Ah...ok...the reason I reply to @Kosaki_MacTavish statement in the first place was the fact that I was thinking that the particular part/scope (feasibiilty studies) of the project he mentioned were more of a technical part (i.e the ones that are handled by the central government) since I am not sure if the Sumatran governors have the technical knowledge to coordinate such stuff....and I think I misunderstood his statement since I thought the statement seems to imply that in regard to the construction of the Trans Sumatra toll road, there is actually more
Indonesia ATL: The Presidency of Try Sutrisno (1997-)
- Thread starter GSD310
- Start date
Yup, my mistake. I forgot that being a national project, the technicall stuffs (especially the feasibility studies) must be handled by the Central Government. But i think (and picked my hill on) land-clearings can be handled by the Provincial Government.
It's almost three years since this comment was posted but i hope i would not bug you too much since each time i reread this comment, i felt a need to reply on this one.
The "Petition of 35" is just the media's nickname, alluding to the number of organizations participating on this "proclamation of neutrality" petition, and also to the original Petition of 50, when 50 prominent Indonesian individuals (led by none other than General of the Army (Retired) Abdul Haris Nasution and General of the Police (Retired) Hoegeng Santoso themselves with blessing from Mohammad Hatta) asked President Soeharto to not using Pancasila as a means to strengthen his cult of personality.
To make this post not needlessly pedantic, i'll add some tidbits about the nature of Pancasila itself in the Indonesian society and why it is so important in our political lives.
The concept of Pancasila (Five Principles) is a uniquely Indonesian concept, supposedly derived from the everyday values lived by the average Indonesian ethnic societies from agrarian community of the Javanese and Balinese, to the communal Minangese and Minahasanese, to the jungle-dwellers of Dayaks and Papuans, to the cow herders of Flores people, also the sea-farers Bugis people, et cetera.
While the current IOTL official interpretation of Pancasila de jure has been steered towards its original Sukarnoist conception on writings made by Sukarno on June 1st 1945, even declaring the date as Pancasila Day (informally known as the Pancasila Conception Day to differentiate it from the Might of Pancasila Day on October 1st), in practice it was still much based on Soehartoist conception made from late-1960s until mid-1970s.
Notable difference is how each Sila are structured. In Sukarno's writings, each sila was meant to be equal to each other, all in support of the Indonesian society, likened to a Pentapod holder. Soehartoist conception by Nugroho Notosutanto makes them likened to a layered pyramid, with each preceding Silas leading on the other Silas, and (on reverse order) each preceeding Silas serves as a base for the other Silas to be built upon. This one makes a (very much ingrained) presumption that the 1st Sila (Belief in God) is the most important of the Pancasila, evenmore important than 2nd Sila (Humanity) or other Silas, let alone the 5th one (Social Justice). So IOTL, when someone makes a statement that "Humanity is also equal to Religion", much backlash ensued, with those who protested citing the Soehartoist concept of Religion being above Humanity and other Silas.
But everyone agreed that the 4th Sila (Democracy) is important for the political workings of the government, albeit with different ways to implement it, whether by one-man-one-vote system for the elections, or by a thorough discussion (musyawarah) to achieve the objective(s) that everyone can be agreed upon.
And also important, the interpretation of 1st and 3rd (Nationalism) Sila was also different between the two's conceptions.
On the 1st Sila itself, while Sukarno's writings intended for the State to be tolerant to all kinds of religions, even those who practiced Animism and Dynamism, and evenmore the Atheists or Agnostics since Sukarno believed that they still believed in something, the Soehartoist concept explicitly rejected Atheism, and specifically required that a religion which wanted to be recognized by the state must have a rigid, written concept of (Mono)Theist religious doctrine, a prophet, a minimum number of followings, and a religious celebration day. This was made in 1967 as a way to curb Communism, but from the start it was used as pretext to convert any Animist/Dinamist/Confucianist to the (then) three recognized religions: Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism; often under threat of wiping them out with the excuse of "cleaning up 'communists'".
Even now, with Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and "Belief Towards the Oneness of God" are recognized by the State, there is still attempts to convert the Animists/Dynamists covered under the 7th Religion to other religions, usually Islam or Protestanism.
About 3rd Sila, Sukarno defended the non-Bumiputeras (Native Indonesians) who was born at Indonesia, explicitly proclaimed that they are Indonesians too, since the concept of Indonesian Nationalism itself is tied to the Land aspect (the legal territory of Dutch East Indies) rather than Blood (ethnic) or religion. If they wanted to be a part of the Indonesian nation, then so be it. Bersiap of 1945-1947 was an aberration created after three years of Japanese occupation, which was denounced by the Republican Government from the start.
Whilst Soehartoist conception de jure also protected non-Bumiputera Indonesians, de facto... well, you can look up Presidential Decision 240 of 1967 and (much more infamous) Presidential Instruction 14 of 1967 (which both has revoked by Try ITTL).
Edit: added emphasizes, Sukarno's Pancasila Speech in front of the US Congress, and about 4th Sila.
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257: Amirul's Analysis
4th June 2003:
Still looking that he’s still trying to shake off the jetlag after arriving back in Jakarta the previous night from his two-week trip, President Try Sutrisno worked a light schedule, his most notable meeting of the day being Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo.
Ari first spoke about a developing situation while the President was away overseas saying that supporters of Treasurer of the PKPB Akbar Tandjung across the nation has been observed and reported as gathering and consolidating support. While meeting, they have tried not used any attributes that might identify them as PKPB members to disguise themselves. The President noted this, saying that his only concern is making sure that Akbar and his supporters are not being aided by any element of the state apparatus.
Ari further reported that after returning from overseas, he had been in contact with Akbar himself. Akbar has once again requested for an expression of support, at the “appropriate time”, from the President and has promised to direct the PKPB to support of the Anti-Terror Bill so that it can be unanimously passed as soon as possible if he is elected Chairman of the PKPB. The President also noted this.
The President then moved on to talk about something else.
“I will need you to prioritize the OPM over the next 3 months; follow any leads that you have, use any means necessary and then report back to me”, the President said “We’ve established in the Republic of Congo that the GAM has received training and is on the move and that the FRETILIN has received training and will soon be on the move. I want to know what the situation is with the OPM beyond “they are out there somewhere in the Pacific”. I specifically want to know if they have received any training of the kind the GAM and FRETILIN has.”
“Very well, Mr. President”, replied Ari.
“I suppose it’s too much to ask that these three organizations have disappeared and are no longer planning anything against this Republic”, grumbled the President.
More grimly, the conversation turned to Chief of ABRI Intelligence Agency Amirul Isnaeni who was reported by Ari as now being bed-ridden and slipping in and out of consciousness. When the President asked whether Amirul had spent time with his family, Ari only smiled sadly and said that Amirul had insisted that he will continue working until he is no longer able to before he began to slip in and out of consciousness.
5th June 2003:
After a meeting with the President, State Minister of the Environment Erna Witoelar, Governor of Jakarta Endriartono Sutaro accompanied by State Secretary Edi Sudrajat emerged to conduct a joint press conference.
Erna spoke first saying that she had come that day to report to the President about the Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) of the Jakarta North Coast Reclamation considering that it was a project which had been approved by President Soeharto in 1995. Erna went on to find some key findings:
*That whereas in past floods, the average elevation of surface water is 50 centimeters, reclamation would cause the average elevation of surface water to increase by 12 centimeters causing bigger areas of flooding if and when it does happen.
*The source of the material to be used for the reclamation has not been adequately made clear as is the possible environmental impact on the location from which the reclamation material is to be extracted from.
