Part ofa series on the | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| History ofIndonesia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Timeline | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
European colonization
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Emergence of Indonesia
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Republic of Indonesia
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Indonesia portal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ThePost-Suharto era (Indonesian:Era pasca-Suharto) is the contemporary history inIndonesia, which began withthe resignation of authoritarianpresidentSuharto on 21 May 1998. Since his resignation, the country has been in a period of transition, colloquially known as theReform era (Indonesian:Era Reformasi).[1][2] 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 strongerdemocracy and civilian rule, elements of themilitary trying to retain their influence, a growingIslamism inpolitics andsociety, and demands for greaterregional autonomy. The process ofreformasi has resulted in a higher degree offreedom of speech, in contrast to the pervasive censorship under theNew 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 ofEast Timor, a bombing campaign by Islamicterrorists (including the2002 Bali bombings), the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake,religious and political tensions from 2016 to2019, and theCOVID-19 pandemic.
TheReformasi 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 theNew Order began to rally aroundMegawati Sukarnoputri, head of thePDI and daughter of the founding presidentSukarno. 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 the27 July 1996 incident, when the military broke up the demonstrations.
These actions, along with increasing concerns overhuman rights violations in Indonesian-occupiedEast 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 the1997 Asian financial crisis hit Indonesia, highlighting thecorruption of the New Order.
InWest Kalimantan, there was communal violence betweenDayaks andMadurese in 1996, in the 1999Sambas riots, and the 2001Sampit conflict, resulting in large scale massacres of the Madurese.[3][4][5] In the Sambas conflict, bothMalays and Dayaks massacred the Madurese.[6][7]
.jpg)
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 on13–15 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.
After Suharto's resignation, Vice PresidentB. J. Habibie was sworn in as president and undertook numerous political reforms.
In February 1999, the Habibie administration passed the Political Parties Law,[8] under whichpolitical parties would not be limited to just three as had been the case under Suharto. Political parties were also not required to havePancasila as their ideology. This resulted in the emergence of many political parties, and 48 would go on to compete in the1999 legislative election.
In May 1999, the Habibie administration passed the Regional Autonomy Law,[9] 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, andXanana Gusmão were also released under Habibie's orders.
Habibie also presided over the 1999 legislative elections, the first free election since1955. It was supervised by the independentGeneral 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 areferendum on the future ofEast Timor. Subsequently, on 30 August, the inhabitants of East Timor voted for independence. This territorial loss harmed Habibie's popularity and political alliances.
In 1999,Abdurrahman Wahid became President of Indonesia. His first cabinet, dubbed theNational Unity Cabinet (Indonesian:Kabinet Persatuan Nasional), was a coalition cabinet that represented several political parties: theIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P),National Awakening Party (PKB), Golkar, theUnited Development Party (PPP),National Mandate Party (PAN), and Justice Party (PK). Non-partisans andthe 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.[10]
Wahid intended to give rebelliousAceh province areferendum on various modes of autonomy, rather than an option for independence like in East Timor.[11] 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 theFree Aceh Movement (GAM). Two months later in May, the government signed amemorandum of understanding with GAM to last until the beginning of 2001, by which time both signatories would have breached the agreement.[12]
On 30 December 1999, Wahid visitedJayapura, the capital ofPapua 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.[13]
In September 2000, Wahid declaredmartial law in Maluku. By now, it was evident thatLaskar 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.[citation needed] During the same month, West Papuans raised theirMorning Star flag. Wahid's response was to allow this provided that the Morning Star flag was placed lower than theIndonesian flag,[14] 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 ofMarxism–Leninism be lifted.[15]
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 inAgus Wirahadikusumah, whom he made Commander ofKostrad 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.[16]
Wahid's relations with the military deteriorated even further when in the same month it was revealed that Laskar Jihad had arrived inMaluku 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 intheir communal conflict with the Christians.[17]
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 ownmasseur, who claimed Wahid sent him to Bulog to collect the cash.[18] 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 theSultan of Brunei to provide assistance inAceh.
By the end of 2000, many within the political elite were disillusioned with Wahid. The most prominent wasAmien 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 the2004 legislative elections. At the end of November, 151People's Representative Council (DPR) members signed a petition calling for theimpeachment of Wahid.[19]
In January 2001, Wahid announced that Chinese New Year was to become an optional holiday.[20] 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 thehajj pilgrimage.[21] Wahid made his last overseas visit in June 2001 when he visited Australia.
In a meeting with universityrectors 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.[22] 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 ofPasuruan, encouraging them to get off the streets.[23] 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 JusticeYusril Ihza Mahendra was removed for making public his demands for the president's resignation while the Minister of ForestryNur 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 orderedSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), the Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security to declare astate 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 ashow of force.[24] To prevent the MPR Special Session from taking place, Wahid then enacted aDecree 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.
UnderMegawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesia's first presidentSukarno, 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, theMutual 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 commencemilitary operations against the GAM separatist.
