Indonesian military strides forward again in politics

Indonesian military strides forward again in politics

Irman G. Lanti
The Straits Times
Asia News Network
Singapore

As the general elections approach in Indonesia, political
parties are busy fielding candidates deemed to be attractive to
the public. Among the most popular are retired officers from the
Indonesian military, the Tentara Negara Indonesia (TNI).

That popularity stems from the fact that, despite six years of
Reformasi, there is still hardly any economic progress,
corruption remains rampant, and civilian politicians are
constantly bickering.

Indonesians are tired, and among many, there is an increasing
longing and nostalgia for the stability and prosperity of the old
order -- the so-called New Order under then president Soeharto.

TNI generals are today's emblem of that old order.

Realizing the sway in the public mood, political parties
compete in courting them.

From the perspective of the TNI officers, involvement in
politics would be nothing new, even if the setting is now
completely different.

The TNI is a nationalist organization in the truest sense of
the word: It was borne out of the people's struggle for
independence, and often, and rightly, claims that it is a
people's military. Because of this, it has often been at odds
with civilian politicians.

In the years immediately following independence in 1945, the
military was engaged in years of contention with civilian
politicians for supremacy. Only when General Soeharto came to
power in the mid-1960s and introduced the doctrine of dwifungsi
did the military rise to the pre-eminence it held for 30 years.

That doctrine, which means "dual function", gave the TNI a
seat at the right hand of the president in virtually all facets
of national economic and political life.

Then came the ousting of Soeharto in 1998, and an end to the
TNI's direct involvement in politics.

But while the TNI has adapted to the new environment, it has
not hidden its disappointment with the lack of progress in
Indonesia thus far.

Two things are of particular concern to it:

First is the possibility of Indonesia breaking up. Separatist
movements in Aceh and Papua aside, ethnic and religious conflicts
in many parts of the archipelago endanger the fragile balance of
the plural nation.

The other worry is the old contention between Islam and
Pancasila (the official semi-secular state ideology introduced by
Soeharto), which has been resurrected. As a nationalist
organization, the TNI is deeply concerned by this divisive issue.

During the New Order, the TNI did not have to worry about
these two issues. But there is a totally different ball game in
Indonesia now.

It is important to note that the TNI is one of the most modern
organizations in the country. And it is capable of learning and
adapting to new situations.

Realizing that reassertion of control through the use of force
would not only be too costly but also quite unacceptable in the
globalised world, the TNI seems to have been aware that it should
be able to play within the new rules of the game.

It is from this perspective that the phenomenon of retired TNI
officers' involvement in civilian politics can be understood.

One of the unique characteristics of the TNI lies in the
loyalty of its officer corps to the oath, known as the Sapta
Marga. The loyalty to the cause is deemed to be life-long. So for
TNI officers, retirement from active service does not mean a
cessation of belief in the sanctity of a unitary, plural
Indonesia.

So, even though the official party line of the current TNI
leadership sounds like a hands-off approach towards the political
activities of its retired members, saying that it is due to their
own personal volition, the effect of such activities might be
much more pronounced.

Furthermore, the fact that the retired officers have become
involved in all of the major and high-profile parties, regardless
of their different ideologies and political outlooks, might
indicate a strategy to gain access to the political process from
all possible corners.

If this assertion is true, then the involvement of retired
officers in politics might have a positive impact.

Indonesian politics since Reformasi has been highly divisive.
Like in the 1950s, political parties are divided along aliran
(roughly translated as "streams of political thinking") lines.
Differences can at times seem unbridgeable.

Retired TNI officers joining these parties could attempt to
influence their platforms so as to moderate positions and
eventually facilitate bargaining. In a way, Indonesian politics
could be de-aliranised.

But, on the other hand, the TNI is not a perfect organization.
There are ideological divisions within, as there always have
been.

The most significant was during the final decade of the New
Order, when the TNI was divided between the so-called "green" and
"red-white" factions.

The former referred to officers deemed close to ICMI and other
Islamic organizations, and the latter to the nationalist cause.

While not completely erased, that division largely dissipated
after Reformasi.

Today's participation of retired TNI officers in partisan
politics could therefore also carry the danger of re-
aliranisation of the military. These retired officers could try
to influence their former colleagues in the active officer corps
and thus create divisiveness in the force.

In such a scenario, the involvement of retired officers in
politics would not only be adverse for the TNI but also quite
dangerous for the whole country.

Only time will tell which of these two scenarios will prevail.

The writer is a visiting research fellow at the Institute of
Defence and Strategic Studies.