*That reclamation has the potential of disturbing the cooling system of the Muara Karang Steam Electricity Generator, potentially disturbing a generator that has to provide electricity to the Presidential Palace, Tanjung Priok Harbour, and Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
*The source of clean water on the reclaimed land has not been determined.
*Possible damage for telecommunication cables both as a result of the reclamation and possible abration and sedimentation.
Erna then said that as a result of these considerations and with the President’s approval, she is hereby announcing that the Jakarta North Coast Reclamation Project is environmentally unfeasible. When asked whether she intended to make this announcement on 5th June, which is the World Environment Day, Erna said that this was a coincidence but said that it has turned out to be fitting because it reflected the government’s intention to be more environmentally conscious.
Edi spoke next saying that though the President has given approval to the State Minister of the Environment’s report, he has instructed that all participants in the project, whether state, state-owned or private sector, be notified of this and be given 60 days to respond to the concerns raised by the Amdal. If they can adequately address the concerns, the reclamation’s unfeasible status will be reversed and the reclamation will go ahead.
“And if they cannot address the concerns?” asked a member of the press.
“The President at that point will have the option to revoke the Presidential Decision authorizing the reclamation project and declare it to be cancelled”, Edi said.
Speaking last, Endriartono said that as the person whose office places him ex officio in charge of the reclamation project, he will be using the time given to address the issues which are raised by the Amdal with all the others who are involved with this project. As the Governor of Jakarta, he said that he will abide by whatever the President decides.
6th June 2003:
At the Ndalem Kalitan at Solo, Central Java, Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto was having a press conference where she said that preparations for the next PKPB National Congress continues to be made. She said that Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani has been appointed Chairman of the Congress Steering Committee and Treasurer of the PKPB Akbar Tandjung has been sent on an Indonesia-wide trip to “absorb the aspirations of the provincial branches”. Tutut half-scoffed when asked about the announcement of the previous day regarding the unfeasibility of the Jakarta North Coast Reclamation Project. She only said that she expected “nothing less” from a president that “has picked fights with anyone and everyone” and that after private bank owners, Freeport, and forest concessionaires, it must now be the turn of property developers.
At the Presidential Palace, Edi Sudrajat and Vice Presidential Secretary Komara Djaja held a joint press conference, both having emerged out of a meeting with the President. Edi and Komara announced that the ASEAN Summit would be held in Jakarta on 7th-8th October and that they both been respectively appointed as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the 2003 ASEAN Summit Prepatory Committee; the division of work being that Edi will be in charge of the organization of the event and Komara being in charge of the agenda of the event. On the question of whether or not the ASEAN Summit will be attended by ASEAN members only or whether it will be ASEAN + other nations, Edi said that this was a matter for the President.
8th June 2003:
Dressed in black, the President and First Lady Tuti Setiawati arrived at ABRI Headquarters at Cilangkap, East Jakarta today. They were welcomed by Commander of ABRI TB Hasanuddin who escorted them to ABRI Headquarters’ Gatot Subroto Hall. Amidst sad and sorrowful-looking officers from all four branches, the President paid his final respects at the coffin of Amirul Isnaeni who passed away that morning.
The President and Tuti spent some time with Amirul’s widow. Mrs. Hari Puji Lestari explained how until he lost consciousness, Amirul continued to analyze the intelligence coming his way up to and including the information the President became aware of during his recent trip to the Republic of Congo. The President smiled sadly at this.
There was mingling among the mourners. The President found himself chatting with TB Hasanuddin and ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Staff Saurip Kadi. Saurip forwarded the regional military commands’ observation in their respective jurisdictions that Akbar Tandjung’s supporters are holding gatherings.
“Based on these reports, we have reason to believe that Akbar Tandjung is gathering support for an Extraordinary National Congress where he intends to contest the chairmanship against the Chairwoman of the PKPB”, Saurip reported “But at the same time, Mr. President, the regional military commanders are asking for instructions about what their stance should be to all this?”
“Don’t get involved. You’re all busy trying to internally explain what the reforms to the territorial system are all about so that’s what you all should be focusing on right now rather than the PKPB’s internal affairs.”, said the President as Saurip had a look of both relief that he did not have intervene and realization that the President knew that something was going on.
Among the other mourners the President bumped into was Inspector General of ABRI Ryamizard Ryacudu who told the story of how Amirul had been ill since he was a major but had just chosen to ignore his illness.
9th June 2003:
Amirul’s military funeral at Kalibata Heroes’ Cemetery, presided over by TB Hasanuddin, played on the television on mute at the President’s office. The President himself was having his meeting with Minister of Forestry Sapta Nirwandar. The two discussed the result of the President’s trip to the G-8 Summit which included information from the EU that the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan will be adopted this year. Sapta said that it will be a few years after adoption before the FLEGT is put in place as a scheme with its own distinctive license to which the President replied that this time should be use to continually improve the Legal Timber Certification Scheme the aim of complying to FLEGT standards and receiving an FLEGT license.
Sapta reported to the President about his recent trip to Malaysia. Sapta said that his explanation of the Legal Timber Certification Scheme was accepted well enough but his request for Malaysian cooperation to prevent illegal logging timber from crossing the border into Malaysia faced some “resistance”. Minister of Primary Industries Hishamuddin Hussein said that this was an Indonesian matter, saying that once timber has and is able to cross into the Malaysian border, it is difficult not to assume that those on the Indonesian side has allowed it through for whatever reason.
“Did you tell them we would gladly welcome it if they ban Indonesian logs from entering the country?” asked the President.
“I did, Mr. President”, Sapta said “But that’s out of the question and here, the minister rambled on about how it could be taken as Indonesia dictating what Malaysia can and cannot import…”
“I get it”, the President said “I understand.”
“Another way is that we can pressure the Japanese to stop taking in imported logs from Malaysia if they question whether it was legally logged or not…”, said Sapta “Maybe even China…”
The President can only smile sourly.
---
With the funeral over, Mrs. Amirul and her children were still receiving condolences from those who had been present at the funeral. Amongst the crowd, Mrs. Amirul found herself face to face with Ari Sudewo.
“I beg leave, Mrs. Amirul, I have a flight to catch. I express again my condolences on the death of Lt. Gen. Amirul”, Ari said “He worked hard for this country, right until the very end.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Chief of BAKIN”, replied Mrs. Amirul before suddenly remembering something “Before I forgot, in the last few days…when Amirul was conscious, he wrote some things. It’s in a notepad…perhaps it will be of use…”
“Take your time, Mrs. Amirul”, interrupted Ari with a smile “Don’t worry about those kinds of things for now.”
---
At Amirul’s residence, a car arrived bearing Amirul’s personal effects from the Army Hospital, where he had passed away, in a briefcase and some plastic bags. Two housemaids came to bring the items out of the car and it was at that point, that a notepad fell out of the plastic bag.
One of the housemaids came to collect it and opened it to see what was inside the notepad, there were some writings on it:
“GA and FRET at different parts of world but received training at almost same time, get field ops exp at almost same time, and heading out, for whatever they have prepared themselves for, at almost same time.
Coincidence or not?
We have some intel of GA and FRET experience aldy, intel of OP experience will be useful.
If OP experience same as other two= not coincidence= they are acting in sync with each other.
They are moving together not separately
Not three small rebellions but one big one…”
The housemaid picking up the notepad recognized her employer’s handwriting and placed the notepad in the plastic bag. The plastic bag was then stored in the residence, where it would become hidden and forgotten…
---
The Presidential Decision approving the Jakarta North Coast Reclamation https://www.ndaru.net/wp-content/peraturan/keppres/keppres_1995_52.pdf
The arguments put forward by Erna is based on https://ppkl.menlhk.go.id/website/filebox/1027/210923104941BUKU M.R. KARLIANSYAH 2021.pdf pp. 82-85 of the book, pp.58-59 of the pdf file.
