Acuna, Bravo D.

Edma, Frances Daniella N.

INDONESIA
(Military rule to Democracy Stability)

FACTS ABOUT INDONESIA

1. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world (255.4 million people per a 2015
estimate) and the fastest growing population according to WHO.

2. 3 of 10 biggest Island in the world located in Indonesia which is consist with Sumatra (being
the 6th), Borneo (being the third) and Papua (being the second)

3. Indonesia is home of the largest Chinese population in the world consisted with Hakka
Chinese, Han Chinese, Wu Chinese etc. although minority, the race has been control the
country’s economic aspect untill now.

4. Indonesia is the only nation with no language legacy from its colonialist (Indonesian never
know how to speak Dutch, Japanese, Portuguese)

5. Indonesia contains the largest Muslim population of all countries in the world. The current
number of Muslim inhabitants is estimated to be around 207 million individuals, most of whom
adhere to Sunni Islam. Islamic principles do play an important role in the nation's political
decision making, but Indonesia is not a Muslim or Islamic state.

History of Indonesia

Hindu-
Buddhist Portuguese British Japanese Soekarno’s Reformation
Civilizations Occupation Occupation Occupation Presidency Era

Pre- Dutch Independence Suharto’s

The age Dutch
History/ Rule Rule of Indonesia Presidency
of Islamic
Ancient
Times
States

Prehistory/ Ancient Times

The archipelago was formed after the latest ice age. Early humans travelled by sea and
spread from mainland Asia eastward to New Guinea and Australia. Homo sapiens reached
Pleistocene land bridges from the mainland by 45,000 years ago.

Hindu-Buddhist Civilizations
In the 7th century, the powerful Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya arose on Sumatra. It
controlled much of Indonesia until 1290 when it was conquered by the Hindu Majapahit Empire
from Java. Majapahit (1290-1527) united most of modern-day Indonesia and Malaysia. Although
large in size, Majapahit was more interested in controlling trade routes than in territorial gains.
The Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya was the first major Indonesian commercial sea power
able to control much of the trade in Southeast Asia by virtue of being located on the Strait of
Melaka. Merchants from Arabia, Persia and India brought goods to Srivijaya’s coastal cities in
exchange for goods from China and local products.
 At the end of the 10th century, the Hindu-Buddhist kingdom declined. The centre of power
shifted from Central to East Java and it was a period when Hinduism and Buddhism were
syncretized and when Javanese culture began to come into its own.

The age of Islamic States

The spread of Islam among the inhabitants of the Indonesian archipelago dates to the 13th
century in northern Sumatra. The spread of Islam was driven by increasing trade links outside of
the archipelago; in general, traders and the royalty of major kingdoms were the first to adopt the
new religion. Islamic traders introduced their faith to Indonesians in the trade ports around the
11th century. Islam slowly spread throughout Java and Sumatra, although Bali remained majority
Hindu.

Colonial Era

Portuguese Occupation
The Portuguese entered Indonesia in 1511 searching for spices and to spread the ideas of
Christianity. The Portuguese had a strong military force during their reign that allowed them to
build various trading posts in some other areas of the nation. Their other skills included navigation
which allowed them to take charge of the sea and expand Indonesia even further. One of the first
areas that were explored by the Portuguese was Malacca. The Portuguese coming to Indonesia did
not really have an effect on or help the Indonesian culture and way of life. The main influences
that the Portuguese had on the Indonesians were negative. They completely upset the Indonesian
trade route by taking over all of the most important trading ports. They also succeeded slightly in
their quest to spread their religion of Christianity. This is due to the fact that you see this religion
in some parts of Indonesia even still today. Shortly after arriving, the Portuguese made an attempt
in the early 1600s to take control of Indonesia's spice trade industry. The Portuguese eventually
lost control in this specific area and the power was taken from them by the Dutch. Then the Dutch
took over Indonesia completely.

