The existence of the Supersemar remains in doubt
The existence of the Supersemar remains in doubt
Thirty years ago, on March 11th l966, Indonesia entered a new era. The old regime collapsed and the new one emerged. The "tool" which totally changed the country's history was a piece of paper called the Supersemar, the March 11 Letter of Order transferring powers from President Sukarno to Soeharto. This powerful letter has remained controversial because everyone involved in its birth has given only their own version and interpretation concerning this historical event. Rumors related to the issue have only added to the confusion. Today, many facts regarding the issuance of the Supersemar are still disputed, with no hope of clarity unless the actors involved in this drama reveal the truth.
JAKARTA (JP): There are various versions of events -- the official and unofficial -- regarding the famous Supersemar, which provided the legal basis for the transfer of executive responsibility from President Sukarno to Let. Gen. Soeharto for the restoration of law and order.
According to the official version, the Supersemar was no more than a spontaneous act.
"It was a kind of 'miracle', and saved the country from disaster," the late Amir Machmud, then the Jakarta Military commander-in-chief, once said.
In his book entitled Amir Machmud Menjawab (Amir Machmud Answers), he relates his meeting with Maj. Gen. Basoeki Rachmat (minister of veteran affairs during the Dwikora cabinet) and Brig. Gen M. Jusuf (minister of light industry) in front of the Merdeka palace in Central Jakarta after a cabinet meeting. According to Amir, it was Jusuf who first proposed the idea to meet President Sukarno in Bogor.
But Brig. Gen. Jusuf, a former minister of defense in the New Order government, released another version. He wrote 20 years ago that the meeting of the three generals took place in the cabinet meeting room in the Merdeka palace. At that time, Jusuf and Basoeki Rachmat had planned to visit Soeharto to report the political and social situation which were heated. Amir Machmud then informed them that Sukarno had already fled to the Bogor palace. The three generals rushed to Soeharto's house, who asked them to immediately see Sukarno in Bogor.
There is a another version according to those who were close to Sukarno.
One reliable piece of information came from prominent businessman Hasyim Ning, one of Sukarno's best friends. In l982, the businessman revealed that actually the effort to transfer powers from Sukarno to Soeharto was cunningly engineered by Soeharto and other high-ranking members of the Armed Forces (ABRI).
Hasyim Ning, who died last year, once told the media that a few days before the issuance of Supersemar, Maj. Gen. Alamsyah Ratu Prawiranagara, one of Soeharto's aides, called him to help persuade Sukarno to hand over his power to Soeharto. He allegedly received a letter from Soeharto, urging him to meet Sukarno. Together with his colleague businessman Dasaad, Hasyim visited Sukarno at the palace and persuaded the president to authorize Soeharto to take over. If Hasyim's information is valid, many political analysts said that the issuance of Supersemar was a "disguised coup d'etat" against the Old Order regime.
The different versions of the story confuse many Indonesians, the younger generation in particular. Adding to the confusion is the fact that the authentic script of the Supersemar has unfortunately gone missing. In l991 the government discovered that the existing Supersemar was not an original one.
During a hearing with members of the House of Representatives in l993, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono assured the House members that the original script still existed but admitted that he did not know the person who kept it.
"I am almost certain that the authentic letter is still in the hands of someone. I call on whoever is holding the letter to give it back to the state," Moerdiono, who was ordered by President Soeharto to find the missing letter, was once quoted by the now- defunct Editor weekly magazine.
The missing Supersemar remains a mystery since two of the three generals involved, Basoeki Rachmat and Amir Machmud, have already died without ever having given any clear statements.
The only living general M. Jusuf chooses to remain inscrutable.
Some sources claim that Soeharto himself holds the authentic Supersemar, while others suspect that the letter is being guarded by M. Jusuf, who was said to keep the letter safely tucked away in a secret place.
M. Jusuf is said to have got the authentic Supersemar from the wife of the late Gen. Basoeki Rachmat soon after he died.
Amir Machmud told the press shortly before he died in l995 that "We should not make a fuss over the authentic Supersemar since it has already been stipulated in TAP MPRS (the decision of the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly)," he said.
Sri Sumantri, a prominent professor of law at the University of Indonesia and the University of Padjadjaran, explained that the disappearance of the authentic Supersemar is unlikely to rock the legitimacy of the New Order regime because it was later legitimized in a decision of the MPRS.
Jusuf meanwhile strongly denied any rumors linking him with the authentic Supersemar. "I am not the holder of the Supersemar. My two friends and I just happened to be the 'messengers' who delivered the letter from Sukarno to Soeharto. Therefore, if anybody asks me about the letter, I always tell them to go and ask whoever has it," said Jusuf who has retired to his hometown of Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, to finish his memoirs.
Jusuf made himself clear in a news broadcast by state-owned television station TVRI on March 28, l993.
"I assure you, I don't have the authentic Supersemar. When I say no, that is the truth," said the general, who is known as a reliable and honest figure.
The controversy and mystery surrounding the birth of the New Order will no doubt continue.
But the fact that the three senior generals went to Bogor to meet President Sukarno on March 11, l966 seems certain.
Here are the official chronological events preceding the birth of the Supersemar.
9 a.m.: President Sukarno chairs the Dwikora cabinet meeting at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta. A large number of "unidentified troops" are milling about near the palace. One of the president's assistants, Brig. Gen. Sabur, who is also the commander of the Cakrabirawa force, informs Sukarno of the presence of these troops.
10 a.m.: Sukarno hands over the meeting to his assistants and flees to Bogor palace, 60 km south of Jakarta. Sukarno is accompanied by Subandrio, Chaerul Saleh and Brig. Gen. Sabur.
11: 30 a.m: Brig. Gen. Basoeki Rachmat, Brig. Gen. M. Jusuf and Brig. Gen. Amir Machmud go to Bogor to meet the president and to deliver a message from Soeharto, then minister of defense, assuring the president that the Army is still behind him.
12 Noon: The three generals arrive at the palace and are greeted by Brig. Gen. Sabur. Sukarno is still napping.
3 p.m.: President Sukarno meets the three generals and is very angry with them. The president shouts at Amir Machmud, accusing him of having failed to maintain security in the capital.
Sukarno asks the general to handle the students' protests and demonstrations and to deal with the emergency situation.
Amir answers "That's easy Pak. You just give Soeharto the authority to control the situation. We guarantee you that we can safeguard Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution. The revolution and the development of the country will resume and your family will be protected."
Sukarno agrees to sign a letter of authority.
A special team including Basoeki Rachmat, M. Jusuf and Brig. Gen. Sabur is set up to draft this letter of authority, the famous Supersemar.
4 p.m.: The draft is delivered to the president. Sukarno asks for advice from Subandrio and Chaerul Saleh. Some minor editorial changes are made, but nothing significant.
Sukarno finally signs the Supersemar.
10 p.m.: The three generals return to Jakarta by car. The generals are shocked to read the contents of the letter which implicitly hands over powers from Sukarno to Soeharto.
They visit Soeharto's house at Jl. Agus Salim 98, Central Jakarta, but Soeharto isn't there. He is chairing a special meeting with high-ranking officers.
Soeharto receives the mandatory letter and asks his staff to draft the announcement for the disbandment of the PKI, the Indonesian Communist Party.
March 12: Soeharto announces the issuance of the Supersemar Letter of Order which authorizes him to temporarily take control of the country. (raw)