Will our new-found freedom last?

By Ignas Kleden

This is the first of two articles on state and democracy.

JAKARTA (JP): The relationship between a strong government and democracy in Indonesia is not very difficult to identify. If one takes the political development of the Old Order of Sukarno and the New Order of Soeharto into account the correlation is definitely a negative one. This means the stronger the government, the weaker democracy, and conversely the weaker the government, the stronger democracy.

More precisely: a strong president in Indonesia tends to become a constraint to the development of democracy, whereas a weak president tends to allow for more democratic initiatives within society.

This pattern could be observed during the two previous regimes. Before 1959, Sukarno was more or less merely a symbolic president. The government was run according to the mechanism of the parliamentary system whereby political decisions resulted from debates within parliament.

The existence and the workings of cabinets were dependent upon the approval or disapproval of parliament. Political discussions, debates and even polemics took place quite often, many of which demonstrated very bright political intelligence and thoughtful insight of those who were involved.

Political polemics in particular showed a resourceful language game and very witty rhetorical ingenuity which is still enjoyed and even admired by many people to this day.

The negative side of this situation was that democratic freedom was sometimes so overdone that there was no stable government which had enough time to get things done. Some cabinets stayed in office even less than six months (to mention some examples, the Cabinet of Amir Sjarifuddin I lasted from July 3, 1947 until Nov. 11, 1947, the Cabinet of Amir Sjarifuddin II from Nov. 11, 1947 to Jan. 29, 1948, the Cabinet of Soesanto from Dec. 20, 1949 to Jan. 21, 1950). Besides that, interparty rivalry more often than not resulted in protracted conflicts without a corresponding willingness and ability to compromise.

To sum it up: the ability to differ was well developed but the capacity to come to a political consensus was miserable. In that sense, political competition brought about the neglect of serious implementation of a well-planned economic policy, this leading finally to a near-destitute economic condition by the end of the Old Order. Scarcity of basic foodstuffs, astronomical increase in inflation and the corruption of political leaders became the order of the day.

The lack of the ability to compromise as well as the lengthy debate within the parliament concerning a new constitution without ever finalizing it, left president Sukarno no other choice but to dissolve parliament and to put the 1945 Constitution into force.

The government was run since then according to the presidential system and Sukarno, who for 15 years had been merely a symbolic head of state, became the real powerholder who held so many offices: the head of state, the head of government, the military commander, the Great Leader of the Revolution and then more.

The enforcement of the presidential system made the president very powerful and the political system more stable. However, democracy started to suffer from a very obvious inclination toward authoritarian governance, whereby many political decisions were made according to the revolutionary mood of Sukarno, who kept telling the people that the revolution was not yet completed.

Revolution became the general justification for any political action of the president and a general apology for all shortcomings within the government. Economic problems were viewed by Sukarno as small technical questions which were in no way to be compared with the grandeur of a revolutionary cause.

Political opponents and political critics of Sukarno were sent to jail without due legal process, the crusading newspaper Indonesia Raya was banned, and the political and diplomatic relations with Western countries and the United Nations worsened.

Academics were denounced as text-book thinkers who could not understand the course of revolution, while the Communist Party succeeded in coming into his favor. There was little focus on the economy and slowly but surely politics became "the chief commander" of all other sectors of life. Art and literature were in great difficulty because Sukarno, who was under the militant influence of members of the communist-leaning People's Cultural Institute (Lekra), was made to believe that there was no worthwhile art and literature.

Every cultural activity should be dedicated to the cause of revolution as well to the interests of the people. Those who tried to defend freedom of expression in art and literature lost their jobs and were dismissed from their positions at universities. Politics became the main sector, to which every other sector should adjust itself.

Revolutionary rhetoric turned out to be very effective in mobilizing people, but certainly was not able to meet their basic needs.

The worsening economic condition, the arbitrariness of Sukarno in exercising his power, the absence of political and social control, the widening moral decadence of people around Sukarno, the political insecurity which increased in accordance with the increasing maneuvers of the Communist Party, as well as the rivalry between the Army and the leftist social forces became finally too great a burden for the Sukarno regime.

When students and the Army started to say "No" to the regime, Sukarno could not withstand the resurgence and was forced to quit his powerful position.

The end of Sukarno's strong government opened the door to democratic initiatives. The Indonesian press regained its freedom of expression and started carrying out its job accordingly. Students were allowed to voice their opinions and criticism.

Political rallies and demonstrations had not yet been prohibited whereas student leaders were still allowed to meet then president Soeharto and discuss the political and economic situation with him face to face.

The relatively democratic situation lasted during the years in which Soeharto had yet to learn about economic affairs from experts and technocrats, as well as learn many things about political affairs from civilian politicians. In those years he also was doing his best to consolidate political support from the military, from students and from society in general.

Soeharto's democratic attitude lasted until early 1970, when students started waging demonstrations against corruption in general and against the plan to build Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in particular.

According to the students, the idea of Taman Mini was not bad, but the time for realizing it was inappropriate. There were still so many economic and political problems that should be given priority. All funds and forces should be used cleverly according to the degree of urgency.

The protest against the plan of Taman Mini seemed to embarrass Soeharto very much, since the woman behind the proposal was Mrs. Soeharto herself. Soeharto made a speech in which he made it very clear that any action taken against the first lady implied action against him, and that he would not hesitate to take strong measures in response to that.

The said speech became a kind of political revelation to the students, who suddenly were enlightened about the real nature of power which tended to corrupt its holder.

The worsening relationship between Soeharto and the students, who previously were his faithful political supporters, was definitely broken and terminated in the Malari affair in January 1974. It was a time of escalating student protest against the domination of foreign capital, especially that from Japan. Students went to the streets again, but they could not keep everything under control. Proyek Senen, the main business center in Central Jakarta was set on fire.

Some student leaders were arrested and sent to jail along with some politicians, intellectuals, professionals and academics who were accused of helping mastermind the whole incident. The Soeharto government became more and more wary of the students and of any critical action, while the students bitterly said goodbye to the hopes they out in Soeharto and his regime. President Soeharto started to rule with a heavy hand, and the initial hope for a comeback of democracy turned out to be nothing but a mere seductive mirage.

The writer is a sociologist based in Jakarta.