Dutch east India Company

The first Dutch expedition to Indonesia was in 1595. Then at the start of the century in
1602, the Dutch East India Company was established. Another name for the Dutch East India
Company is the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie more commonly known as the VOC. The
VOC was made to protect trade in the Indian Ocean and to assist in war of independence from
Spain. The Dutch had started their quest for Indonesian spices to sell on the European market at
big profit. After the nationalization of the VOC in 1799, the Dutch Government had a firm grip on
the vital territories of the country. People in those territories were forced to surrender their
agricultural produce to the Dutch merchants. It was the beginning of Dutch colonialism in
Indonesia. The Dutch begin to unify a government known as the Dutch East Indies, which is now
called Indonesia. The Dutch East Indies was formed to bring all of Indonesia under one
government. Not much else would happen in the 1600’s with the Dutch but a lot of violence would
follow in the 1700’s. Direct government control was exerted on the outer islands. Minor rebellions
broke out everywhere, from Sumatra to Timor, but these were easily crushed and the Dutch took
control from traditional leaders, thus establishing a true Indies empire for the first time.

British Occupation
During the Napoleonic wars in Europe when Holland was occupied by France, Indonesia
fell under the rule of the British East India Company. In those days slaves were captured and traded
by foreigners. The land-tenure system, replacing the hated Dutch forced-agricultural system,
whereby crops were grown and surrendered to the Government. When Napoleon fell from power
and the French left Holland, the Dutch and the British signed The Treaty of London in London
1824. This treaty stated that all colonies that belonged to the Dutch from 1801 be returned to the
Dutch Administrators. Therefore Indonesia was given by the British back to the Dutch.
Japanese Occupation
During World War II (1942-1945) the Japanese occupied Indonesia. Just like Indonesia's
previous colonists, the Portuguese and Dutch, the Japanese wanted the natural resources and a
perfect trading location. When the Japanese occupied Indonesia they destroyed the idea that the
Dutch were superior. The Dutch gave little resistance when the Japanese controlled their former
centers of power. Indonesians gladly accepted the Japanese because they felt that after three
centuries of western occupation and colonization they needed a dose of new Japanese ideas. The
time of Japanese controlled Indonesia brought a great movement for self-defense for the first time
in Indonesian history. Although World War II brought great hardship and hunger to Indonesia
under the Japanese’s cruel rule while occupying it, the Japanese also inspired something much
more important - nationalistic ideas. Shortly after Japan’s surrender in World War II, Indonesia
declared itself an independent country. Even though the Dutch retook control of Indonesia,
Indonesian nationalist groups began to form and Indonesians resented the Dutch’s imperialism due
to the ideas inspired by the Japanese.

Return of Dutch rule

Not much happened until 1938 when the Dutch had turned down the independence petition
proposed by the Indonesians. Four years later, the Japanese declared war on the Dutch and invaded
the Dutch East Indies. From 1942 to 1945 Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies. In 1945 the
Dutch regained control over the Dutch East Indies. Right after the Dutch regained control of
Indonesia they declared independence against the Dutch. From 1945 until 1949 the Dutch and
Indonesia fought for independence. Finally in 1949 the Dutch accepted Indonesia’s independence.

Independence in Indonesia
After World War II and after almost 400 years of colonization the Indonesians felt they
were ready to govern themselves and refused to remain under Dutch rule. Indonesia declared itself
an independent country in 1945, under the leadership of the self-appointed President Sukarno.
However, it would not be as simple as stating independence. The Dutch felt that Indonesians were
able to govern themselves and retook control of the island colonies of Indonesia. The Dutch
mounted a large offensive in July 1947, causing the UN to step in. After four years of unrest,
political meetings and negotiations, and losing the support of the United Nations, the Dutch were
finally forced to acknowledge Indonesia as an independent country on December 27th, 1949. In
the first years of independence, the threat of external attacks by the Dutch helped keep the
nationalists united. The founding fathers of Indonesia’s Indonesia’ independence agreed on
Pancasila as the state philosophy. Pancasila: 1) Belief in the One and Only God 2) Just and
Civilized Humanity; 3) The Unity of Indonesia; 4) Democracy; 5) Social Justice.
The military’s attitude to this early period of post-independence politics was very much
governed by its role in the independence struggle. ABRI (Armed Forces of Indonesia) considers
itself the progenitor of the state, having fought a war of independence against the Dutch from
1945-1949. The history of the Indonesian struggle has been a series of armed resistance put up by
the people against colonialism. As such ABRI projects itself as the guardian of the nation.

