Orde Baru

The New Order ( id, Orde Baru, abbreviated ''Orba'') is the term coined by the second Indonesian President Suharto to characterise his administration as he came to power in 1966 until his resignation in 1998. Suharto used this term to contrast his presidency with that of his predecessor Sukarno (retroactively dubbed the "Old Order," or ''Orde Lama'').

Immediately following the attempted coup in 1965, the political situation was uncertain, Suharto's New Order found much popular support from groups wanting a separation from Indonesia's problems since its independence. The 'generation of 66' (''Angkatan 66'') epitomised talk of a new group of young leaders and new intellectual thought. Following Indonesia's communal and political conflicts, and its economic collapse and social breakdown of the late 1950s through to the mid-1960s, the "New Order" was committed to achieving and maintaining political order, economic development, and the removal of mass participation in the political process. The features of the "New Order" established from the late 1960s were thus a strong political role for the military, the bureaucratisation and corporatisation of political and societal organisations, and selective but brutal repression of opponents. Strident anti-communist, anti-socialist, and anti-Islamist doctrine remained a hallmark of the presidency for its subsequent 32 years.

Within a few years, however, many of its original allies had become indifferent or averse to the New Order, which comprised a military faction supported by a narrow civilian group. Among much of the pro-democracy movement which forced Suharto to resign in the 1998 Indonesian Revolution and then gained power, the term "New Order" has come to be used pejoratively. It is frequently employed to describe figures who were either tied to the Suharto period, or who upheld the practises of his authoritarian administration, such as corruption, collusion and nepotism (widely known by the acronym KKN: ''korupsi'', ''kolusi'', ''nepotisme'').

Background

Sukarno was Indonesia's founding president, a position he had held since the Republic's formation in 1945. In 1955, the first general parliamentary elections delivered an unstable parliament and from the late 1950s, Sukarno's rule became increasingly autocratic under his "Guided Democracy". Described as the great " dalang", Sukarno’s position depended on his concept of NASAKOM (Nationalism, Religion, Communism) whereby he sought to balance the competing Indonesian Military, Islamic groups, and the increasingly powerful Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). To the resentment of the Military and Muslim groups, this arrangement became increasingly reliant on the PKI which had become the country’s strongest political party.

Sukarno’s anti-imperial ideology saw Indonesia increasingly dependent on the Soviet Union and China which was met with indignation from Western countries. The cash-strapped government had to scrap public sector subsidies, annual inflation rose to as high as 1,000%, export revenues were shrinking, infrastructure crumbling, and factories were operating at minimal capacity with negligible investment. Sukarno’s administration became increasingly ineffective in providing a viable economic system to lift its citizens out of poverty and hunger. Meanwhile, Sukarno led Indonesia into '' Konfrontasi'', a military confrontation with Malaysia, removed Indonesia from the United Nations, and stepped up revolutionary and anti-Western rhetoric.

By 1965 at the height of the Cold War, the PKI penetrated all levels of government. With the support of Sukarno and the Air Force, the party gained increasing influence at the expense of the Army, thus ensuring the Army's enmity. Muslim clerics, many of whom were landowners, felt threatened by the PKI's rural land confiscation actions. The army was alarmed at Sukarno’s support for the PKI’s wish to quickly establish a "fifth force" of armed peasants and labourers, which was first announced by the PKI to a CBS News journalist. Adding to this desperate and fractious nature of Indonesia in the 1960s, a split within the military was fostered by Western countries backing a right-wing faction against a left-wing faction backed by the PKI.

Overthrow of Sukarno

On 30 September 1965, six generals were killed by a group calling themselves the 30 September Movement who alleged a right-wing plot to kill the President. General Suharto led the army in suppressing the abortive coup attempt. The PKI were quickly blamed and the army led an anti-communist purge which killed an estimated 500,000 to a million people. Public opinion shifted against Sukarno in part due to his apparent knowledge of, and sympathy for, the events of 30 September, and for his tolerance of leftist and communist elements whom the army blamed for the coup attempt. Student groups, such as KAMI, were encouraged by, and sided with, the Army against Sukarno. In March 1966, Suharto secured a presidential decree (known as the Supersemar), which gave him authority to take any action necessary to maintain security.Vickers (2005), page 160 Using the decree, the PKI was banned in March 1966 and the parliament ( MPRS), government and military were purged of pro-Sukarno elements, many of whom were accused of being communist sympathisers, and replaced with Suharto supporters.

