Transition to the New Order
Indonesia's transition to the New Order in the mid-1960s ousted the country's first president, Sukarno, after 22 years in the position. One of the most tumultuous periods in the country's modern history, it was the commencement of Suharto's 31-year presidency.
Transition to the New Order
1965: 30 September Movement
1965–1966: Indonesian mass killings
1966: KAMI mass demonstration
11 March 1966: Supersemar signed
1967–1968: Acting presidency of Suharto
27 March 1968: First inauguration of Suharto
Described as the great dhalang ("puppet master" or "puppeteer"), Sukarno drew power from balancing the opposing and increasingly antagonistic forces of the Army and Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). By 1965, the PKI extensively penetrated all levels of government and gained influence at the expense of the army.[1]
On 30 September 1965, six of the military's most senior officers were tortured and killed (generally labelled an "attempted coup") by the so-called 30 September Movement, a group of (allegedly) PKI members and/or sympathizers. Within a few hours, Major General Suharto mobilised forces under his command and took control of Jakarta. Anti-communists, initially following the army's lead, went on a violent purge of communists throughout the country, which killed an estimated half a million people and led to the banning and dissolution of the PKI, which was officially blamed for the attempted coup and crisis.[2][3]
The politically weakened Sukarno was forced to transfer key political and military powers to General Suharto, who had become head of the armed forces. In March 1967, the Indonesian parliament (MPRS) named General Suharto acting president. He was formally appointed president one year later. Sukarno lived under virtual house arrest until his death in 1970.
Three People's Demands
TRITURA
Tri Tuntutan Rakyat (Indonesian)
1966
- Ban of the Communist Party
- Call for the dissolution of the Dwikora Cabinet
- Lower food prices demand
On 27 March, the new cabinet line-up, agreed between Suharto and Sukarno, was announced. The Second Revised Dwikora Cabinet included the key figures of Suharto himself as interim deputy prime minister for defense and security and thus Minister of Defense and Commander of the Armed Forces concurrently, tasked with preventing the resurgence of communism, the Sultan of Yogyakarta Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX as deputy prime minister for economic, financial and development affairs, tasked with solving the nation's economic problems and Adam Malik as deputy prime minister for social and political affairs, whose job it would be to manage foreign policy.[19][27]
On 24 April 1966, Suharto gave a speech to members of the Indonesian National Party in which he spoke of the "three deviations" that would have to be corrected by the youth of the country in co-operation with the Armed Forces. These were:
The new cabinet, in defiance of Sukarno's wishes, began moves to end the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and began to pull Indonesia away from China in retaliation for its backing of the Communists and konfrontasi.[19]
Meanwhile, Suharto and his allies continued to purge state institutions of Sukarno loyalists. The now disbanded Tjakrabirawa Regiment was replaced by an Army military police regiment, and following further student demonstrations in front of the legislature building on 2 May, the leadership of the Mutual Cooperation People's Representative Council (DPR-GR) led by Speaker I Gusti Gde Subamia was replaced and Sukarnoist and pro-communist members were stripped of their MP titles from the DPR-GR and the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS), the supreme lawmaking body and expelled. Pro-Suharto MPs for both bodies were appointed led by MPRS ad-interim speaker Wiluyo Puspoyudo.[8][19]
A session of the MPRS was scheduled to open 12 May, but eventually began on 20 June and continued until 5 July. One of its first actions was to appoint General Abdul Haris Nasution as speaker with Achmad Sjaichu serving as speaker of the DPR-GR. It then set about dismantling the apparatus Sukarno had built around himself. It passed several decrees, one of which was the ratification of the Supersemar, thus making revocation of it almost impossible. It also ratified the banning of the PKI and the teaching of Marxist ideology, instructed Suharto to form a new cabinet, called on Sukarno to explain the economic and political situation in the nation and stripped him of the title "president for life". It also passed a decree stating that if the president were unable to carry out his duties, the holder of the Supersemar would assume the presidency.[19][26] Suharto did not seek Sukarno's outright removal at this MPRS session due to the remaining support for the president amongst elements of the armed forces (particularly the Marines, the navy, and some regional army divisions).
The new cabinet, announced by Sukarno on 20 June, the Ampera Cabinet, was led by a five-person presidium headed by Suharto as de facto prime minister, and including Malik and Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX as deputies. Suharto remained minister of defense and chief of the Army.
On 11 August, against the wishes of Sukarno, a peace treaty was signed, formally ending Konfrontasi. Indonesia announced it would rejoin the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. It released political prisoners and paid compensation to the British and American governments for the damage caused to their diplomatic buildings during the demonstrations of the Sukarno era.
On 17 August, in his annual independence day speech, Sukarno claimed that Indonesia was not about to recognise Malaysia nor rejoin the UN. He also stated that he had not transferred power to Suharto. This provoked an angry reaction in the form of demonstrations, and Indonesia did indeed rejoin the UN in September, participating in the General Assembly on 28 September.[26] Meanwhile, criticism from demonstrators became increasingly vociferous and personal, and there were calls for him to be put on trial.
On 10 January 1967, Sukarno wrote to the MPRS, enclosing a document known as Nawaksara giving his version of the events surrounding the 30 September Movement. In it, he said the kidnappings and murders of the generals had been a "complete surprise" to him, and that he alone was not responsible for the nation's moral and economic problems. This led to demonstrators calling for Sukarno to be hanged.[19]
The MPRS leadership met on 21 January and concluded that Sukarno had failed to fulfil his constitutional obligations. In a resolution passed on 9 February, the DPR-GR rejected the Nawaksara and asked the MPRS to convene a special session.[26]
On 12 March 1967, the special session began. After heated debates, it agreed to strip Sukarno of his power. On 12 March, Suharto was appointed acting president. Sukarno went into de facto house arrest in Bogor. A year later, on 27 March 1968, another session of the MPRS appointed Suharto the second president of Indonesia.[26]
General Nasution was believed to have launched his own bid for power on 16 December 1965, when he won appointment to the Supreme Operations Command and gained a grip over the traditionally civilian-held portion of the military hierarchy. It was reported that Nasution would have preferred forming a military junta to replace Sukarno.[29] (The New York Times, 16 December 1965.)