In OTL, Indonesia banned export of logs in 2001 and then Malaysia provided assistance by banning import of logs from Indonesia in 2002 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2064950.stm. ITTL Malaysia here making Indonesia realize that it needs Malaysia if it wants to get rid of illegal logging.
I wonder if there are moments like that between Try and Sapta around the world where the minister has narrower scope of focus and thus, fails to see the broader picture the president has to deal with……
Amirul passed away as in OTL though unlike his OTL he did not get a liver transplant. Ryamizard saying that Amirul has been sick since the latter was a major is based on OTL. https://tokoh.id/biografi/1-ensiklopedi/seorang-intelijen-terbaik/
Still looking that he’s still trying to shake off the jetlag after arriving back in Jakarta the previous night from his two-week trip, President Try Sutrisno worked a light schedule, his most notable meeting of the day being Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo.
Ari first spoke about a developing situation while the President was away overseas saying that supporters of Treasurer of the PKPB Akbar Tandjung across the nation has been observed and reported as gathering and consolidating support. While meeting, they have tried not used any attributes that might identify them as PKPB members to disguise themselves. The President noted this, saying that his only concern is making sure that Akbar and his supporters are not being aided by any element of the state apparatus.
Ari further reported that after returning from overseas, he had been in contact with Akbar himself. Akbar has once again requested for an expression of support, at the “appropriate time”, from the President and has promised to direct the PKPB to support of the Anti-Terror Bill so that it can be unanimously passed as soon as possible if he is elected Chairman of the PKPB. The President also noted this.
The President then moved on to talk about something else.
“I will need you to prioritize the OPM over the next 3 months; follow any leads that you have, use any means necessary and then report back to me”, the President said “We’ve established in the Republic of Congo that the GAM has received training and is on the move and that the FRETILIN has received training and will soon be on the move. I want to know what the situation is with the OPM beyond “they are out there somewhere in the Pacific”. I specifically want to know if they have received any training of the kind the GAM and FRETILIN has.”
“Very well, Mr. President”, replied Ari.
“I suppose it’s too much to ask that these three organizations have disappeared and are no longer planning anything against this Republic”, grumbled the President.
More grimly, the conversation turned to Chief of ABRI Intelligence Agency Amirul Isnaeni who was reported by Ari as now being bed-ridden and slipping in and out of consciousness. When the President asked whether Amirul had spent time with his family, Ari only smiled sadly and said that Amirul had insisted that he will continue working until he is no longer able to before he began to slip in and out of consciousness.
5th June 2003:
After a meeting with the President, State Minister of the Environment Erna Witoelar, Governor of Jakarta Endriartono Sutaro accompanied by State Secretary Edi Sudrajat emerged to conduct a joint press conference.
Erna spoke first saying that she had come that day to report to the President about the Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) of the Jakarta North Coast Reclamation considering that it was a project which had been approved by President Soeharto in 1995. Erna went on to find some key findings:
*That whereas in past floods, the average elevation of surface water is 50 centimeters, reclamation would cause the average elevation of surface water to increase by 12 centimeters causing bigger areas of flooding if and when it does happen.
*The source of the material to be used for the reclamation has not been adequately made clear as is the possible environmental impact on the location from which the reclamation material is to be extracted from.
*That reclamation has the potential of disturbing the cooling system of the Muara Karang Steam Electricity Generator, potentially disturbing a generator that has to provide electricity to the Presidential Palace, Tanjung Priok Harbour, and Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
*The source of clean water on the reclaimed land has not been determined.
*Possible damage for telecommunication cables both as a result of the reclamation and possible abration and sedimentation.
Erna then said that as a result of these considerations and with the President’s approval, she is hereby announcing that the Jakarta North Coast Reclamation Project is environmentally unfeasible. When asked whether she intended to make this announcement on 5th June, which is the World Environment Day, Erna said that this was a coincidence but said that it has turned out to be fitting because it reflected the government’s intention to be more environmentally conscious.
Edi spoke next saying that though the President has given approval to the State Minister of the Environment’s report, he has instructed that all participants in the project, whether state, state-owned or private sector, be notified of this and be given 60 days to respond to the concerns raised by the Amdal. If they can adequately address the concerns, the reclamation’s unfeasible status will be reversed and the reclamation will go ahead.
“And if they cannot address the concerns?” asked a member of the press.
“The President at that point will have the option to revoke the Presidential Decision authorizing the reclamation project and declare it to be cancelled”, Edi said.
Speaking last, Endriartono said that as the person whose office places him ex officio in charge of the reclamation project, he will be using the time given to address the issues which are raised by the Amdal with all the others who are involved with this project. As the Governor of Jakarta, he said that he will abide by whatever the President decides.
6th June 2003:
At the Ndalem Kalitan at Solo, Central Java, Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto was having a press conference where she said that preparations for the next PKPB National Congress continues to be made. She said that Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani has been appointed Chairman of the Congress Steering Committee and Treasurer of the PKPB Akbar Tandjung has been sent on an Indonesia-wide trip to “absorb the aspirations of the provincial branches”. Tutut half-scoffed when asked about the announcement of the previous day regarding the unfeasibility of the Jakarta North Coast Reclamation Project. She only said that she expected “nothing less” from a president that “has picked fights with anyone and everyone” and that after private bank owners, Freeport, and forest concessionaires, it must now be the turn of property developers.
At the Presidential Palace, Edi Sudrajat and Vice Presidential Secretary Komara Djaja held a joint press conference, both having emerged out of a meeting with the President. Edi and Komara announced that the ASEAN Summit would be held in Jakarta on 7th-8th October and that they both been respectively appointed as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the 2003 ASEAN Summit Prepatory Committee; the division of work being that Edi will be in charge of the organization of the event and Komara being in charge of the agenda of the event. On the question of whether or not the ASEAN Summit will be attended by ASEAN members only or whether it will be ASEAN + other nations, Edi said that this was a matter for the President.
8th June 2003:
Dressed in black, the President and First Lady Tuti Setiawati arrived at ABRI Headquarters at Cilangkap, East Jakarta today. They were welcomed by Commander of ABRI TB Hasanuddin who escorted them to ABRI Headquarters’ Gatot Subroto Hall. Amidst sad and sorrowful-looking officers from all four branches, the President paid his final respects at the coffin of Amirul Isnaeni who passed away that morning.
The President and Tuti spent some time with Amirul’s widow. Mrs. Hari Puji Lestari explained how until he lost consciousness, Amirul continued to analyze the intelligence coming his way up to and including the information the President became aware of during his recent trip to the Republic of Congo. The President smiled sadly at this.
There was mingling among the mourners. The President found himself chatting with TB Hasanuddin and ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Staff Saurip Kadi. Saurip forwarded the regional military commands’ observation in their respective jurisdictions that Akbar Tandjung’s supporters are holding gatherings.
“Based on these reports, we have reason to believe that Akbar Tandjung is gathering support for an Extraordinary National Congress where he intends to contest the chairmanship against the Chairwoman of the PKPB”, Saurip reported “But at the same time, Mr. President, the regional military commanders are asking for instructions about what their stance should be to all this?”
“Don’t get involved. You’re all busy trying to internally explain what the reforms to the territorial system are all about so that’s what you all should be focusing on right now rather than the PKPB’s internal affairs.”, said the President as Saurip had a look of both relief that he did not have intervene and realization that the President knew that something was going on.
