A time for reflection<\/p>\n
Without much fanfare Indonesia today commemorates the 30th
\nanniversary of the transfer of a special authority by president
\nSukarno to Lieutenant General Soeharto, his minister\/army
\ncommander and subsequent successor. Whatever the reason in
\nSukarno's mind then, the transfer took place when the president-
\nfor-life had failed to overcome the mayhem in the aftermath of
\nthe abortive communist coup attempt, which took place five months
\nearlier.<\/p>\n
Even before the coup tragedy, president Sukarno's regime had
\nbeen a long story of chaos and despair. The economy was in
\nshambles and politics had become a one-man business marked by
\nSukarno's anti-West fever, which pushed Indonesia into isolation.<\/p>\n
He declared that Indonesia was far from finished and stated
\nthat the people were "willing to eat stone for the unfinished
\nrevolution". He fed hungry Indonesians with chauvinistic slogans
\nand tranquilizing political mantras. He took all powers into his
\nown hands, banning opposition political parties and closing down
\ntheir newspapers. Sukarno also made the appointed-members of the
\nProvisional People's Consultative Assembly elect him president-
\nfor-life.<\/p>\n
Complacence led him to fatally misread the situation. His
\nrefusal to address the economic troubles was a ruinous mistake.
\nU.S. president Richard Nixon might have exaggerated when he said
\nthat Sukarno was "a product of the age of demagogues which
\nstarted in the formerly colonized countries after World War II."
\nAn elder Indonesian statesmen was perhaps closer to the truth
\nwhen he said that the country's first president was a great
\nnation builder but not a state builder.<\/p>\n
Gen. Soeharto picked up the pieces after receiving a special
\nletter of authority from Sukarno on March 11, 1966. With the
\nletter, known as Supersemar, Soeharto banned the Indonesian
\nCommunist Party, which had been waging a campaign of mental
\nterror on people at every corner of the archipelago.<\/p>\n
Soeharto declared that the source of Old Order's troubles was
\nits violation of the 1945 Constitution. He made the right
\ndecision when he made economic development the top priority of
\nhis administration. He assembled the leading economists, whom
\nSukarno left in the cold, to heal the economy's ills. He formed a
\ncabinet of technocrats, an unprecedented move at the time.<\/p>\n
Today the fruits of his programs are recognized by other
\nnations. Soeharto has moved Indonesia off the list of the world's
\npoorest countries and has charted an ambitious course for the
\nnation.<\/p>\n
But the success story has given way to new problems.
\nIndonesians are demanding greater openness. They want more say in
\nthe way the country is governed and greater political
\ndevelopment. The people want to exercise their rights and
\nfreedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, especially the freedoms
\nof expression and association. They want to take their grievances
\nto a judicial body that is independent of the executive branch.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon is common to all developing countries, though
\nmany have yet to chart the right course and have been plunged
\nback into chaos. South Korea is a recent example of a country
\nthat is trying to follow up its economic growth with genuine
\npolitical progress.<\/p>\n
In commemorating the transfer of authority from Sukarno to
\nSoeharto we should reflect on the mistakes committed by the Old
\nOrder as we try to pave the way to a better future.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-time-for-reflection-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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