'Dwifungsi' seen blocking role of civilian politicians

'Dwifungsi' seen blocking role of civilian politicians

The Armed Forces (ABRI) marks its 53rd anniversary on Monday
amidst growing public demands for it to end, or curtail its
sociopolitical role. As part of this year's anniversary, the
military organized a seminar to discuss the appropriate role it
should play into the next century, and invited both critics and
defenders of ABRI's Dwifungsi (dual function) concept to give
their views. In these three articles, Lela E. Madjiah of the
Jakarta Post presents her report on the polemics and the
historical background of the Dwifungsi.

BANDUNG (JP): After "Down with Soeharto!", "Reform or death!"
and similar battle-cries for change, many Indonesians are now
shouting "Enough with Dwifungsi!" "ABRI, return to barracks!"
"ABRI, stay out of politics!"

These slogans are being shouted with such fervor that the
military leadership has wasted no time in addressing the issue by
organizing a three-day seminar on ABRI's role in the 21st
century.

The seminar at ABRI's Joint Staff and Command College became a
lively "theater of war" for opponents and proponents of
Dwifungsi, each offering their lines of argument that were
equally justifiable, depending on where one stood. It is also
interesting to note that the seminar, aimed at generating inputs
to redefine, reposition and reactualize ABRI's role in the next
century, dealt more with ABRI's sociopolitical role, or
Dwifungsi. Nearly all speakers and participants raised the issue
about whether Dwifungsi should remain, pushing ABRI's defense and
security role to the sidelines. This is understandable, for it is
ABRI's sociopolitical role that is under public scrutiny, with
many demanding its end, although there were also those who
defended its existence.

Some of the strongest opposition to Dwifungsi came from Y.B.
Mangunwidjaja, who said Dwifungsi as preached by the New Order
government should be abandoned.

"Dwifungsi is the New Order's version of Japanese fascism,
that was why I never approved of the New Order from the very
beginning," Mangunwidjaja, affectionately called Romo Mangun,
told The Jakarta Post in an interview at the seminar. Romo
Mangun, who attended the seminar as a participant, submitted a
paper explaining his opposition to Dwifungsi.

According to Romo Mangun, to understand the New Order, one
needs to have an insight into the history of Japan. "Both
Soeharto and Nasution were proponents of the values of the
Japanese samurai."

Gen. (ret.) A.H. Nasution was the initiator of ABRI's
sociopolitical role, who suggested that the army was not just a
civilian tool like in Western countries, nor a military regime
which dominated state power. Rather, the army saw itself as one
of the many forces in society, the force for the struggle of the
people which worked together with other forces.

Nasution's concept was outlined in his famous Middle Way
speech delivered on Nov. 12, 1958, marking the beginning of
Dwifungsi. Then, military officers had already occupied positions
that had traditionally been occupied by civilians and Nasution
was simply seeking to justify the trend.

Romo Mangun was uncompromising in his demand for complete
removal of Dwifungsi, saying civilian supremacy over the military
and true democracy could only be achieved if ABRI stayed out of
politics and remained above all groups instead of siding with
those in power.

"One step towards returning civilian supremacy is the
appointment of a civilian to head the ministry of defense and
security," said Romo Mangun.

Speaker Riswandha Imawan meanwhile, said the people had never
questioned ABRI's defense and security role.

"It is ABRI's sociopolitical role that is being questioned,
which, under Soeharto, was performed excessively. ABRI served
more than just two functions and had become a multi-functional
institution," said Riswandha, who teaches political science at
the Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.

He compared ABRI and its multi-functional role, with the U.S.
Air Force One.

"The (presidential) aircraft is as highly sophisticated as it
is vulnerable to attack," he said, adding that as ABRI insisted
on being everywhere, on dealing with every problem, it had become
weak.

Riswandha said the problem was due to a serious distortion of
the doctrine. "Dwifungsi was placed alongside the 1945
Constitution and the Pancasila state ideology and has therefore
become a sacred concept that cannot be changed unless God Himself
wills it so," said Riswandha.

Meanwhile, Riswandha said eliminating Dwifungsi would not
solve Indonesia's political problems and warned that demands that
ABRI completely abandon its sociopolitical role might endanger
national unity.

"A more moderate demand is for ABRI to minimize its
sociopolitical role while optimizing its defense and security
role," he argued.