Among the other mourners the President bumped into was Inspector General of ABRI Ryamizard Ryacudu who told the story of how Amirul had been ill since he was a major but had just chosen to ignore his illness.
9th June 2003:
Amirul’s military funeral at Kalibata Heroes’ Cemetery, presided over by TB Hasanuddin, played on the television on mute at the President’s office. The President himself was having his meeting with Minister of Forestry Sapta Nirwandar. The two discussed the result of the President’s trip to the G-8 Summit which included information from the EU that the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan will be adopted this year. Sapta said that it will be a few years after adoption before the FLEGT is put in place as a scheme with its own distinctive license to which the President replied that this time should be use to continually improve the Legal Timber Certification Scheme the aim of complying to FLEGT standards and receiving an FLEGT license.
Sapta reported to the President about his recent trip to Malaysia. Sapta said that his explanation of the Legal Timber Certification Scheme was accepted well enough but his request for Malaysian cooperation to prevent illegal logging timber from crossing the border into Malaysia faced some “resistance”. Minister of Primary Industries Hishamuddin Hussein said that this was an Indonesian matter, saying that once timber has and is able to cross into the Malaysian border, it is difficult not to assume that those on the Indonesian side has allowed it through for whatever reason.
“Did you tell them we would gladly welcome it if they ban Indonesian logs from entering the country?” asked the President.
“I did, Mr. President”, Sapta said “But that’s out of the question and here, the minister rambled on about how it could be taken as Indonesia dictating what Malaysia can and cannot import…”
“I get it”, the President said “I understand.”
“Another way is that we can pressure the Japanese to stop taking in imported logs from Malaysia if they question whether it was legally logged or not…”, said Sapta “Maybe even China…”
The President can only smile sourly.
---
With the funeral over, Mrs. Amirul and her children were still receiving condolences from those who had been present at the funeral. Amongst the crowd, Mrs. Amirul found herself face to face with Ari Sudewo.
“I beg leave, Mrs. Amirul, I have a flight to catch. I express again my condolences on the death of Lt. Gen. Amirul”, Ari said “He worked hard for this country, right until the very end.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Chief of BAKIN”, replied Mrs. Amirul before suddenly remembering something “Before I forgot, in the last few days…when Amirul was conscious, he wrote some things. It’s in a notepad…perhaps it will be of use…”
“Take your time, Mrs. Amirul”, interrupted Ari with a smile “Don’t worry about those kinds of things for now.”
---
At Amirul’s residence, a car arrived bearing Amirul’s personal effects from the Army Hospital, where he had passed away, in a briefcase and some plastic bags. Two housemaids came to bring the items out of the car and it was at that point, that a notepad fell out of the plastic bag.
One of the housemaids came to collect it and opened it to see what was inside the notepad, there were some writings on it:
“GA and FRET at different parts of world but received training at almost same time, get field ops exp at almost same time, and heading out, for whatever they have prepared themselves for, at almost same time.
Coincidence or not?
We have some intel of GA and FRET experience aldy, intel of OP experience will be useful.
If OP experience same as other two= not coincidence= they are acting in sync with each other.
They are moving together not separately
Not three small rebellions but one big one…”
The housemaid picking up the notepad recognized her employer’s handwriting and placed the notepad in the plastic bag. The plastic bag was then stored in the residence, where it would become hidden and forgotten…
---
The Presidential Decision approving the Jakarta North Coast Reclamation https://www.ndaru.net/wp-content/peraturan/keppres/keppres_1995_52.pdf
The arguments put forward by Erna is based on https://ppkl.menlhk.go.id/website/filebox/1027/210923104941BUKU M.R. KARLIANSYAH 2021.pdf pp. 82-85 of the book, pp.58-59 of the pdf file.
In OTL, Indonesia banned export of logs in 2001 and then Malaysia provided assistance by banning import of logs from Indonesia in 2002 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2064950.stm. ITTL Malaysia here making Indonesia realize that it needs Malaysia if it wants to get rid of illegal logging.
I wonder if there are moments like that between Try and Sapta around the world where the minister has narrower scope of focus and thus, fails to see the broader picture the president has to deal with……
Amirul passed away as in OTL though unlike his OTL he did not get a liver transplant. Ryamizard saying that Amirul has been sick since the latter was a major is based on OTL. https://tokoh.id/biografi/1-ensiklopedi/seorang-intelijen-terbaik/
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*shrugs At the right time, for sure.
Well, thanks for Hasan Tiro and Gaddafi for that one.
F for Pak Amirul
Yoooo, finally. Much time has passed since the last time we talked about this.
Another thing that today i've learned.
Whelp, Water-Piping and Well-Banning are still valid solutions for this problem.
Lemme guess, they promised you shares for their property projects? Jakob Oetama would have some nice words for her.
Probably the same shenanigans with only the FoMAs attended the ASEAN+ meetings.
O7 O7 O7
Last time they didn't know that Try knows about a rebellion inside of a party, Golkar died the next day.
So at least from early 1990s? Should've taken that liver transplant....
That's essentially illegal import.
Well, no hope for that one.
Yeah, they need to mourn right now. Ari can send his men to take it later.
......
OH F-
Okay, scratch it. I really hope Mrs. Amirul can get it quick or else Ari can do a thorough search. Surely the latter would make the news.
But anyway, i really do wonder on why RMS did not partake on the ISA and instead wanted to disband themselves as they've promised to do to the Governor of Moluccas? Perhaps because Try managed to stop the OTL Riots from going big? Surely not because of the Sago-first policy....
There's a few things they can still do to save Jakarta anyway.
Lol, geopolitics is sometimes a tough one to stomach.
He's a True Indonesian Patriot™ despite things he did at East Timor and Aceh....
In OTL it wasn't until March 2003 that he got the liver transplant. ITTL he's busy looking into...stuff. But overall it's not clear precisely what illness Amirul has. It's only liver something. Not entirely sure if it's cancer or anything.
Yeah, I think I wanted Amirul in this current position in the TL because he had an intel background and because he's been in those places (In ITTL he was also regional military commander in Irian Jaya) so it made sense that he had a feeling something was up.
I can't help but notice that there's two chapter 254s, so I went and looked back at all the chapter numbers to check if there are more errors, and there are indeed more errors:
- chapter 74 is skipped
- two chapter 84
- two chapter 173
- two chapter 254
Hey @GSD310 I have been following this story for a year now probably more, and the only reason open this website anymore,checking everyday to see if the story has been updated.
This is the best alternate history story on this site and I really hate that it doesn't get the attention it deserves.
I recommend that you cross upload on other sites like spacebattles and sufficient velocity.
I really enjoy this story.
P.s I know this not a constructive post, just want to show my love for this story and the time and dedication you put into it.
This is the best alternate history story on this site and I really hate that it doesn't get the attention it deserves.
I recommend that you cross upload on other sites like spacebattles and sufficient velocity.
I really enjoy this story.
P.s I know this not a constructive post, just want to show my love for this story and the time and dedication you put into it.
You’re not wrong. The CCB interested in opening their first Malaysian branch.
Whoops. I know I messed up somewhere with the chappie numbers.
At 288k views as of posting this, I’m already getting more traffic than I can imagine lol. I remember this TL’s first year, I only had 7k views. I’d like to think other than my regulars there’s a lot of Indonesian traffic coming to this TL. Whatever it is, I’m grateful for your support and I’m in particular grateful for the regulars who have replied to the TL both past and present.
Thank you so much for the support @Bloodking. This is a story that I enjoy telling and hope you’ll stick around for what’s coming.
