Are there alternatives to ABRI's dual function?

By Aleksius Jemadu

BANDUNG (JP): As public criticism mounts against the Armed Forces' (ABRI) socio-political role, it is worth looking into alternatives to its current dual function policy.

In celebrating its 53th anniversary on Monday, ABRI is particularly challenged to rethink its political role so that it might not appear as an obstacle to the overall process of democratization.

Compared to the progress of democracy in some Latin American countries which used to be under military regimes, Indonesia lags far behind because of a significant military presence in its politics and its failure to establish a strong civilian government.

It is widely believed that civilian supremacy is imperative for the healthy growth of democracy. No matter how sincere and nationalistic a military is in politics, it cannot deny the fact that upon the absence of strong public control, military resources can be misused to perpetuate power.

Moreover, sustainable political power can only be based on people's consent and not on military resources. This is precisely the reason why the military should stick to their traditional function of maintaining national security. Indonesian civilians will never mature politically as long as the military continues to intervene in politics.

The exclusion of the military from politics may not necessarily mean that they should be prohibited from contributing to the growth of healthy politics in the country.

While the doctrine of dwifungsi, or dual function which is the philosophy behind ABRI's socio-political and defense roles, tends to be obsolete and indefensible in the new era of democratization, and taking into account the vulnerability of Indonesian unity, there is a need to change "political function" into "political commitment".

Under such a new concept, the military could have members in the House of Representatives to channel its political aspirations but it should stay away from executive positions at all levels of government.

We could learn a good lesson from the Turkish experience. Today, the Turkish military always espouses the supremacy of civilian government, although it remains committed to the basic values and ideological orientations proposed by the nation's founding father Kemal Attaturk.

Whenever the ruling party shows any indication of deviating or betraying this fundamental denominator, the military steps in to make corrections and facilitate the emergence of a new government.

Thus, when the Refah (Welfare) Party led by prime minister Necmetin Erbakan showed tendencies of tilting the nation to the far right while putting aside long-held secular traditions, the military strongly opposed his policies and then helped to establish a more moderate government.

It is interesting to note that there is a significant difference in political orientation and approaches between ABRI's current leadership and its predecessors of the 1945 generation.

Young generals like Wiranto, Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono and Agum Gumelar, just to name a few, who hold the top positions in ABRI today represent more accommodative personalities and are willing to hold dialogs with civilian political groups even if the latter disagree with military policies. They seem to be indifferent as to whether they hold power or not -- being more concerned with the future of the nation-state as a whole.

Their apparent goal is to create a modern and democratic Indonesia capable of competing with other nations in the 21st century. They know very well that establishing military rule is no longer a popular choice and even considered a setback.

There are at least three reasons why the abolition of dwifungsi could be good for the military itself.

First, by turning its attention back to military affairs full- time, ABRI could concentrate on improving its defensive capabilities. In addition, the motivation to join ABRI would be only to become a professional soldier.

Second, dwifungsi has traditionally served the Army well in that more its officers than officers from any other branch have enjoyed the privilege of obtaining top governmental positions. The Navy, Air Force and National Police have shown some indications of being envious of their Army colleagues for this very reason. Thus, by abolishing the doctrine, unity among military units could be strengthened.

Third, the military could have more opportunities to serve as a state instrument instead of becoming merely a political tool of a certain political regime.

At the age of 53, the Indonesian Armed Forces is mature enough to make a wise decision regarding its future role. Let us hope that it will make a good decision for the benefit of the country as a whole.

The writer is the head of the school of international relations at the University of Parahyangan, Bandung. He is also a researcher at the Parahyangan Center for International Studies at the same university.