Sukarno’s Presidency
After their 1955 elections, the results laid bare potentially divisive forces in the infant
republic. The country was already afflicted by regional rebellions and the army grew restless,
forcing Sukarno to step in with an alternative to constitutional democracy in the form of ‘guided
democracy’. The powers were given to the Indonesian Communist Party, the Indonesian Army,
and President Sukarno, himself. Under this guided democracy, the PKI and its affiliated mass
organizations, with Suharto’s backing, vastly expanded their membership and influence. The
growth of PKI power alarmed other forces in Indonesian society, particularly the Muslim
community, but only the army had the power, cohesiveness, and discipline to block what appeared
to be the PKI’s inexorable march to power.
Sukarno was President of Indonesia from August 17th, 1945 (after the Japanese left and
before the Dutch retook control) to March 12th, 1967. Sukarno fell from power when he became
ill and he denied medical the treatment for a mild stroke. Sukarno's cabinet saw him as inadequate
for the job and performed a coop and removed him from power. That delicate balance of power
between the military and the PKI was destroyed when six of the most senior members of the
general staff were assassinated on the evening of September 30, 1965, in a failed coup led by junior
officers under the leadership of the commander of the presidential guard. The destruction of the
PKI left the military as the unchallenged arbiter of Indonesian politics, with Major General
Suharto, commander of the strategic reserve and the chief organizer of the opposition to the coup,
sitting uneasily at the top of the power structure.

The New Order

Although still president, Sukarno's powers were reduced more and more until Suharto was
formally named acting president in 1967 and inducted as Indonesia's second president in 1968.
Like Sukarno's Guided Democracy, the New Order under Suharto was authoritarian. Suharto
began to lay the foundations of the New Order regime. A bureaucracy-based organization, Golkar
(an abbreviation for Golongan Karya, or “functional groups”), was established as the political
instrument of the New Order. In the decades after 1966, Suharto's regime evolved into a steeply
hierarchical affair, characterized by tight centralized control and long-term personal rule. At the
top of the hierarchy was Suharto himself, making important policy decisions and carefully
balancing competing interests in a society that was, despite strong centralized rule, still extremely
diverse. Its personnel played a pivotal role not only in the highest ranks of the government and
civil service but also on the regional and local levels, where they limited the power of civilian
officials. The armed forces also played a disproportionate role in the national economy through
military managed enterprises or those with substantial military interests. Although opposition
movements and popular unrest were not entirely eliminated, Suharto's regime was extraordinarily
stable compared with its predecessor. His success in governing the worlds’ fourth most populous
and, after India, ethnically most diverse nation is attributable to two factors: the military's absolute
or near-absolute loyalty to the regime and the military's extensive political and administrative
powers.

Reformation Era
When President Suharto left office in May 1998 it marked the beginning of a new period
in Indonesian history. After being ruled by Suharto's authoritarian New Order regime for over
three decades, Indonesia embarked for a new phase called Reformation (Reformasi in Indonesian).
It was envisaged to be the starting period of a democracy with open and liberal politics in which
extensive autonomy would be transferred to the regions, away from the center (decentralization).
The basis of this transition was formulated in a law which passed parliament in 1999 and called
for the transfer of administrative powers from the central government to the regional districts.

Military Rule to Democracy Stability

Military Rule/Pre-Reform Indonesia

On July 5th, l959, the President Seokarno dissolved the Parliament and Konstituante with
a Presidential Decree and restored the 1945 Constitution. Seokarno declared that liberal democracy
had failed in Indonesia and had brought only disunity and misery to the people. Seokarno
proclaimed “Guided Democracy” as the suitable system for Indonesia. Sukarno ended Indonesia’s
first attempt at democracy. Indonesia now joined the group of countries to reverse from democracy
to authoritarianism. The rise of the military role in politics: dual functions of the military. Seokarno
took a leading role in Asian African countries solidarity and fight against colonialism. But his
misguided economic policies based on the notion of a “guided economy” brought chaos to the
economy and increased suffering for the common people. The end of Guided Democracy and the
rise of the New Order On September 30th 1965, an aborted coup d’etat was allegedly staged by
the communist party. Two military figures escaped from the assassination attempt, General
Nasution and attempt Mayor General Suharto. Proceeded to mobilize the loyal military forces, and
neutralized the units that were involved in the mutiny. The rift of President Sukarno and the
military. On May 11th 1966 President Sukarno, under pressure from the military and the public
issued a Letter of Instruction to accede authority of day-to- day-to-day government to General
Suharto.
 In the 1968 the Provisional MPR dismissed Seokarno as President and appointed General
Suharto as his successor, hence rise of the New Order. The military, bureaucracy and Golkar
(government party) constituted the political pillars of the New Order. Two other political parties
were allowed to exist, but were politically constrained. The floating mass concept (depolarization
of the masses) constituted an important aspect of the political strategy to sustain long-term political
long-stability. The political system had produced the intended result: political stability that had
endured for three decades, sustaining economic growth which in turn further reinforced its claim
to legitimacy. With political stability assured, the Suharto Government earnestly embarked on
economic development, which was widely considered as successful using various standard of
measurements. The economic performance of pre-crisis Indonesia could be seen as part of a
general pattern of successful economic development in Asia. Which has the characteristics of:
average rate of economic growth, rapid productivity growth, high rates of growth of manufactured
exports, declines in fertility, high growth rates of physical capital, supported by high rates of
domestic savings and investments, high initial levels and growth rates of human capital and
declining levels of poverty.