258: No Longer Making Mental Notes
New
10th June 2003:
President Try Sutrisno presided over a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in which he swore in the following:
*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Sofian Effendi as the Governor of Aceh
*Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago as the Ambassador to Singapore
*Maj. Gen. Iwan Sulandjana as the Head of the BNPB
*Maj. Gen. Bambang Suranto as the Head of the BNPP
Still at the Presidential Palace, the President met with Chairman of the BPK Hamzah Haz. The two signed an agreement which would subject defense procurement to auditing by a special taskforce headed by Vice Chairman of the BPK Luhut Panjaitan. As he departed the Palace, Hamzah laughed when asked if he was happy at his current position and whether it was worth it changing sides twice to get to where he was at now.
“I never changed sides twice, on the last occasion it was the ones who I had kept my words to that kicked me and my colleagues out from their side and then I was taken in by the President and his coalition”, Hamzah “Whoever it is that actually did change sides and brought over a whole load of votes, they’re still in there in the PKPB.”
11th June 2003:
The President met with Vice President JB Sumarlin, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Finance Boediono, Governor of Bank Indonesia Bambang Subianto, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat and Vice Presidential Secretary Komara Djaja.
The meeting discussed the macroeconomic situation. Dorodjatun said that while there was a slight slowdown in economic activity in the first quarter of 2003 because of uncertainty of whether or not the President will be re-elected at the MPR General Session but the second quarter had seen very strong activity across all sectors. On the revenue side, Boediono reported that revenue from coal continues to exceed projections while Freeport’s increased royalties has kicked in. Bambang Subianto highlighted that inflation is under control and that the policy of not building new government buildings so that the construction sector has more material to them has helped.
“There’s two more factors we’ve got going in our favor”, Sumarlin said “We have a strong currency and oil prices are still manageable; like I said, we’re “lucky” the United States attacked Yugoslavia instead of somewhere in the Middle East. But at the same time, regarding oil, though prices today are still manageable it will not always be so. The demand from emerging economies such as China, India and yes, us will mean that the trend over the medium and long term will be for oil prices to go up.”
The President thought of the implications of what Sumarlin just said.
“There’s a proposal to increase fuel prices in there somewhere, Mr. Vice President” said the President.
“I think we should take advantage of our strong currency and low inflation, Mr. President”, said Sumarlin justifying his unsaid argument.
“Very well, then”, the President said “But I’ll need some advice about how much will be the increase and the best timing for this before I approve anything.”
12th June 2003:
At a work meeting with the DPR, Minister of Social Affairs Meutia Hatta explained the government’s poverty reduction plan to DPR members. Meutia said that the nation’s “poverty reduction trajectory” has been put back on track after recovery from the Asian Financial Crisis with the pre-crisis poverty rate being surpassed as the previous term came to an end. For the current term and for Repelita VIII, the goal is to make sure that Indonesia’s poverty rate reaches the single digits.
Meanwhile, at the Presidential Palace, the President accompanied by Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and Head of the BPS Gunawan Sumodiningrat took part in an event attended by the heads of the BPS in the regions to mark the launch of the 2003 Agricultural Census. Amidst the speeches about the importance of statistics to agricultural policy, the President and Sarwono had something else to discuss after the event.
“He is ready and will make his move soon, Mr. President”, Sarwono said “Though he asks whether you will express support for him once things are in motion?”
The President looked at Sarwono.
“If I support him”, began the President “And he loses…”
---
“…and you lose, what good would that support be?” said Sarwono, conveying the President’s words “And he added that you’re enough of a politician to realize this.”
“Yeah, he’s correct”, Leader of the PKPB in the DPR/Treasurer of the PKPB Akbar Tandjung said “Tutut and her supporters will only become more stubborn if the President showed open support for me.”
“Right now, the only support he can guarantee to you is that he will make sure the PKPB will hold the Extraordinary National Congress when you ask for it”, Sarwono said “So long as you have the necessary support to ask for an Extraordinary National Congress, if somehow the PKPB resists, it will be his responsibility to make sure that the Extraordinary National Congress goes ahead.”
13th June 2003:
The President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman this morning received Papua New Guinea’s newly appointed Special Envoy to ASEAN Ted Diro. Diro said that he had come to introduce himself in his current capacity explaining that Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Mekere Morauta had created the position to deepen economic ties between Papua New Guinea and Southeast Asia. Diro also conveyed Morauta’s desire that Papua New Guinea’s possible membership of ASEAN be considered as Papua New Guinea has been a Special Observer since 1976 while Indonesia is the chair of ASEAN.
Marzuki replied that this would of course be considered but mischievously asked whether “our friends downunder” would accept Papua New Guinea becoming an ASEAN member. Diro said that the government has expended much effort since it was re-elected convincing Australia that its interest in deepening relations with Indonesia is economic but that Australia remains unconvinced. Most recently, Diro replied, Australia had not responded well to Indonesia’s road aid project.
“I’m not seeking a fight with Australia over Papua New Guinea” Try said “But that said, given that we’re neighbors and within close proximity to each other, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea can’t just wait for Australia’s blessing to build closer ties and it’s our intention over the coming years to provide more aid to Papua New Guinea.”
Marzuki then asked if there is anything else that Indonesia could aid Papua New Guinea with. Diro said that the one that comes to mind, and one which Indonesia might want to provide aid next to is Papua New Guinea’s Immigration and Citizenship Authority (ICA). He elaborated that the problem is both “institutional and technical”. Institutional because it was corrupt and technical because the ICA had a large area to cover; in addition to the long land border with Indonesia, there is also a large maritime border that Papua New Guinea has to cover.
“These problems feed into each other so that we don’t know who or what has escaped the attention of the ICA and has managed to get into Papua New Guinea”, Diro said “If dangerous people or dangerous goods have gotten into Papua New Guinea it’ll be because the ICA does not have the capacity to prevent it or it does, it’s very likely that they’ve received money to look the other way.”
“What about the Bougainvilleans?” asked Try, finding the topic of immigration to be unimportant in the scheme of things when compared to the separatist movement that had once waged a campaign to break free from Papua New Guinea “Are they under control?”
Diro said that the only thing that continues to prevent the 2001 agreement that had been signed between the Papua New Guinean Government and the Bougainvillean Revolutionary Army (BRA) from being implemented is the BRA’s continuing non-cooperative stance in handing over its weapons to the government and that because of this, the contents of the agreement could not and has not been implemented, including the establishment of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
“Eventually, you will have to do something about that”, Try said “But that is a matter between Papua New Guinea and the Australians, we would have no part of it.”
14th June 2003:
Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto arrived at the PKPB National Headquarters with a bright smile on her face nodding in acknowledgment at every security guard, cleaning service and other staff member in the office. She was about to go on an overseas holiday with her family that night and she had asked that the next week’s paperwork be made available for her to sign that Saturday before she leaves. Tutut was working at a brisk pace through them when there was a knock on the door and an aide stuck her head in.
“Mr. Akbar Tandjung here to see you, Madam Chairwoman”, said the aide.
Akbar had not made an appointment, but Tutut had always kept her door open to the PKPB’s senior officials and invited Akbar in. Staff members would say that it was a short meeting with Akbar emerging out of Tutut’s office looking like there was another place he had to go to. It was Tutut that got the office talking, however. She looked pale and as though she had shed a tear or two as she stuck her head out and asked for Vice Chairman of the DPR Hartono, Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani, Prabowo Subianto, and Yusril Ihza Mahendra to be summoned immediately.
"Now we know who switched and brought a whole lot of votes to help secure the President's re-election" Tutut said as she opened the meeting with the close advisors she had summoned.
