New Order (Indonesia)
The New Order was the regime of the second Indonesian President Suharto from his rise to power in 1966 until his resignation in 1998. Suharto coined the term upon his accession and used it to contrast his presidency with that of his predecessor Sukarno.
Immediately following the attempted coup in 1965, the political situation was uncertain, and Suharto's New Order found much popular support from groups wanting a separation from Indonesia's problems since its independence. The 'generation of 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 30 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 most members of the pro-democracy movement that forced Suharto to resign in the May 1998 riots 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.
Background
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 Sukarno's rule became increasingly autocratic from the late 1950s under his "Guided Democracy." Described as the great "dalang," Sukarno’s position depended on his concept of Nasakom whereby he sought to balance the competing Indonesian Military, Islamic groups, and the increasingly powerful Indonesian Communist Party. 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 becoming 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 that 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, which gave him authority to take any action necessary to maintain security. Using the decree, the PKI was banned in March 1966 and the parliament, 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, that confirmed Suharto's ban of the PKI and simultaneously banned "Communism/Marxism-Leninism", 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. 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 which obliged all organisations in Indonesia to adhere to Pancasila as a basic principle; he later secured another parliamentary resolution in 1983 which prohibited all organizations from adhering to any principles except Pancasila, a policy known as Pancasila sole principle. He instituted a Pancasila indoctrination program that was mandatory for 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 represented the ancient wisdom of the Indonesian people even before the entry of foreign-based religions such as Hinduism or Islam. In a July 1982 speech that reflected his deep infatuation with Javanese beliefs, Suharto glorified Pancasila as a key to reaching the perfect life 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 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" 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 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 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, the domination of foreign capitalists, and the lack of term limits of Suharto's presidency. 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" 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.