The fall of Military Rule/The End of Authoritarian Rule

All was to change when the 1997 Asian currency crisis spilled over into Indonesia,
savaging the country’s economy. Rising prices resulted in sporadic riots as the people, already
hard hit by the monetary crisis, looted shops owned by the minority ethnic Chinese, a significant
business class that became the scapegoat for this sudden loss of faith in the economy. Foreign debt
and inflation continued to skyrocket, many banks collapsed, and companies faced bankruptcy and
millions lost their jobs. At the same time, Suharto was up for re-election. This was a foregone
conclusion but, as never before, critics from the Islamic parties, opposition groups and especially
student demonstrators demanded that he step down. Throughout the turmoil the army reiterated its
support for the government. Tanks and army trucks appeared on the streets, but demands for
Suharto’s resignation increased. Jakarta erupted – in three days of rioting and looting, over 6000
buildings in the city were damaged or destroyed and an estimated 1200 people died. Law and order
collapsed. The army was often ineffectual as soldiers looked on, trying to portray the army as the
people’s ally. Suharto’s fall, dismissed him from the army and sent into exile for a few years. The
riots subsided but anti-Suharto demonstrations increased while the army threatened to shoot on
sight. The country looked on, fearing massive bloodshed. Still Suharto clung to the presidency,
but with the writing on the wall, some of his own ministers called for his resignation. Suharto
finally stepped down on 21 May, ending 32 years of rule.

The road to Democracy

It was during Habibie’s administration that most of the initiatives that significantly
accelerated Indonesia’s democratization were initiated. Constitutional Reform started with the
democratization process in Indonesia, although triggered by the 1997/1998 economic crisis, has
been undertaken relatively peacefully in conjunction with the reform of the constitution. The
weaknesses in the constitution contributed heavily to the concentration and abuse of power, the
lack of law and order, shallow citizen representation, opacity of governance, and the high incidence
of human rights abuses. The constitutional amendments included stipulations that all members of
parliament and regional representatives must be elected, thereby scrapping the military’s allocated
seats, as well as providing for the direct election of the president and vice president. The
amendment process happen in their transition to democracy. The First Amendment 1999, a term
limit of two consecutive five-year terms for the President and returned the power of legislation to
parliament. The Second Amendment 2000, decentralization and regional autonomy is given,
members of the parliament would have to be elected through public elections (this provision sends
the message that there should be no more appointed members to the parliament), the separation of
the police from the military, through a separate decree that is not part of the constitution, the
appointment of the commander of the armed forces and the chief of police have to be confirmed
by the parliament (this provision sent a clear signal that the military is subordinate to civilian
authority), and lastly a new section on human rights was constituted that incorporated statements
from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Third Amendment 2001, provides for
direct election by the people of the president and the vice president as a ticket. To be elected, the
candidate will have to get more than 50% elected of the popular vote with at least 20% of the vote
in at least half of all the provinces. Sets out rules and procedures for the impeachment of the
president, (the parliament can only propose that the president be impeached after requesting that
the (the newly established) Constitutional Court examine the charges against the president and
after receiving from the court a finding that the president is guilty as charged. This mechanism is
intended to prevent abuse of impeachment proceedings by the legislature) and lastly the elections
are carried out by an independent general e ect o commission. Election. The Fourth Amendment
2002, stipulates universal government-sponsored primary education, minimum aggregate
education spending of 20% from the national government and regional government budget
government’s budget, it incorporates clauses on social justice and environmental protection and
defines that the MPR consists of the parliament (House of Representatives or DPR) and the
Regional Representative Council (DPD).

