The Reform era (Indonesian: Era Reformasi, lit. 'Reformation era'), also referred to as the Post-Suharto era (Indonesian: Era pasca-Suharto), is the contemporary period of Indonesian history which began with the downfall of President Suharto and his New Order regime on 21 May 1998. Since then, the country has been in a period of transition. This period has been characterised by a more open political-social environment and grassroots economic improvement.
Issues over this period have included a push for a stronger democracy and civilian rule, elements of the military trying to retain their influence, a growing Islamism in politics and society, and demands for greater regional autonomy. The process of reformasi has resulted in a higher degree of freedom of speech, in contrast to the pervasive censorship under the New Order. This has led to a more open political debate in the news media and increased expression in the arts. Events that have shaped Indonesia in this period include the independence of East Timor, a bombing campaign by Islamic terrorists (including the 2002 Bali bombings), the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, religious and political tensions from 2016 to 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic and Cyclone Senyar.
Fall of Suharto (1998)
The Reformasi of 1998 led to changes in Indonesia's various governmental institutions, including the structures of the judiciary, legislature, and executive office. Generally, the fall of Suharto in 1998 is traced from events starting in 1996, when forces opposed to the New Order began to rally around Megawati Sukarnoputri, head of the PDI and daughter of the founding president Sukarno. When Suharto attempted to have Megawati removed as head of this party in a back-room deal, student activists loyal to Megawati occupied the headquarters of PDI in Jakarta. This culminated in the 27 July 1996 incident, when the military broke up the demonstrations.
These actions, along with increasing concerns over human rights violations in Indonesian-occupied East Timor, began to unsettle Suharto's usually friendly relations with Western countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These further worsened when the 1997 Asian financial crisis hit Indonesia, highlighting the corruption of the New Order.
In West Kalimantan, there was communal violence between the Dayaks and the Madurese in the 1996-1997 Sanggau Ledo riots and in the 1999 Sambas riots. In the Sambas riots, both Malays and Dayaks massacred the Madurese. In 2001, the Sampit conflict broke out in Central Kalimantan, resulting in large scale massacres of the Madurese by Dayaks.
Growing dissatisfaction with Suharto's authoritarian rule and the rapid erosion of the economy led many, chiefly the younger generation, to renew their protests directly against the New Order. During the 1997–1998 period (mainly on 13–15 May 1998), a massive riot broke out in Indonesia. People were burning everything within the city, including cars, motorcycles, buildings, and monuments in addition to pillaging and looting from stores.
Presidency of Habibie (1998–1999)
After Suharto's resignation, Vice President B. J. Habibie was sworn in as president and undertook numerous political reforms.
In February 1999, the Habibie administration passed the Political Parties Law, under which political parties would not be limited to just three as had been the case under Suharto. Political parties were also not required to have Pancasila as their ideology. This resulted in the emergence of many political parties, and 48 would go on to compete in the 1999 legislative election.
In May 1999, the Habibie administration passed the Regional Autonomy Law, which was the first step in decentralising Indonesia's government and allowing provinces to have more part in governing their areas. The press became liberated under Habibie, although the Ministry of Information continued to exist. Political prisoners such as Sri Bintang Pamungkas, Muchtar Pakpahan, and Xanana Gusmão were also released under Habibie's orders.
Habibie also presided over the 1999 legislative elections, the first free election since 1955. It was supervised by the independent General Elections Commission (KPU) instead of an elections commission filled with government ministers as had been the case during the New Order. In a move that surprised many, and angered some, Habibie called for a referendum on the future of East Timor. Subsequently, on 30 August, the inhabitants of East Timor voted for independence. This territorial loss harmed Habibie's popularity and political alliances.
Presidency of Wahid (1999–2001)
In 1999, Abdurrahman Wahid became President of Indonesia. His first cabinet, dubbed the National Unity Cabinet (Indonesian: Kabinet Persatuan Nasional), was a coalition cabinet that represented several political parties: the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), National Awakening Party (PKB), Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP), National Mandate Party (PAN), and Justice Party (PK). Non-partisans and the military (TNI) were also represented in the cabinet. Among Wahid's administrative reforms were the abolition of the Ministry of Information, the New Order's primary weapon in controlling the media, and the disbandment of the Ministry of Welfare, which had become corrupt and extortionist under the New Order.
Autonomy and tolerance
Wahid intended to give rebellious Aceh province a referendum on various modes of autonomy, rather than an option for independence like in East Timor. Wahid also wanted to adopt a softer stance towards Aceh by having less military personnel on the ground. In March, the Wahid administration began to open negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Two months later in May, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with GAM to last until the beginning of 2001, by which time both signatories would have breached the agreement.
On 30 December 1999, Wahid visited Jayapura, the capital of Papua province (then known as "Irian Jaya"). Wahid was successful in convincing West Papuan leaders that he was a force for change and even encouraged the use of the name Papua.
In September 2000, Wahid declared martial law in Maluku. By now, it was evident that Laskar Jihad, a radical Islamic militia, were being assisted by members of the military and it was apparent that they were financed by Fuad Bawazier, the last Minister of Finance to have served under Suharto. During the same month, West Papuans raised their Morning Star flag. Wahid's response was to allow this provided that the Morning Star flag was placed lower than the Indonesian flag, for which he was severely criticised by Megawati and Akbar. On 24 December 2000, a series of bombings were directed against churches in Jakarta and eight cities across Indonesia.