A June session of the now-purged parliament promulgated a parliamentary resolution irrevocable by Sukarno (''Tap MPRS no. XXV/MPRS/1966''), that confirmed Suharto's ban of the PKI and simultaneously banned "Communism/ Marxism-Leninism" ('' sic''; explicitly defined in the resolution's corresponding explanatory memorandum to include "the struggle fundaments and tactics taught by ... Stalin, Mao Tse Tung '' et cetera''"), as well as promulgating other resolutions that elevated the Supersemar into a parliamentary resolution also irrevocable by Sukarno, and stripped Sukarno of his title of president for life. In August–September 1966, and against the wishes of Sukarno, the New Order ended Indonesia's confrontation with Malaysia and rejoined the United Nations. Parliament re-convened in March 1967 to impeach the President for his apparent toleration of 30 September Movement and violation of the constitution by promoting PKI's international communist agenda, negligence of the economy, and promotion of national "moral degradation" via his womanising behaviour. In March 1967, the MPRS stripped Sukarno of his remaining power, and Suharto was named Acting President. Sukarno was placed under house arrest in Bogor Palace; little more was heard from him, and he died in June 1970.Schwartz (1994), page 2 In March 1968, the MPRS appointed Suharto to the first of his five-year terms as President.

Consolidation of power

The "New Order" was so called to distinguish and "better" itself from Sukarno's "Old Order". Pancasila was promoted as the national ideology, one that pre-dated introduced religions such as Hinduism or Islam. Suharto secured a parliamentary resolution in 1978 (''Tap MPR No. II/1978'') which obliged all organisations in Indonesia to adhere to Pancasila as a basic principle; he later secured another parliamentary resolution in 1983 (''Tap MPR No. II/1983'') which prohibited all organizations to adhere to any principles except Pancasila, a policy known as the ''Pancasila single principle'' (). He instituted a Pancasila indoctrination program that must be attended by all Indonesians, from primary school students to office workers. Pancasila, a rather vague and generalist set of principles originally formulated by Sukarno in 1945, was vigorously promoted as a sacrosanct national ideology which represents the ancient wisdom of Indonesian people even before the entry of foreign-based religions such as Hinduism or Islam. In a July 1982 speech which reflected his deep infatuation with Javanese beliefs, Suharto glorified Pancasila as a key to reach the perfect life (''ilmu kasampurnaning '') of harmony with God and fellow mankind. In practice, however, the vagueness of Pancasila was exploited by Suharto's government to justify their actions and to condemn their opponents as "anti-Pancasila".

The '' Dwifungsi'' ("Dual Function") policy allowed the military to have an active role in all levels of Indonesian government, economy, and society.

Neutralisation of internal dissent

Having been appointed president, Suharto still needed to share power with various elements including Indonesian generals who considered Suharto as mere ''primus inter pares'' as well as Islamic and student groups who participated in the anti-communist purge. Suharto, aided by his "Office of Personal Assistants" (''Aspri'') clique of military officers from his days as commander of Diponegoro Division, particularly Ali Murtopo, began to systematically cement his hold on power by subtly sidelining potential rivals while rewarding loyalists with political position and monetary incentives.

Having successfully stood-down MPRS chairman General Nasution's 1968 attempt to introduce a bill which would have severely curtailed presidential authority, Suharto had him removed from his position as MPRS chairman in 1969 and forced his early retirement from the military in 1972. In 1967, generals HR Dharsono, Kemal Idris, and Sarwo Edhie Wibowo (dubbed "New Order Radicals") opposed Suharto's decision to allow the participation of existing political parties in elections in favour of a non-ideological two-party system somewhat similar to those found in many Western countries. Suharto then proceeded to send Dharsono overseas as ambassador, while Kemal Idris and Sarwo Edhie Wibowo were sent to distant North Sumatra and South Sulawesi as regional commanders.

While many original leaders of the 1966 student movement (''Angkatan 66'') were successfully co-opted into the regime, it faced large student demonstrations challenging the legitimacy of the 1971 elections, the ''Golput'' Movement, the costly construction of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah theme park (1972), the domination of foreign capitalists ( Malari Incident of 1974), and the lack of term limits of Suharto's presidency (1978). The New Order responded by imprisoning student activists and sending army units to occupy the campus of the Bandung Institute of Technology in 1978. In April 1978, Suharto ended the campus unrest by issuing a decree on the "Normalization of Campus Life" (NKK) which prohibited political activities on-campus not related to academic pursuits.

In 1980, fifty prominent political figures—including Nasution—signed the Petition of Fifty which criticised Suharto's use of Pancasila to silence his critics. Suharto refused to address the petitioners' concerns, and some of them were imprisoned with others having restrictions imposed on their movements.