Consolidating Democracy
In the post-transition period the Indonesian polity has to grapple with two key issues in
consolidating its nascent democracy: how best to strengthen the political culture, deepen
democracy, and enhance political institutionalization and how to improve the performance of the
newly established democratic regime.
The ending of the military’s dual function (or dwi-fungsi) and the establishment of civilian
supremacy over the military. Throughout the New Order period, the military had a social-political
function, as well as a defence and security function. With dwi-fungsi, the military was omnipresent
in Indonesian public life. It dominated the executive, had large numbers of seats in the legislature,
and was involved in business. The police force was regarded as a junior branch of the military,
with the military ultimately responsible for internal security. With Indonesia’s transition to
democracy, the military was gradually phased out of politics and business. Active military
personnel are now banned from taking public office, and if they wish to run for an elected position,
officers must resign first. By the 2004 general elections, all members of the legislature had to be
elected, the military would no longer enjoy reserved seats in the legislature. Besides being removed
from politics, the military was also separated from the police. The military is now primarily
responsible for national defence, while internal security is the domain of the police. The military
can be called to assist the police, but that call has to be made by the government, rather than at the
discretion of military commanders. Although there is still some way to go before the military
becomes a truly professional force and effective civilian oversight is achieved, it is now quite
inconceivable that the military would resume political power in Indonesia.
All political offices are elected through general elections. The clear separation of power
between the executive, legislative and judicial arms of the state, ending the domination of the
executive. While the Indonesian presidential system allows for a powerful executive, the
legislative branch has become equally powerful, and is not just a rubber stamp, like in the Soeharto
years. The judiciary is completely independent and the Constitutional Court enables the public to
challenge laws that they regard as problematic. But with the strong system of checks and balances
now in place, decision-making has become more difficult and time consuming. The political
process has been made even more complicated by the unwieldy multi-party system in which no
party has obtained a clear majority. This has resulted in a presidential system with semi-
parliamentary characteristics, manifest in a broad-based coalition cabinet, with the president and
vice president elected by popular vote. This is a radical departure from the New Order period.
Decentralization in Indonesia, one of the challenges facing Indonesia is keeping the country
united. The threat of separation has always plagued the country since the first days of
independence. One of the main grievance is income and regional disparity. It is a complex problem
and would take time and effort to resolve, but at the heart of the problem was the overly centralized
government structure and decision making process. Devolvement of central authority should be
the first step towards addressing the problem. Therefore decentralization constitutes one of the
most important aspect of reformation in Indonesia. Decentralization enhances the efficacy, quality
and efficacy legitimacy of democracy; hence decentralization is a necessity for democracy. It is
even more so for large and particularly large multiethnic and multicultural countries such as
multicultural Indonesia. Indonesia as decentralization will close the distance between the citizens,
the stakeholder, and the power and the process of policy making. Decentralization is not merely
political expedience to deal with rebellious regions, it has more basic value to democracy and
democratic consolidation. Thus consolidation decentralization enhances the legitimacy and hence
stability of democracy. With regional autonomy, the central government only has full authority
over seven areas: foreign policy, defence, security, justice, religion, monetary and fiscal policies.
Power has not only been divided horizontally between the different branches of government, but
also vertically, between the central, provincial and district administrations.
In Indonesia’s Civil Society, the existence of such a civil society is particularly important
to Indonesia at the present stage of democratic consolidation, as clean open consolidation clean,
open, transparent and accountable governance has yet to be established. The country needs an
active, informed, selflessly motivated civil society to strengthen the institutions of governance for
checking, monitoring and governance, checking restraining the exercise of power of the state, its
institutions and office holders and holding them accountable to the law and public expectations of
responsible government. Indonesia has a lively press, one of the freest in Asia. Civil society
organisations are active in community development, advocacy and policy research. Labour unions
are many and vocal. Public debates and at times unruly demonstrations have become common
features of Indonesia’s political life. Indonesians are also avid users of social media and have a
penchant for airing their views in public.

Civil-Military Relations in the new Democratic Order

• The Military and Parliament
• “Civilianization” of the Public Administration
• No More “Practical Politics”
• Civilian Ministers of Defense