INDONESIAN POLITICS IN 2006: STABILITY, COMPROMISE AND SHIFTING CONTESTS OVER IDEOLOGY

Abstract

The second year of President Yudhoyono's term in office was distinguished by continuing political stability and important democratic gains, including the continued implementation of direct elections of local government executives and the enactment of the Law on Governing Aceh. But if these achievements reconfirmed Indonesia's membership of the club of electoral democracies, the shallow roots of its democratic system were also apparent, especially in the weakness of the political party system. In preferring pragmatic cross-party deal making, the parties often played down their ideological commitments. Within society, however, ideological debates over the vexed issue of religion and the state intensified, and became an important part of the national political agenda. Amounting to an Indonesian version of the ‘culture wars’, such controversies were sparked by concerns that a proposed national bill on pornography and controversial regional by-laws were an indirect attempt to introduce Islamic law.

I would like to acknowledge insightful comments by Anies Baswedan, who served as discussant for the paper. The article also benefited from comments and suggestions by Ed Aspinall, Harold Crouch, Greg Fealy and Marcus Mietzner.

Notes

1 Mexican firm Cemex had hoped to sell its stake in the previously state-owned cement producer, PT Semen Gresik, to private investors, but this move was initially blocked by Sugiharto, the minister for state owned enterprises. Cemex wanted to divest its shares because of its failure to gain majority control of the company—a result of bitter opposition from regional interests opposed to the central government's attempt to privatise Semen Gresik. The government finally approved the divestment in July 2006.

2 Interview with Golkar central board executive, Jakarta, 17 August 2006.

3 Interview with Golkar central board executive, Jakarta, 17 August 2006.

4 For an extended discussion of the ‘duumvirate’ forged between the president and vice president, see Liddle (2005).

5 My account of the deliberations in the DPR is based on insights from Bivitri Susanti of the legal institute PSHK (Pusat Studi Hukum dan Kebijakan), which monitored the process and provided technical assistance to the party factions (interview, Jakarta, 13 August 2006).

6 The level of political violence between supporters of rival parties was low compared to previous elections, and incidents occurred only infrequently. One notable exception was Tuban, East Java, where PDI-P and PKB (the National Awakening Party) supporters burned down the KPUD offices and attacked properties belonging to the successful Golkar candidate in May 2006, re-igniting traditionally volatile political tensions (Tempo, 9–15/5/2006).

7 Interview with Saiful Mujani, director of the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), Jakarta, 8 August 2006.

8 Figures cited by the Indonesia Survey Network on the Liputan6 news program, SCTV, 24 August 2006.

9 I am indebted to Anies Baswedan for highlighting this aspect of the development of regional by-laws.

10 The Pancasila are the five guiding principles of the Indonesian state; these are: belief in Almighty God, humanitarianism, nationalism, democracy and social justice.

11 Interview, Eva Sundari, Jakarta, a PDI-P member of the DPR, 16 August 2006.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rodd McGibbon

This is a revised version of a paper presented to the 24th Indonesia Update conference, Canberra, 22–23 September 2006.