By the time the men she had summoned was in the room meeting with her, Akbar had arrived at the Department of Home Affairs Building and media outlets had begun to cover both his movements and the fact that Tutut was meeting with her close advisors in the PKPB.
Akbar’s meeting inside the Department of Home Affairs was also a quick one though it was enough time for cameras to have gathered by the time he emerged from the meeting accompanied by fellow PKPB members Theo Sambuaga, Mahadi Sinambela, and Ade Komaruddin.
“Fellow Indonesians wherever you may be and most especially fellow PKPB members”, Akbar began “I believe that the PKPB’s victory at the last legislative election was no accident. That the hard work of its cadres and its ability to communicate to the grassroots has allowed it to achieve victory, made it possible to achieve victory.
This victory has made it possible for us to have a say in the way this nation is governed and constructively contribute it. In September 2002, the PKPB has done just that by agreeing to help pass the government’s Manpower Bill in the DPR into law. The reaction to this has been positive.
Unfortunately, and far too often, the recent story of the PKPB is one where its constructive contribution to the nation has been overshadowed by the way it obstructs the government just for the sake of it. That the PKPB at this very moment continues to obstruct the unanimous passing of the Anti-Terror Bill and has opportunistically gave a platform to those who might stand to lose from the ABRI territorial commands reform is unfortunate.
That all of this has happened after the 2003 MPR General Session is also unfortunate. It shows that we have continued to take the PKPB’s victory for granted even after the PKPB’s presidential candidate had failed to gain election to office. We have stubbornly dug in our heels rather than learn from experiences.
For some time, I have thought things over with like-minded friends and colleagues and I have now reached a decision.
This morning, I have met with both Madam Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, the Chairwoman of the Partai Karya Pembangunan Bangsa and Mr. Sintong Panjaitan, the Minister of Home Affairs to inform them about what I am informing to you all now.
*That a change of approach in the way the PKPB is led and the way it participates in national life has become imperative and that this change of approach cannot and does not have to wait until the PKPB holds its national congress.
*That I have obtained the signatures of 2/3 of the PKPB’s Provincial Branch Chairmen agreeing that this change of approach for the PKPB has become imperative.
*That by obtaining these signatures, the requirements for the holding of an Extraordinary National Congress has been fulfilled in accordance with the PKPB’s Constitution and By-Laws.”
Akbar closed his statement saying that he now awaits the decision of the Department of Home Affairs on whether or not the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress will be held. He kept on repeating the answer that he is waiting the decision of the Department Home Affairs when asked if he will nominate as chairman at the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress.
At the PKPB National Headquarters, ZA Maulani, and Prabowo counselled Tutut to resist whatever directive or instruction by the government to hold the Extraordinary National Congress. Only Yusril cautioned against it, saying they did not want to give any grounds for the President to begin taking the steps to freeze the PKPB. Hartono was ambivalent. Tutut meanwhile seemed confused as to what she should do.
This deadlock meant that even after Akbar had finished his statement and Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan departed for the Presidential Palace, there was silence from the PKPB National Headquarters. The only definite step the PKPB took during this time was an announcement that Akbar had been removed as both the Leader of the PKPB in the DPR and the Treasurer of the PKPB. Yusril was appointed the new Leader of the PKPB in the DPR while Fuad Bawazier became the new Treasurer of the PKPB.
The next few hours were to prove crucial. The deadlock was only broken by an agreement by all involved in the meeting to begin contacting those provincial branch chairmen by phone who had agreed to support the Extraordinary National Congress. The idea being that perhaps they could be “persuaded” into withdrawing their signature and their support for the Extraordinary National Congress.
But they were either too slow or a step behind. Not only were these provincial branch chairmen not reachable by phone, they began to appear on television to openly state their support for the Extraordinary National Congress. If word on the street was to be believed, they did so on Akbar’s advice who wanted these chairmen to both avoid being persuaded to change their mind and to show public support for the Extraordinary National Congress, thus further consolidating the support for Akbar.
It was as Tutut and her PKPB inner circle met to figure out their next step after admitting failure to contact these provincial branch chairmen that Sintong Panjaitan emerged out of his meeting for the President for a press conference.
“Bearing in mind that the requirements for an Extraordinary National Congress as regulated by the PKPB’s Constitution and By-Laws has been fulfilled”, Sintong announced “The President has approved that the following steps be taken.
*That the PKPB will be required to hold a PKPB Extraordinary National Congress within 30 days after this announcement has been made.
*That the government has appointed Drs. Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Moerdiono, former State Secretary, as Chairman of the Extraordinary National Congress’ Organizing Committee. The appointment of Mr. Moerdiono, though not a PKPB member himself, is to ensure impartiality in the way the Extraordinary National Congress will be conducted.”
At the Presidential Palace, the television screen played these scenes. Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan and Edi watched these scenes unfold on the screen while the President sat at his table studying what Sintong had given to him; a folder with 18 letters representing the PKPB’s provincial branches requesting the government to approve of the PKPB’s Extraordinary National Congress.”
It was very late in the afternoon and the sun well on the way on setting when Tutut at last made her appearance at the PKPB National Headquarters to hold a press conference. She looked very exhausted and mustered only a weak smile as she read a short statement in which she neither acknowledged Akbar’s meeting with her that morning or the government’s decision to order the PKPB to hold an Extraordinary National Congress. She only pledged her cooperation with Moerdiono as the person in charge of holding “this event.”
At her home at Kebagusan, Jakarta, Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri watched all this unfold on television.
“…and I hereby announce that I will be a candidate for the office of Chairwoman of the PKPB at this event”, announced Tutut when all of sudden the image of her face on the television was replaced by a herd of Zebras drinking water from a river on the Discovery Channel.
“Hey, what’s that all about?” asked Taufiq Kiemas, Megawati’s husband.
“Whether experiencing it yourself or seeing others go through the experience”, Megawati replied “Being unseated by one’s own political party is painful stuff.”
---
In OTL, the Iraq War helped drive oil prices up. ITTL it doesn’t happen but the trend will still be for prices to go up with emerging economies like China, India, Russia, and Indonesia wandering around.
It’s been mentioned before but ITTL PNG’s settlement with the Bougainvilleans copies Indonesia’s arrangements with East Timor, most notably by giving autonomy but not committing to an independence referendum as in OTL.
ITTL Indonesia’s stance with PNG, despite its recent relationship with Australia is pretty much “I don’t want any trouble with the Aussies but I feel it’s important to have a relationship with the PNG”.
President Try Sutrisno presided over a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in which he swore in the following:
*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Sofian Effendi as the Governor of Aceh
*Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago as the Ambassador to Singapore
*Maj. Gen. Iwan Sulandjana as the Head of the BNPB
*Maj. Gen. Bambang Suranto as the Head of the BNPP
Still at the Presidential Palace, the President met with Chairman of the BPK Hamzah Haz. The two signed an agreement which would subject defense procurement to auditing by a special taskforce headed by Vice Chairman of the BPK Luhut Panjaitan. As he departed the Palace, Hamzah laughed when asked if he was happy at his current position and whether it was worth it changing sides twice to get to where he was at now.
“I never changed sides twice, on the last occasion it was the ones who I had kept my words to that kicked me and my colleagues out from their side and then I was taken in by the President and his coalition”, Hamzah “Whoever it is that actually did change sides and brought over a whole load of votes, they’re still in there in the PKPB.”
11th June 2003:
The President met with Vice President JB Sumarlin, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Finance Boediono, Governor of Bank Indonesia Bambang Subianto, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat and Vice Presidential Secretary Komara Djaja.