"ABRI should serve as protector of efforts to empower the
people and to encourage the people to express their aspirations.
This can be done through the demilitarization of the civilian
bureaucracy by dissolving such institutions as the directorate
general of sociopolitical affairs at the Ministry of Home
Affairs. In the future, all members of the Parliament will be
elected through general elections and ABRI will only be
represented at the People's Consultative Assembly, not at the
People's Representative Body (Parliament)," he said.

Challenges

Bilveer Singh, a professor at the Department of Political
Science, at the National University of Singapore, said Dwifungsi
remained relevant in the new post-Cold War setting amidst rapid
political and economic development in Indonesia.

"ABRI has always viewed itself as having originated from the
people and hence, it has a responsibility and commitment to them.
Due to this, it also claimed that it had as much right to
determine the course of society as other forces," said Prof.
Singh.

According to Singh, there is a series of contributory factors
which have given ABRI a sense of entitlement as far as its
sociopolitical role is concerned, including, the fact that as
freedom fighters, they played a critical role in bringing about
the country's independence.

"There is also the perception that it has been ABRI, through
its sociopolitical role, which has guided the country's political
direction thus far and that this should continue, especially as
guardians of the country's ideology, Pancasila and the 1945
Constitution" he added.

An important factor that contributed to ABRI's dominant role
in the country's sociopolitical life was the weaknesses and
failures of civilian politicians and their political parties to
provide leadership in tackling the main challenges facing the
country, even when the country was on the brink of dismemberment
or where civilian politics almost dismembered the country, said
Singh.

However, Singh stressed that ABRI needed to brace itself for a
number of challenges that would determine the fate of its
sociopolitical role in the future. He called for a purification
of the meaning and implementation of Dwifungsi, with ABRI being
involved only in the MPR and DPR and not in day to day politics.
ABRI should also distance itself from the Functional Group
(Golkar) and reduce its non-military role.

"The need for ABRI to reduce its role is all the more
important in the face of rising civilian political talents and
organizations which are in a better position to shoulder
responsibilities of national politics, especially in the era of
globalization, where 'civilians in power' and democratization
rather than military-domination is the accepted norm and rule,"
said Singh.

Portugal

Speaker R. Eep Saepulloh Fatah pointed out that after
Soeharto's resignation, ABRI has emerged as the only real
political power.

"In spite of a barrage of ABRI flaying due to its past
mistakes that stemmed from its security approach, ABRI remains a
solid institution that holds an important bargaining position
amidst current instability and uncertainty," said Saepulloh.

Given its strong position, Saepulloh urged ABRI to remain
committed to democratization efforts by adopting the model
offered by the military in Portugal.

"Following the 1974 coup, the Portuguese military emerged as
an agent of change that was tolerant towards efforts to
reformulate state power and reinstitutionalize the state that in
the end sidelined the role and position of the military. At the
same time, the military was successful in consolidating itself
amidst the wave of changes that enjoyed its support; the military
was relatively successful in managing its internal transition,"
said Saepulloh.

Within the spirit of reform and democratization, ABRI was
expected to allow and support the current "transplacement"
process, thus enabling all external and internal pro-democracy
forces to work together for change, he said.

"ABRI should therefore abandon its Dwifungsi doctrine and
concentrate on improving its professionalism as pro-democracy
state apparatus, not a government tool," said Saepulloh.

Readiness

Despite his opposition to ABRI's Dwifungsi, Romo Mangun voiced
concern over the civilians' readiness to change.

"While ABRI is already starting to reform itself, civilians
are still busy fighting for power and influence. This is worrying
me, for how can there be civilian supremacy over the armed forces
as dictated by the principles of a democratic and just state when
civilians are still having problems becoming a real force and in
doing their best for the country and people?" he asked.

Romo Mangun said the mushrooming of political parties, whose
number has reached around 90, was an indication that civilians
were not yet prepared for reform. There were also groups with
vested-interests and individuals or groups that strongly
reflected the issues of SARA, the Indonesian acronym for
ethnicity, religion, race and inter-grouping.

He blamed the civilians' unpreparedness on the New Order
government, which had for the past 32 years created a floating
mass, banned people from talking or being involved in politics,
except during the brief election campaign period every five
years.

"It is up to the people, the younger generation in particular,
to take up the challenge and to keep up with ABRI," said Romo
Mangun.

In the meantime, Romo Mangun called on ABRI to remain sincere
in its pledge to remain the people's army, to support efforts for
democratization and to empower the people, creating civilian
supremacy over the military.

"This is a period of transition, and when the time comes, ABRI
should step aside. We should not repeat the mistake of the New
Order government, which prevented civilians from becoming good
politicians or capable leaders, thus justifying the military's
supremacy over civilians," he said.