2. Political Transition from Soekarno to Soeharto

Nasakom was an Indonesian term widely used in the Soekarno--> government, which means an ideology based on three pillars (nationalism, religion, and communism). See Soekarno, Dibawah Bendera Revolusi. Jakarta: Jambatan Press, 1961. Kahin, George, Nationalism and Revolution in Indonesia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1952.

Supersemar--> is an abbreviated Indonesian term for Surat Perintah Sebelas Maret’. This Supersemar letter had three substantial meanings: (1) Soeharto as head of Kostrad--> (Army Strategic Reserve Command) had duties to recover political and security affairs at the national level; (2) to cooperate and coordinate concerning national security with other army heads of command; (3) to make reports concerning political stability and national security to Soekarno--> as President still believed in the “Nasakom” (Nationalism, Religion and Nationalism) ideology. For further discussion, see Soekarno, Dibawah Bendera Revolusi, Jambatan Press, Jakarta 1961. But, in reality Soeharto took over this authority for his interest on coming to power--> in 1966. For further discussions, see Taufik Abdullah (Head of LIPI: Indonesian Institute of Sciences) interviewed in Metro TV, June 6, 2001. And see SEKNEG (State Secretary) official document in 1966.

The Soeharto government has held a general election six times from 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997, and Golkar as the ruling party was to be winner between 60 % and 70 % of the vote. It was because the government’s policy and facilities were given to Golkar as the ruling party and discriminated against the opposition party, for example, the PPP the Muslim supporters’ base and the PDI, of which nationalist, Christian, and other religions were followers. For a discussion on general elections issues in the Soeharto government, see Liddle, William R, Pemilu-Pemilu Orde Baru (The General Election in the New Order), Jakarta: LP3ES, 1992; and Suyyadinata, Leo, Golkar dan Militer: Studi Tentang Budaya Politik (Golkar and Military--> : A Study of Political Culture), Jakarta: Gramedia Press, 1992; If you would like to compare with the general election in 1955, see Feith, Herbert, The Indonesian Election of 1955, Interim Report Series. Ithaca: Cornell Modern Indonesia Project, 1957.

And to learn about the political characteristics of the new order, see, Pabottingi , Mochtar, Suara Waktu (The Voice of Time), Surabaya: Erlangga Press, 1999.

Professor Sarbini was interviewed on May 18, 2000 in Jakarta. Sarbini was formerly head of the Statistic Bureau. He had graduated from Harvard University in the 1960s and became lecturer and professor in the Faculty of Economics, The Indonesian University. Meanwhile, Ibrahim was the secretary general of the Islamic Students Association (Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam/HMI) in the 1950s and he actively participated in the Indonesian business community in the 1960s. The interview with Ibrahim was conducted on March 13, 2000.

For a further information of economic development--> in The New Order, see Hill, Hal, The Indonesian Economy Since 1966, Cambridge University Press, 1996; and for agricultural policy in the early 1970s, see Booth, Anne and Mac Cawley, Peter (Eds.), The Indonesian economy during the Soeharto era, London: Cambridge University Press, 1981. As they noted, in the early 1970s because of economic policy and the foreign exchange earnings from the oil sector totally increased, the Indonesian economy recovered soon and infrastructure development grew from irrigation, transportation, port, airport sector, and so on.

Conglomeration (grouping business) supported by government policy and their bureaucrats in Southeast Asia often occurred in the business sector in the 1980s and 1990s. In terms of the Indonesian case, the Soeharto government’s bureaucrats gave special facilities through economic policies and colluded with private business especially in the forestry and industries sector. For a further discussion on the growth of capitalism in Southeast Asia, see Yoshihara, Kunio, The Rise of Ersatz Capitalism in Southeast Asia, 1988; and Robinson, Richard, Indonesia: The Rise of Capital, Australia: Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1986.