The meeting discussed the macroeconomic situation. Dorodjatun said that while there was a slight slowdown in economic activity in the first quarter of 2003 because of uncertainty of whether or not the President will be re-elected at the MPR General Session but the second quarter had seen very strong activity across all sectors. On the revenue side, Boediono reported that revenue from coal continues to exceed projections while Freeport’s increased royalties has kicked in. Bambang Subianto highlighted that inflation is under control and that the policy of not building new government buildings so that the construction sector has more material to them has helped.
“There’s two more factors we’ve got going in our favor”, Sumarlin said “We have a strong currency and oil prices are still manageable; like I said, we’re “lucky” the United States attacked Yugoslavia instead of somewhere in the Middle East. But at the same time, regarding oil, though prices today are still manageable it will not always be so. The demand from emerging economies such as China, India and yes, us will mean that the trend over the medium and long term will be for oil prices to go up.”
The President thought of the implications of what Sumarlin just said.
“There’s a proposal to increase fuel prices in there somewhere, Mr. Vice President” said the President.
“I think we should take advantage of our strong currency and low inflation, Mr. President”, said Sumarlin justifying his unsaid argument.
“Very well, then”, the President said “But I’ll need some advice about how much will be the increase and the best timing for this before I approve anything.”
12th June 2003:
At a work meeting with the DPR, Minister of Social Affairs Meutia Hatta explained the government’s poverty reduction plan to DPR members. Meutia said that the nation’s “poverty reduction trajectory” has been put back on track after recovery from the Asian Financial Crisis with the pre-crisis poverty rate being surpassed as the previous term came to an end. For the current term and for Repelita VIII, the goal is to make sure that Indonesia’s poverty rate reaches the single digits.
Meanwhile, at the Presidential Palace, the President accompanied by Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and Head of the BPS Gunawan Sumodiningrat took part in an event attended by the heads of the BPS in the regions to mark the launch of the 2003 Agricultural Census. Amidst the speeches about the importance of statistics to agricultural policy, the President and Sarwono had something else to discuss after the event.
“He is ready and will make his move soon, Mr. President”, Sarwono said “Though he asks whether you will express support for him once things are in motion?”
The President looked at Sarwono.
“If I support him”, began the President “And he loses…”
---
“…and you lose, what good would that support be?” said Sarwono, conveying the President’s words “And he added that you’re enough of a politician to realize this.”
“Yeah, he’s correct”, Leader of the PKPB in the DPR/Treasurer of the PKPB Akbar Tandjung said “Tutut and her supporters will only become more stubborn if the President showed open support for me.”
“Right now, the only support he can guarantee to you is that he will make sure the PKPB will hold the Extraordinary National Congress when you ask for it”, Sarwono said “So long as you have the necessary support to ask for an Extraordinary National Congress, if somehow the PKPB resists, it will be his responsibility to make sure that the Extraordinary National Congress goes ahead.”
13th June 2003:
The President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman this morning received Papua New Guinea’s newly appointed Special Envoy to ASEAN Ted Diro. Diro said that he had come to introduce himself in his current capacity explaining that Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Mekere Morauta had created the position to deepen economic ties between Papua New Guinea and Southeast Asia. Diro also conveyed Morauta’s desire that Papua New Guinea’s possible membership of ASEAN be considered as Papua New Guinea has been a Special Observer since 1976 while Indonesia is the chair of ASEAN.
Marzuki replied that this would of course be considered but mischievously asked whether “our friends downunder” would accept Papua New Guinea becoming an ASEAN member. Diro said that the government has expended much effort since it was re-elected convincing Australia that its interest in deepening relations with Indonesia is economic but that Australia remains unconvinced. Most recently, Diro replied, Australia had not responded well to Indonesia’s road aid project.
“I’m not seeking a fight with Australia over Papua New Guinea” Try said “But that said, given that we’re neighbors and within close proximity to each other, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea can’t just wait for Australia’s blessing to build closer ties and it’s our intention over the coming years to provide more aid to Papua New Guinea.”
Marzuki then asked if there is anything else that Indonesia could aid Papua New Guinea with. Diro said that the one that comes to mind, and one which Indonesia might want to provide aid next to is Papua New Guinea’s Immigration and Citizenship Authority (ICA). He elaborated that the problem is both “institutional and technical”. Institutional because it was corrupt and technical because the ICA had a large area to cover; in addition to the long land border with Indonesia, there is also a large maritime border that Papua New Guinea has to cover.
“These problems feed into each other so that we don’t know who or what has escaped the attention of the ICA and has managed to get into Papua New Guinea”, Diro said “If dangerous people or dangerous goods have gotten into Papua New Guinea it’ll be because the ICA does not have the capacity to prevent it or it does, it’s very likely that they’ve received money to look the other way.”
“What about the Bougainvilleans?” asked Try, finding the topic of immigration to be unimportant in the scheme of things when compared to the separatist movement that had once waged a campaign to break free from Papua New Guinea “Are they under control?”
Diro said that the only thing that continues to prevent the 2001 agreement that had been signed between the Papua New Guinean Government and the Bougainvillean Revolutionary Army (BRA) from being implemented is the BRA’s continuing non-cooperative stance in handing over its weapons to the government and that because of this, the contents of the agreement could not and has not been implemented, including the establishment of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
“Eventually, you will have to do something about that”, Try said “But that is a matter between Papua New Guinea and the Australians, we would have no part of it.”
14th June 2003:
Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto arrived at the PKPB National Headquarters with a bright smile on her face nodding in acknowledgment at every security guard, cleaning service and other staff member in the office. She was about to go on an overseas holiday with her family that night and she had asked that the next week’s paperwork be made available for her to sign that Saturday before she leaves. Tutut was working at a brisk pace through them when there was a knock on the door and an aide stuck her head in.
“Mr. Akbar Tandjung here to see you, Madam Chairwoman”, said the aide.
Akbar had not made an appointment, but Tutut had always kept her door open to the PKPB’s senior officials and invited Akbar in. Staff members would say that it was a short meeting with Akbar emerging out of Tutut’s office looking like there was another place he had to go to. It was Tutut that got the office talking, however. She looked pale and as though she had shed a tear or two as she stuck her head out and asked for Vice Chairman of the DPR Hartono, Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani, Prabowo Subianto, and Yusril Ihza Mahendra to be summoned immediately.
"Now we know who switched and brought a whole lot of votes to help secure the President's re-election" Tutut said as she opened the meeting with the close advisors she had summoned.
By the time the men she had summoned was in the room meeting with her, Akbar had arrived at the Department of Home Affairs Building and media outlets had begun to cover both his movements and the fact that Tutut was meeting with her close advisors in the PKPB.
Akbar’s meeting inside the Department of Home Affairs was also a quick one though it was enough time for cameras to have gathered by the time he emerged from the meeting accompanied by fellow PKPB members Theo Sambuaga, Mahadi Sinambela, and Ade Komaruddin.
“Fellow Indonesians wherever you may be and most especially fellow PKPB members”, Akbar began “I believe that the PKPB’s victory at the last legislative election was no accident. That the hard work of its cadres and its ability to communicate to the grassroots has allowed it to achieve victory, made it possible to achieve victory.
This victory has made it possible for us to have a say in the way this nation is governed and constructively contribute it. In September 2002, the PKPB has done just that by agreeing to help pass the government’s Manpower Bill in the DPR into law. The reaction to this has been positive.
Unfortunately, and far too often, the recent story of the PKPB is one where its constructive contribution to the nation has been overshadowed by the way it obstructs the government just for the sake of it. That the PKPB at this very moment continues to obstruct the unanimous passing of the Anti-Terror Bill and has opportunistically gave a platform to those who might stand to lose from the ABRI territorial commands reform is unfortunate.
