By: Hendra Purdana *
Presidential Candidate (Presidential Candidate) Number 02 Prabowo said a number of successes during the New Order government. In addition, he also claimed to be part of the regime under President Seharto’s leadership at that time. At the end of the New Order in 1998, Prabowo had established contacts with national figures such as the current Speaker of the MPR, Amien Rais.
The former son-in-law of the 2nd President of the Republic of Indonesia then revealed a number of achievements under the New Order Regime, especially in 25 years from 32 years in power.
“Even in the New Order, if we look at it, if we look at it, from the 32 years of the New Order it can be said, say, 20 years first, in the first 25 years, there has been a success for the people and the state,” he said.
The former Kopassus Danjen mentioned food self-sufficiency and increased production in all fields. He said that Indonesia’s economic growth in the New Order era could reach 6-8 percent. Prabowo also gave an example of making airplanes by Indonesian children that were successfully flown and became the history of the nation.
“In the past, our nation was insulted, the Dutch said that we made safety pins, we couldn’t, especially if we wanted independence,” added the presidential candidate who was paired with the custodian.
Prabowo also believed that the end of the New Order which marked the fall of Soeharto from the presidency in May 1998 was not caused by the economic crisis. The General Chairman of Gerindra stated that Indonesia’s economic growth in 1998 was still good. According to Prabowo, the 1998 crisis that ended the New Order regime was more due to the phenomenon of Indonesia’s wealth which was taken away. However, Suharto was also found guilty of fraud by smuggling illegal sugar and kapok with Bob Hasan and Liem Sioe Liong. These two people later became Suharto’s close partners during the New Order in power.
In a book entitled Who Is Actually Soeharto, Facts and Testimony of History Actors of the Movement of the Republic of Indonesia / PKI by Eros Djarot, stated that Suharto was almost dismissed for using his military power as the Diponegoro Military Commander to collect money from various companies in Central Java.
The Soeharto conspiracy with the bosses was recorded in the Asian Godfathers book: Revealing the Veil of the Entrepreneurs’ Affair, by Joe Studwell. That is not the first and last. Later Suharto and many other Indonesian military leaders established intimate relations with merchants. The case with a strong nuance of corruption inevitably sparked the wrath of the Minister of Security and Defense A.H. Nasution. Nasution also had the intention to dismiss Suharto. Luckily, thanks to the intervention of General Gatot Soebroto, Suharto’s military career was saved.
It is undeniable, that at this time the slogan “Piye kabare, I have a good time to …” with images of Suharto waving, often appearing on the back of the truck or on social media. This sentence seems to indicate that the New Order is an age where the life of society is the most ideal compared to other regimes. But let’s open the sheet, where when the Soeharto regime came to power, the process of forming corrupt, authoritarian and extractive political institutions in the context of building a capitalist economic order began when Suharto seized power from Ir Sukarno and founded the New Order.
To fulfill two different interests, namely the integration of Indonesia into global capitalism and the prosperity of supporting alliances consisting of business people – military – politicians, Suharto took the initiative of political economy which gave birth to a distinctive contradiction in the New Order regime. The contradiction involved the policy of deregulation and separation of the economy from politics as desired by the technocrats on the one hand, and the looting of economic resources and power by the business and political alliances that Suharto had built on the other.
Violence, cronyism in a corrupt capitalist system works in creating prosperity for a few people. Historian Adrian Vicker once wrote, that the emergence of business empires that grew in the Soeharto era. In many cases, large companies do not grow through investment and passive competition, but through “forced adjustment”.
If there is a local business that has just grown, Soeharto’s family, friends or close circle will offer themselves as partners who are translated into a business framework as a form of share distribution, but without the costs that must be incurred by Suharto’s inner circle. Control of the authorities over banks makes business easier – this business gets access to credit from the Bank. When the time comes for the annual audit, the balance sheet books are submitted with the weapon as a “hard code” to the auditor so as not to report financial issues in it.
As a President, of course, Soeharto should not have a monopoly for posterity and business practices with weapons threats which became a model of state management to fulfill the ideals of social justice. However, news emerged that Paslon number 02 Prabowo – Sandiaga would bring Indonesia like the Soeharto era. This was justified by Priyo Budi Santoso who said that Prabowo – Sandi would restore the state of the country exactly as in the regime of President Soeharto.
He explained that in the past all economic sectors from cheap clothing, food and shelter. This statement certainly became a blunder for Prabowo – Sandi, especially not a few Indonesian people who had felt the Soeharto era monetary crisis and development was only centralized on the island of Java. In addition, there are still many people who are traumatized by the “madness” of the New Order era. In this case, of course the people refuse to forget the dark side of the Order. What happens if Prabowo wins and returns Indonesia to the New Order era? Be wise and choose wisely.
* The author is a Trisakti University Alumni