In March of that year, Wahid suggested that the 1966 Provisional People's Consultative Assembly (MPRS) resolution on the banning of Marxism–Leninism be lifted.
Relations with the military
When he ascended to the presidency, one of Wahid's goals was to reform the military and to remove its dominant socio-political role. In this venture, Wahid found an ally in Agus Wirahadikusumah, whom he made Commander of Kostrad in March. In July, Agus began uncovering a scandal involving Dharma Putra, a foundation with affiliations to Kostrad. Through Megawati, military members began pressuring Wahid to remove Agus. Wahid gave in to the pressure but then planned to have Agus appointed as the Army Chief of Staff to which top military leaders responded by threatening to retire and Wahid once again bowed down to pressure.
Wahid's relations with the military deteriorated even further when in the same month it was revealed that Laskar Jihad had arrived in Maluku and was being armed with what turned out to be military weapons, despite Wahid's orders to the military to block their entry into the region. The militia had planned earlier in the year to go to the archipelago and assist the Muslims there in their communal conflict with the Christians.
In 2000, Wahid was embroiled in two scandals that would damage his presidency. In May, the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) reported that US$4 million was missing from its pension fund. The missing cash had been embezzled by Wahid's own masseur, who claimed Wahid sent him to Bulog to collect the cash. Although the money was returned, Wahid's opponents took the chance of accusing him of being involved in the scandal and of being aware of what his masseur was up to. At the same time, Wahid was also accused of keeping a US$2 million donation made by the Sultan of Brunei to provide assistance in Aceh.
Impeachment of Wahid
By the end of 2000, many within the political elite were disillusioned with Wahid. The most prominent was Amien Rais who regretted having supported Wahid for the presidency the previous year. Amien attempted to rally opposition by encouraging Megawati and Akbar to flex their political muscles. Megawati surprisingly defended Wahid while Akbar preferred to wait for the 2004 legislative elections. At the end of November, 151 People's Representative Council (DPR) members signed a petition calling for the impeachment of Wahid.
In January 2001, Wahid announced that Chinese New Year was to become an optional holiday. Wahid followed this up in February by lifting the ban on the display of Chinese characters and the importing of Chinese publications. In February, Wahid visited Northern Africa as well as Saudi Arabia to undertake the hajj pilgrimage. Wahid made his last overseas visit in June 2001 when he visited Australia.
In a meeting with university rectors on 27 January 2001, Wahid commented on the possibility of Indonesia descending into anarchy. Wahid suggested that he may be forced to dissolve the DPR if that happened. Although the meeting was off-the-record, it caused quite a stir and added to the fuel of the movement against him. On 1 February, the DPR met to issue a memorandum against Wahid. Two memorandums constitute an MPR Special Session where the impeachment and removal of a president would be legal. The vote was overwhelmingly for the memorandum, and PKB members could only walk out in protest. The memorandum caused widespread protests by NU members. In East Java, NU members attacked Golkar's regional offices. In Jakarta, Wahid's opposition began accusing him of encouraging the protests. Wahid denied it and went to talk to the protesters at the town of Pasuruan, encouraging them to get off the streets. Nevertheless, NU protesters continued to show their support for Wahid and in April, announced that they were ready to defend and die for the president.
In March, Wahid tried to counter the opposition by moving against dissidents within his own cabinet. Minister of Justice Yusril Ihza Mahendra was removed for making public his demands for the president's resignation while the Minister of Forestry Nur Mahmudi Ismail was also removed under the suspicion of channelling his department's funds to Wahid's opposition. In response to this, Megawati began to distance herself and did not show up for the inauguration of the Ministers' replacement. On 30 April, the DPR issued a second memorandum and on the next day called for an MPR Special Session to be held on 1 August.
By July, Wahid grew desperate and ordered Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), the Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security to declare a state of emergency. SBY refused, and Wahid removed him from his position. Finally, on 20 July, Amien declared that the MPR Special Session would be brought forward to 23 July. The TNI, having had a bad relationship with Wahid through his tenure as president, stationed 40,000 troops in Jakarta and placed tanks with their turrets pointing at the Presidential Palace in a show of force. To prevent the MPR Special Session from taking place, Wahid then enacted a Decree disbanding the MPR on 23 July despite having no power to do so. In defiance against Wahid's decree, the MPR proceeded with the Special Session and then unanimously voted to impeach Wahid, and to replace him with Megawati as president. Wahid continued to insist that he was the president and stayed for some days in the Presidential Palace but bowed down and left the residence on 25 July to immediately fly to the United States for health treatment.
Presidency of Megawati (2001–2004)
Under Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesia's first president Sukarno, the process of democratic reform begun under Habibie and Wahid continued, albeit slowly and erratically. Megawati appeared to see her role mainly as a symbol of national unity, and she rarely actively intervened in government business. Under her tenure, the Mutual Assistance Cabinet (Indonesian: Kabinet Gotong Royong) helped govern the country. It included Megawati's successor, the retired General SBY. The military, disgraced at the time of Suharto's fall, regained much of its influence. Corruption continued to be pervasive though Megawati herself was seldom blamed for this, and also commence military operations against the GAM separatist.