That all of this has happened after the 2003 MPR General Session is also unfortunate. It shows that we have continued to take the PKPB’s victory for granted even after the PKPB’s presidential candidate had failed to gain election to office. We have stubbornly dug in our heels rather than learn from experiences.
For some time, I have thought things over with like-minded friends and colleagues and I have now reached a decision.
This morning, I have met with both Madam Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, the Chairwoman of the Partai Karya Pembangunan Bangsa and Mr. Sintong Panjaitan, the Minister of Home Affairs to inform them about what I am informing to you all now.
*That a change of approach in the way the PKPB is led and the way it participates in national life has become imperative and that this change of approach cannot and does not have to wait until the PKPB holds its national congress.
*That I have obtained the signatures of 2/3 of the PKPB’s Provincial Branch Chairmen agreeing that this change of approach for the PKPB has become imperative.
*That by obtaining these signatures, the requirements for the holding of an Extraordinary National Congress has been fulfilled in accordance with the PKPB’s Constitution and By-Laws.”
Akbar closed his statement saying that he now awaits the decision of the Department of Home Affairs on whether or not the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress will be held. He kept on repeating the answer that he is waiting the decision of the Department Home Affairs when asked if he will nominate as chairman at the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress.
At the PKPB National Headquarters, ZA Maulani, and Prabowo counselled Tutut to resist whatever directive or instruction by the government to hold the Extraordinary National Congress. Only Yusril cautioned against it, saying they did not want to give any grounds for the President to begin taking the steps to freeze the PKPB. Hartono was ambivalent. Tutut meanwhile seemed confused as to what she should do.
This deadlock meant that even after Akbar had finished his statement and Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan departed for the Presidential Palace, there was silence from the PKPB National Headquarters. The only definite step the PKPB took during this time was an announcement that Akbar had been removed as both the Leader of the PKPB in the DPR and the Treasurer of the PKPB. Yusril was appointed the new Leader of the PKPB in the DPR while Fuad Bawazier became the new Treasurer of the PKPB.
The next few hours were to prove crucial. The deadlock was only broken by an agreement by all involved in the meeting to begin contacting those provincial branch chairmen by phone who had agreed to support the Extraordinary National Congress. The idea being that perhaps they could be “persuaded” into withdrawing their signature and their support for the Extraordinary National Congress.
But they were either too slow or a step behind. Not only were these provincial branch chairmen not reachable by phone, they began to appear on television to openly state their support for the Extraordinary National Congress. If word on the street was to be believed, they did so on Akbar’s advice who wanted these chairmen to both avoid being persuaded to change their mind and to show public support for the Extraordinary National Congress, thus further consolidating the support for Akbar.
It was as Tutut and her PKPB inner circle met to figure out their next step after admitting failure to contact these provincial branch chairmen that Sintong Panjaitan emerged out of his meeting for the President for a press conference.
“Bearing in mind that the requirements for an Extraordinary National Congress as regulated by the PKPB’s Constitution and By-Laws has been fulfilled”, Sintong announced “The President has approved that the following steps be taken.
*That the PKPB will be required to hold a PKPB Extraordinary National Congress within 30 days after this announcement has been made.
*That the government has appointed Drs. Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Moerdiono, former State Secretary, as Chairman of the Extraordinary National Congress’ Organizing Committee. The appointment of Mr. Moerdiono, though not a PKPB member himself, is to ensure impartiality in the way the Extraordinary National Congress will be conducted.”
At the Presidential Palace, the television screen played these scenes. Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan and Edi watched these scenes unfold on the screen while the President sat at his table studying what Sintong had given to him; a folder with 18 letters representing the PKPB’s provincial branches requesting the government to approve of the PKPB’s Extraordinary National Congress.”
It was very late in the afternoon and the sun well on the way on setting when Tutut at last made her appearance at the PKPB National Headquarters to hold a press conference. She looked very exhausted and mustered only a weak smile as she read a short statement in which she neither acknowledged Akbar’s meeting with her that morning or the government’s decision to order the PKPB to hold an Extraordinary National Congress. She only pledged her cooperation with Moerdiono as the person in charge of holding “this event.”
At her home at Kebagusan, Jakarta, Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri watched all this unfold on television.
“…and I hereby announce that I will be a candidate for the office of Chairwoman of the PKPB at this event”, announced Tutut when all of sudden the image of her face on the television was replaced by a herd of Zebras drinking water from a river on the Discovery Channel.
“Hey, what’s that all about?” asked Taufiq Kiemas, Megawati’s husband.
“Whether experiencing it yourself or seeing others go through the experience”, Megawati replied “Being unseated by one’s own political party is painful stuff.”
---
In OTL, the Iraq War helped drive oil prices up. ITTL it doesn’t happen but the trend will still be for prices to go up with emerging economies like China, India, Russia, and Indonesia wandering around.
It’s been mentioned before but ITTL PNG’s settlement with the Bougainvilleans copies Indonesia’s arrangements with East Timor, most notably by giving autonomy but not committing to an independence referendum as in OTL.
ITTL Indonesia’s stance with PNG, despite its recent relationship with Australia is pretty much “I don’t want any trouble with the Aussies but I feel it’s important to have a relationship with the PNG”.
Lol at the not-so-subtle potshot. But to be fair for G-man, he never joined PKPI at the first place.
Good
Yaaaassss!!!
Fuel price increase before oil price increase is something new... one must be very careful about this. Maybe another policy package on the way?
11%-something, IIRC? Hopefully it would reached low-9% or even high-8%.
Tutut-Prabowo-Ginandjar bloc is a scary force in the Indonesian politics for sure. I'm not sure if the government (read: Try and co.) restructuring the forestry and construction sectors would be enough for the 2007 Election.
Well, Ted Diro as the PNG's frontman for ASEAN certainly would not helped things....
The Morning Star....
Well, looking at the position of this "chess game", either Reith would probably say that "It's a matter between PNG and the Indonesians since the Bougainville arrangement followed the Indonesian model" or something like that, and that would just drive the (Eastern) Papuans to ASEAN, making the Jakarta Bloc having 6 members.... Or Reith would be pressed to push the Bougainvilleans to just handover their weapon already in exchange of the Papuans forestalling their ascension to ASEAN for a period of time. Either way, probably some of the Bougainvilleans would be revealed that... okay, at this point i'm just babbling about, but looking on the "chess pieces", probably it would be happened soon enough.
Wait, i thought it would not to be due for another month.
Oh f-
Well in a lighter note, at least now she knows that Hamzah Haz is innocent in the whole 2003 Presidential Election debacle, lol
Whelp, there goes the bombshell.
Lol
It is unavoidable....
Wew, long time no see.
Looooollll, she tried AGAIN, without consulting Ginandjar too? And not to mention the sudden channel switch too.
Surely June 2003 would be another interesting period in the Indonesian history.....
The Aussies (well, the Reith variant) is really on a pickle here.
Well, looks like the PKPB somehow get its extraordinary congress...without Tutut even noticing anything...huh
P/s: I wanted to comment something about logging during the previous update....but just when I type this....a case involving the (late) person that would be mentioned in my draft reply have been come into my view....let's just say I was a bit annoyed when I read the update, and when I read the case...let's just say I am fuming and I pretty sure my reply would turn into a rant if I decided to elaborate....
Yeah...where was he...seems to be something fishy...
P/s: I wanted to comment something about logging during the previous update....but just when I type this....a case involving the (late) person that would be mentioned in my draft reply have been come into my view....let's just say I was a bit annoyed when I read the update, and when I read the case...let's just say I am fuming and I pretty sure my reply would turn into a rant if I decided to elaborate....
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