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Indonesia’s Democratic Opening

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2014

R. William Liddle
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Extract

ON 21 MAY 1998, INDONESIA'S AUTHORITARIAN PRESIDENT SUHARTO, in power since 1966, abruptly resigned from office and was succeeded by his vice-president, Bacharuddin Jusuf (B. J.) Habibie. Though retired for decades, Suharto was an army general and relied heavily on the support of the armed forces to rule this vast archipelago, the world's fourth largest country. Habibie is a civilian with long government service as minister of research and industry. President Suharto, Habibie often claimed, taught him everything he knew about politics.

Type
Articles
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , January 1999 , pp. 94 - 116
Copyright
Copyright © Government and Opposition Ltd 1999

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References

1 A colourful Habibie biography, written by an assistant, is Makka, A. Makmur, BJH: Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, His Life and Career, 3rd ed., Jakarta, Cidesindo, 1996 Google Scholar.

2 Huntington, Samuel P., The Third Wave: Democratization in the Twentieth Century, Norman, Oklahoma and London, University of Oklahoma Press, 1991 Google Scholar.

3 For example, Liddle, R. William, ‘Indonesia: Suharto's Tightening Grip’, Journal of Democracy, 7:4 (10 1966), pp. 58–72 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

4 The classic list of variables is in Dahl, Robert A., Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition, New Haven, Conn., Yale University Press, 1971 Google Scholar. A contemporary version is Diamond, Larry, Linz, Juan and Lipset, Seymour Martin, Democracy in Developing Countries, Boulder, Colorado, Lynne Rienner, 1989 Google Scholar.

5 For an extended discussion, see Liddle, R. William, ‘Coercion, Cooptation, and the Management of Ethnic Relations in Indonesia’, in Brown, Michael E. and Ganguly, Sumit (eds), Government Policies and Ethnic Relations in Asia and the Pacific, Cambridge, MIT Press, 1997, pp. 273–320 Google Scholar.

6 Indonesia's Muslim population (86 per cent of the total) can be divided into three groups: abangan, traditionalist and modernist. Abangan is a Javanese term, applied to Muslims whose religious beliefs and practices are more animist and Hindu than Islamic. Traditionalists are pious Muslims who adhere to the Syafi'i school of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam. Modernists are pious Muslims who reject the jurisprudential schools and their reliance on the authority of religious teachers/scholars, the ulama. Instead, modernists emphasize the believer's right to interpret the Qur'an directly. These distinctions were first made by Geertz, Clifford in The Religion of Java, Glencoe, The Free Press, 1960 Google Scholar. In recent decades there has been a general tendency for abangan to become pious Muslims. The boundaries between modernist and traditionalist have also become blurred, largely under the influence of modern Western-style schooling. None the less, the categories remain politically significant. There is also a growing number of secular Muslims who do not affiliate with any religiously-based political organizations.

7 Moertono, Soemarsaid, State and Statecraft in Old Java, Ithaca, New York, Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, 1968 Google Scholar.

8 Said, Salim, ‘Suharto's Armed Forces: Building a Power Base in New Order Indonesia, 1966-1998’, Asian Survey, 38: 6 (06 1998), pp. 535–52CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

9 Cribb, Robert (ed.), The Indonesian Killings 1965-1966, Clayton, Victoria, Monash University Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, 1990 Google Scholar.

10 Soebijono, A. S. S. Tarabunan, Mukmin, Hidayat and Astoeti, Roekmini Koesoemo, Dwifungsi ABRI, Yogyakarta, Gakjah Mada University Press, 1997 Google Scholar.

11 ‘ Undang-Undang Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 1945’, in Padmo Wahjono, S. H., Negara Republik Indonesia, Jakarta, Rajawali, 1982, p. 145 (my translation)Google Scholar.

12 This argument is examined more fully in Liddle, R. William, ‘A Useful Fiction: Democratic Legitimation in New Order Indonesia’, in Taylor, Robert (ed), The Politics of Elections in Southeast Asia, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp. 34–60 Google Scholar.

13 The phrasing is taken from the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution. See Padmo Wahjono, op.cit., p. 144 (my translation).

14 ‘Laporan Stenografi Amanat Presiden Soeharto pada Malam Raman Tamah Dengan Pengurus KNPI 19July 1982’, Jakarta, 1982 Google Scholar, typescript. This is an unofficial transcription of an extemporaneous speech in which President Suharto explained at length to young Golkar leaders the deep historical roots of New Order values.

15 The best account of the formation of ICMI is Anwar, M. Syafi'i, ‘Islam, Negara, dan Formasi Sosial dalam Orde Baru’, Ulumul Qur'an, 3: 3 (1992), Supplement, pp. 1–28 Google Scholar.

16 A close account of corruption in the 1992 election is ‘White Book’ on the 1992 General Election in Indonesia, translated with an Introduction by King, Dwight Y., Ithaca, Cornell Mordern Indonesia Project, 1994 Google Scholar.

17 Padmo Wahjono, ibid.

18 Hill, Hal, The Indonesian Economy Since 1966, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996, p. 15–17 Google Scholar.

19 Hill, ibid., p. 193.

20 Salim Said, op.cit.

21 Watch, Asia, ‘East Timor: The November 12 Massacre and its Aftermath’, Indonesia Issues, Nos 17-18 (12 1991)Google Scholar.

22 Confidential telephone interview, Jakarta, 16 May 1998.

23 Confidential interview, Jakarta, August 1998.

24 Interviews with national Golkar leaders Akbar Tandjung, Theo Sambuaga and Tuswandi, Jakarta, 22-24 August 1998.

25 Liddle, R. William, ‘Habibie Under Siege? Elections Will Be the Real Test’, The Asian Wall Street Journal, 23 09 1998, p. 10 Google Scholar. The original research was reported in Liddle, R. William, ‘Evolution from Above: National Leadership and Local Development in Indonesia’, Journal of Asian Studies, 32:2 (02 1973), pp. 287–309 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

26 Kompas, Jakarta, 21 07 1998, p. 1 Google Scholar. Kompas is the main Jakarta daily newspaper.

27 See for example the cover story on the armed forces and the dual function in Forum Keadilan, Jakarta, 19 10 1998, pp. 10–19 Google Scholar. Forum Keadilan is a Jakarta newsweekly.