When This Indonesian President Scolded and Shouted at His Economic Ministers in His Private Home

The dynamics within the circle of power are not always known to the public, including how Indonesia’s second President, Soeharto, once scolded and shouted at his entire economic cabinet because the budget for a strategic project had not been disbursed. The incident occurred in 1976 when the government was working on the Asahan Project. According to the Inalum website, the Asahan Project was an industrial and electricity megaproject resulting from cooperation between Indonesia and several Japanese companies. The project harnessed the flow of the Asahan River as an energy source for a power plant and an aluminium smelter. The project’s value was enormous for its time, reaching 411 billion yen or approximately Rp1.7 trillion. Soeharto paid special attention to the project’s development and appointed his trusted confidant, a fellow military man, A.R. Soehoed, as Chairman of the Asahan Project Authority. However, as time went on, the budget needed to support the project was not forthcoming from the government. Soehoed tried to raise the issue with the relevant ministers, but his efforts were fruitless. He then reported the problem to President Soeharto. The president asked Soehoed to coordinate again with the economic ministers, but the result remained the same; the project budget had still not been disbursed. ‘But when I asked the Coordinating Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry, it was not addressed either. So, finally, I went back to Pak Harto,’ Soehoed recounted, as retold to Tjipta Lesmana and written in ‘Dari Soekarno sampai SBY: Intrik & Lobi Politik Para Penguasa’ (2008). Upon hearing the report, Soeharto asked again whether all the efforts made had truly yielded no results. ‘We tried but just didn’t succeed,’ Soehoed said while laughing, but he suddenly stopped when he saw the president’s face turn red. Soeharto then gave only a brief answer and asked Soehoed to wait for further instructions in the afternoon. Sure enough, that afternoon Soehoed was summoned to Soeharto’s residence on Jalan Cendana. He was not alone; Vice President Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwana IX and the entire economic cabinet were already present. It was in that meeting that Soeharto vented his anger at his aides, whom he felt had not paid serious attention to the project. ‘You must realise that this Asahan Project is extremely important! This is a long-term project and needs to be supported with sufficient budget. Everyone, pay attention to this!’ Soeharto stressed. According to Soehoed’s account, the atmosphere in the room immediately became tense. All meeting participants chose to remain silent, and no one dared to look the president in the face. Soehoed himself admitted he was shocked to witness Soeharto’s anger directed at his ministers. ‘Soehoed admitted he was utterly stunned to see the president shouting at his ministers,’ wrote Tjipta Lesmana. After that event, the budget for the Asahan Project finally began to flow, and the project work could continue. President Soeharto later inaugurated the Asahan Project on 6 November 1984. Today, after the cooperation with the Japanese parties ended on 9 December 2013, the consortium is owned by the state-owned enterprise PT INALUM.