An insider's tales of the New Order government

Sudharmono SH, Pengalaman Dalam Masa Pengabdian: Sebuah Otobiografi (Experiences within the Office: An Autobiography)

Grasindo, Jakarta, 1997

Annex, glossary/abbreviations, bibliography, chronology, index, list of prize and award,

583 pp. (Book 1)

Kesan dan Kenangan dari Teman: 70 Tahun H. Sudharmono SH, (Friends's Notes and Memories: 70 years of H. Sudharmono SH)

Sarwono Kusumaatmadja et al. (ed.),

Jakarta: Grasindo, 1997,

711 pp. (Book 2)

JAKARTA (JP): The two books above were published and launched March 12 at the 70th birthday of Indonesia's former Vice President Sudharmono SH. Sudharmono was a long-time minister in President Soeharto's cabinets. The first book is an autobiography and the second book is a collection of friends's notes and memories collected and edited by his Golkar colleague and fellow minister, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.

The autobiography aims to give a clear picture to the author's children and grand children of what he has been doing, suffering and achieving (Book 1, p.LX). By referring to his modest family background, the author aims to inspire and persuade young people. and that thanks to national independence, every citizen has the same chance to get to high positions if they have a goal and strive to reach it (Book 1, pp. 49, 485).

Politically, it traces his long career as a high-ranking bureaucrat in Soeharto's administration. Beginning in 1966 as the secretary of cabinet presidium, he became cabinet secretary in 1967, and then state secretary in 1972. He was installed to the office of minister of the state secretary in 1973, in which he served for 15 years until the end of the fourth development cabinet in 1987. Besides that, the President appointed him chairman of the Keppres 10-team in 1980. This team's task was to manage the use of money from the oil boom in a crash program to push for further development.

He was elected chairman of Golkar in 1983 but left the position to become Vice-President in 1988. He was Vice President until 1993. For almost 30 years Sudharmono was one of those who were within the power center's inner circle and actively involved in the first four cabinets of the New Order.

One factor which could explain why he stayed so long in the office was his attitude, which is basically and principally loyal to his boss (Book 2, pp. 169, 552). He combined his position, which is really a coordinating role in relation to other ministries, with faithful service to the President. This was done with responsibility, effectiveness and tact. Many comments of his friends show his ability to understand even the President's smallest hints (Book 2, pp. 173, 480).

His personality suited the office quite well for he is formal, reserved, discreet, efficient, correct, to the point, hard working, and capable of confidentiality (Book 2, pp.87, 123, 169).

The book also shows a peculiar feature of Indonesian administrative subculture in which the bureaucracy, in contrast to the textbook definition, is not merely a machine run by those technically capable of doing so, but is also a social institution in which people's capacity to fit in plays an important role.

An anecdote in this book illustrates this. In the last year as Golkar chairman, Sudharmono asked the President (in the latter's position as the chairman of Golkar's advisory board) about who the next chairman of Golkar would be. The president said the question should be discussed with Golkar's three wings -- the party, the armed forces and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Sudharmono concluded Soeharto wanted him to terminate the office, because otherwise he would give another hint (Book 1, p.387). The book gives a vivid description of how political culture is carried out day to day.

To become a good bureaucrat is one thing, to be a politician is another. When Sudharmono was elected Golkar chairman, even his most enthusiastic friends and colleagues were hesitant whether he could transform himself from a tough bureaucrat into a celebrated political leader. But he did not suffer from his lack of rhetorical capacity and symbolic manipulation in attractive language and made use of his strength in organizing the leadership and structure of the grouping and registration of party members. This might be the most important reason why Golkar gained very impressive votes in 1987 (73%), and became the single majority in all provinces (Book 1, pp.365, 379).

Financial

Obviously, the party didactic can be implemented if it is supported by party's economic base. The successful training of eight million cadres (Book 1, p.340), for example, was done through a formidable financial effort. The question is what resources can a political party marshal to economically underpin its political actions?

Sudharmono's capacity to get things done was again apparent when he became Vice President. He was unaccustomed to a non- executive position. He did two things. First, he made regular visits to provinces to check on the spot problems which might arise in regional development. He regularly visited all departments to look into their particular problems and interdepartmental problems. Secondly, he opened the well-known P.O. Box 5000 so people could make complaints.

Also worth mentioning was his ability to educate his subordinates and promote them to better positions. He did this as state secretary and in Golkar. The same can be said of his contribution as a professional lawyer. He played an important role, as a legal custodian of government policies and regulations, and as a man behind some important legal products of the New Order government. His participation in drawing up the five laws in 1985 regarding political system was substantial (Book 1, P.285, Book 2, p.145).

The second book has five main parts. The first contains 24 contributions of his cabinet colleagues, the second contains 19 contributions of his state secretariat colleagues, the third is from Golkar colleagues who contributed 18 articles, the fourth consists of 25 comments of his friends outside his official positions, and the last part is reserved for 22 remarks from his family and relatives.

These contributions demonstrate the scope of his political influence and depth of his personal involvement.

A particular appreciation of President Soeharto is demonstrated by his hand-written introduction. Another introduction is written by Sudharmono's successor, Vice President, Try Sutrisno.

The autobiography is a well documented with first hand information about the New Order's administration. It contains stories from people within the circle of powerholders about the struggle he faced in combining some apparently incompatible qualities: personal integrity and administrative loyalty, legal correctness and the pragmatic nature of administration, bureaucratic inward-looking attitude and political outward- looking appearance, confidentiality and openness. In the last analysis it is a document of a psychology of an orphan (his parents died when he was three years old) and the philosophy of Indonesia's second most important man.

This book is well written and carefully edited except for two things. The language editor might have overlooked some phrases which are often used but are basically against standard Indonesian syntax and by all criteria incorrect. The second thing is the spelling of foreign words and names are not always correct. Instead of saying "losing face" it is written "loosing face" (Book 1,p.403). The Dutch expression for "you" is jij and not yiy (Book 1, p.318). The name of German Chancellor is Helmut Kohl and not Helmut Khl (Book 1, p.448).

Since there are increasing number of memoirs of important New Order figures, it is proper to think of a selection of some of them which are good enough to be translated into English or other foreign languages. Sudharmono autobiography might be one among the few which one could be considered.

-- Ignas Kleden

Ignas Kleden, is a Jakarta sociologist.