute power, you lose it absolutely."

In today's Indonesia, Mr. Suharto is not even a reference point against
which policies and reforms are measured. His legacy is a mixture of economic
growth, a culture of corruption and a stunted political system.

A nation that was written off as an economic failure when he took power in
1965 became one of Asia's tigers. Roads, schools, clinics and electricity
raised living standards, and economic liberalism tied the economy to the
outside world.

When the economy collapsed during the Asian financial crisis of 1997, Mr.
Suharto lost the basis of his legitimacy, and growing discontent burst into
the open.

In the decade since then, Indonesia has climbed back toward prosperity.
A growth rate that fell to a negative 13 percent has risen to more than 6
percent.

But although the nation embraced democracy with starved enthusiasm, it
found that Mr. Suharto had eviscerated its institutions, weakened its 
political parties and blocked the rise of potential leaders, setting back 
its political development.

There are no fresh faces in the presidential field for 2009. Political
analysts say they are waiting until the next vote, in 2014, to see a new
generation emerge.

One of the most profound changes has been the decentralization that
dispersed power and political accountability from the all-powerful executive
in Jakarta to local governments around the country.




The country's bank deposits fell from 70 percent in the capital, Jakarta, to
35 percent, said Craig Charney, a political scientist and pollster based in
New York - "a redistribution of wealth rare in countries outside of
revolution or war."

This has increased the political accountability of local leaders,
potentially improving the delivery of government services, and it has
increased stability by defusing separatist demands.

But it has also run the risk of creating what people here call hundreds of
corrupt and autocratic mini-Suhartos. And it has weakened the hand of the
central government in putting its policies into effect.

This accomplishment is Indonesia's main task today, said Defense Minister
Juwono Sudarsono, a cabinet minister under every president since the time
of Suharto.

"Before we claim to be the third largest democracy we have to overcome what
I call the delivery deficit," he said. "For democracy to take root here it
must prove that it can improve the lives of the people."

Forty-nine million people live on less than $2 a day, he said. Ten million
are unemployed. Large numbers have no access to health care, primary
education or clean water. The infant mortality rate is one of the highest in
the region.

"We call it procedural democracy," said Bonar Tigor, who heads a
pro-democracy group called Solidarity Without Borders. "We have freedom
of political expression. We have good freedom of the press and freedom of
assembly. We no longer have political prisoners." But he said, "Democracy
has been kidnapped by the elites who have gotten all the benefits. The hard
daily life of the people on the bottom is still the same."

For many of these people, the controls of the Suharto regime offered a
marginally better life. Commodities like gasoline, rice, sugar and cooking
oil were subsidized by the government. Now the poor are at the mercy of the
market.

Problems like these are challenges for the country's democratic government,
the hard work of everyday governance. Indonesia's success now depends on
small and incremental changes rather than on the heart-stopping historical
turning points of a decade ago.

"The biggest news here is that there is no crisis," said Douglas Ramage, the
country representative for the Asia Foundation.

"What strikes me is the sheer normality of the country. Indonesia is now a
normal nation" wrote Seth Mydans.



Life Beyond Soeharto

Witnessing the grieving crowds that followed the cortege carrying the
remains of former President Soeharto, many asked themselves: does this mean
that people are looking with nostalgia to "the good old days" of Soeharto -
at the same time expressing their tacit criticism on the Yudhoyono
government of present worsening economic woes? Does this mean that people
will again wish the return of a strong leader or even the return of the
Soeharto "dynasty", just as Megawati, daughter of Indonesia's first
President Soekarno had managed to rise again to become Indonesia's fifth
President?

Prof. Kancu, political expert of the University of Airlangga in East Java, I
believe, has the correct answer: Yes, indeed, Indonesian people today yearn
for those days of better economic life that they enjoyed during the Soeharto
era, but they also wish this to be in a democratic setting and context, and
not against a background of autocracy that denied openness, violated human
rights, and thrived on corruption, said Prof. Kancu.

How this can be achieved is now upon the shoulders of Indonesia's present
and next generation leaders.


For your comments or further inquiries, please e-mail to:
tbsc-strategy at indo.net.id