Domestic politics and security

Depoliticization

To placate demands from civilian politicians for the holding of elections, as manifested in MPRS resolutions of 1966 and 1967, Suharto government formulated a series of laws regarding elections as well as the structure and duties of parliament which were passed by MPRS in November 1969 after protracted negotiations. The law provided for a parliament (''Madjelis Permusjawaratan Rakjat''/MPR) with the power to elect presidents consisting of a lower house ( ''Dewan Perwakilan Rakjat''/DPR) as well as regional and groups representatives. 100 of the 460 members of DPR were soldiers of the Republic of Indonesia Armed Forces (ABRI)—mostly Indonesian Army soldiers—directly appointed by the government as part of ''Dwifungsi'', while the remaining seats were allocated to political parties based on results of a general election. This mechanism ensures significant government control over legislative affairs, particularly the appointment of presidents.

To participate in the elections, Suharto realised the need to align himself with a political party. After initially considering alignment with Sukarno's old party, the PNI, in 1969 Suharto took control of an obscure military-run federation of NGOs called Golkar ("Functional Group") and transform it into his electoral vehicle under the co-ordination of his right-hand man Ali Murtopo. The first general election was held on 3 July 1971 with ten participants: Golkar, four Islamic parties, as well as five nationalist and Christian parties. Campaigning on a non-ideological platform of "development", and aided by official government support and subtle intimidation tactics. Golkar secured 62.8% of the popular vote. The March 1973 general session of the MPR promptly appointed Suharto to a second term in office with Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX as vice-president.

On 5 January 1973, to allow better control, the government forced the four Islamic parties to merge into the PPP (''Partai Persatuan Pembangunan''/United Development Party) while the five non-Islamic parties were fused into PDI (''Partai Demokrasi Indonesia''/Indonesian Democratic Party). The government ensured that these parties never developed effective opposition by controlling their leadership, while establishing the "re-call" system to remove any outspoken legislators from their positions. Using this system dubbed the " Pancasila Democracy", Golkar won the MPR general elections of 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997 with massive landslides. The elected MPR then proceeded to unanimously re-elect Suharto as president in 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, and 1998.

Establishment of corporative groups

Suharto proceeded with social engineering projects designed to transform Indonesian society into a de-politicized "floating mass" supportive of the national mission of "development", a concept similar to corporatism. The government formed civil society groups to unite the populace in support of government programs. For instance, the government created and required all civil servants and employees of state- and local government-owned enterprises and those of Bank Indonesia to join KORPRI (the Employees' Corps of the Republic of Indonesia) in November 1971 to ensure their loyalty;KORPRI still exists today and all civil servants are still required to join the corps. organised the FBSI (''Federasi Buruh Seluruh Indonesia'') as the only legal labour union for workers not eligible for KORPRI membership in February 1973 (later renamed as SPSI/''Serikat Pekerja Seluruh Indonesia'' in 1985), established under the pretext of tripartism, officially defined as Pancasilaist Industrial Relations ( id, Hubungan Industrial Pancasila) (while in fact it cements only business interests with the state); and established the MUI (''Majelis Ulama Indonesia'') in 1975 to control Islamic clerics. In 1966 to 1967, to promote assimilation of the influential Chinese Indonesians, the Suharto government passed several laws as part of the so-called "Basic Policy for the Solution of Chinese Problem", whereby only one Chinese-language publication (controlled by the army) was allowed to continue, all Chinese cultural and religious expressions (including display of Chinese characters) were prohibited from public space, Chinese schools were phased out, and the ethnic Chinese were encouraged to take Indonesian-sounding names. Furthermore, Chinese Indonesians are also subject to the Certificate of Citizenship in order to enter an academy, obtain a passport, register for an election, and to get married. In 1968, Suharto commenced the very successful family planning program (''Keluarga Berentjana''/KB) to stem the huge population growth rate and hence increase per-capita income. A lasting legacy from this period is the spelling reform of Indonesian language decreed by Suharto on 17 August 1972.

"State Ibuism"

Inspired by Javanese culture of priyayi, the New Order, during its consolidation era, was antifeminist and patriarchic, and officially defined as "familyism" ( id, kekeluargaan). In 1974, President Suharto established civil servant wives' corps ''Dharma Wanita'', organized under the doctrine of "Five Women's ''Dharma''" ( id, Pancadharma Wanita, an antifeminist, patriarchic doctrine similar to Nazi Germany's Kinder, Küche, Kirche); a "Family Welfare Training" programme ( id, Pembinaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga, PKK), which was rooted on a 1957 conference on home economics in Bogor

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