An insider's tales of the New Order government

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.