7.14.2012

Dwifungsi and Legislative Seats

Through its doctrine of dwifungsi (dual function), the military has played a dominant role in national affairs. In recent years, however, dwifungsi has come under open question. It is indeed a sign of the times that the principal icon of the military, long unchallenged, has come under scrutiny. In the past, the issue was canvassed by some prominent but retired "dissident" generals like Lieutenant-General (ret.) Dharsono and Ali Sadikin and a few critical intellectuals like Arief Budiman. All called for the abolition of dwifungsi.

Such questioning of dwifungsi as lobbieb by marginalized dissidents has been confined to the outskirts of the polity arena but in June the critical line was crossed for the first time in a major political institution, the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR or Parliament) where two academics, Miriam Budiarjo and Arbit Sanit, told a parliamentary hearing that the military's role in Parliament was no longer relevant and that a phased reduction in military's 100-seat allocation should begin. This would enhance the development of democratic institutions in Indonesia, they said. Their call prompted a response from Benny Murdani who told the same hearing that those calling for a reduction of military's role lacked understanding of its dwifungsi.

The discussion of the issue moved to an even higher level during Soeharto's National Day address. While paying heed to the Armed Forces as being "responsible for the life of our nation", he went on to add that the military's 100 nominees to the DPR/MPR "may be adjusted according to the prevailing situation". He said that a resolution of the matter could be reached through a national consensus following the formation of the next government when the MPR session met in March 1993. Whether that will be followed through remains to be seen but some analysts saw Soeharto's offer as a thinly-veiled threat to the military that they would have their parliamentary wings clipped if their support for his candidacy was not forthcoming. At that time ABRI had not yet made any formal declaration in favour of Soeharto's renomination. They only did so more than a month later on the night of 29 September when General Try Sutrisno announced their decision to support Soeharto during a meeting with military appointees to the DPR/MPR.

reference:
Tan Chee Leng, Indonesia in 1992: Anticipating Another Soeharto Term, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), 1993

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