Although the economy had stabilised and partly recovered from the 1997 crisis by 2004, unemployment and poverty remained high. The Indonesian Constitution was amended to provide for the direct election of the president, and Megawati stood for a second term. She consistently trailed in the opinion polls, due in part to the preference for male candidates among Muslim voters, and due to what was widely seen as a mediocre performance in office[citation needed]. Despite a somewhat better than expected performance in the first round of theelections, she was defeated by SBY in the second round.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was inaugurated as president on 20 October 2004. The next day, he announced his new cabinet, which would be known as theUnited Indonesia Cabinet (Kabinet Indonesia Bersatu). Consisting of 36 ministers, it included members of theDemocratic Party,Golkar and thePPP, PBB, PKB, PAN, PKP, and PKS. Professionals were also named in the cabinet, most of them taking on ministries in the economic field. Themilitary were also included, with five former members appointed to the cabinet. As Yudhoyono's promised during the election, four of the cabinet appointees were female.
In late 2007, Yudhoyono led Indonesia into afree trade agreement with Japan. In 2005, economic growth was 5.6%[25] which decreased to 5.4% in 2006[26]Inflation reached 17.11% in 2005[27] but decreased to 6.6% in 2006.[28]
Yudhoyono also allocated more funds to decrease poverty. In 2004, 11 trillion rupiah was set aside, increasing to 23 in 2005 and 42 in 2006. For 2007, 51 trillion was allocated.[29] In March and October 2005, SBY made the unpopular decision to cut fuel subsidies, leading to increases in fuel prices of 29% and 125% respectively.[30] The poor were somewhat compensated by the Direct Cash Assistance (BLT), but the cutting of subsidies damaged SBY's popularity. In May 2008, rising oil prices contributed to SBY's decision to cut fuel subsidies once more, which were the subject of protests in May and June 2008.
To alleviate the effects of rising prices on poor people, Yudhoyono introducedcash transfers, known in Indonesia asBantuan Langsung Tunai (BLT, Direct Cash Assistance), from October 2005 to December 2006 with a target of 19.2 million poor families. BLT was given again in 2008. The BLT concept was the idea of vice presidentJusuf Kalla. In 2013, BLT was renamedBantuan Langsung Sementara Masyarakat (BLSM, Temporary Community Direct Assistance). The BLT program has been criticized as a unsustainable tool to make Yudhoyono more popular during election years.[31]
_Golden_Falcons.jpg)
Two months afterSBY assumed office, the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami struckAceh and other countries along theIndian Ocean coastline. Three months later, anaftershock of the earthquake triggered a tsunami inNias Island. In 2006,Mount Merapi erupted and was followed by anearthquake inYogyakarta. In October 2010,Mount Merapi erupted, killing 353 people,[32] whilean earthquake and tsunami struck theMentawai Islands.[33] Indonesia also suffered a small outbreak ofbird flu and endured theSidoarjo mud flow. In 2007,severe floods struck Jakarta. SBY allowed Jakarta governorSutiyoso to open the Manggarai watergate with the risk of flooding the Presidential Palace.[34]
On 1 October 2005,suicide bombings occurred on the island of Bali. The attacks bore the hallmarks of the militant Islamic groupJemaah Islamiyah (JI)—a group linked to Al-Qaeda—though police investigation was underway. The group was also responsible for the2002 Bali bombings. SBY condemned the attack, promising to "hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice.".[35]
In2009, Yudhoyono was elected for a second term along withBoediono, the former governor ofBank Indonesia. They defeated two candidates:Megawati Sukarnoputri –Prabowo Subianto and incumbent vice-president,Jusuf Kalla –Wiranto. The Yudhoyono-Boediono ticket won the election with more than 60% votes of nationwide in the first round. Yudhoyono'sSecond United Indonesia Cabinet was announced in October 2009 after he was re-elected as president earlier in the year.
In2014, constitutionally barred from running for a third term, SBY was succeeded byJoko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi) with Kalla returning as vice president, defeating Prabowo andHatta Rajasa. Jokowi is the first president without a high-ranking military or political background.[36][37] During his2014 election campaign, Jokowi promised to improve economic GDP growth to 7% and to end thebagi-bagi kursi (giving government positions to political allies) policy, although these promises are yet to be fulfilled. The Indonesianrupiah hit its lowest level record in 20 years during his administration.[38][39]
A controversial remark by his former deputy governorBasuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) led to divisions in the country's Muslim population amid agubernatorial election. Protests were held in response to Ahok's remark by Islamist groups inNovember andDecember 2016 in Jakarta.[40][41][42] The Jokowi administration responded by banning the Indonesian chapter ofHizb ut-Tahrir.
There have been concerns of decliningfreedom of expression during this period, evidenced by the arrest, detainment, and imprisonment of many people for their social media activity being interpreted as an insult to the president and the government.[43][44][45][46][47]
Several disasters, such asearthquakes (InPalu,Lombok, andBanten) and ahaze due to deforestation inBorneo andSumatra occurred during this period. ISIL-linked bombings have also occurred inJakarta andSurabaya.
Central Statistics Agency reported in March 2018 that thepoverty rate in Indonesia was 9.82 percent, down from March 2017 which was 10.64 percent. This was the first time that poverty levels in Indonesia had been reduced to below two digits. Previously, the poverty rate was always above 10 percent, even reaching 23.4 percent in 1999 after the 1997–1998 crisis.[48]
On 17 April 2019, Indonesia helda general election. For the first time, eligible voters chose the president, the vice president, members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), and members of local legislative bodies simultaneously.[49] The election was described as "one of the most complicated single-day ballots in global history".[50] Jokowi and his vice presidential candidateMa'ruf Amin won the election against Prabowo and his running mateSandiaga Uno.[51] It was followed byprotests and riots in May rejecting the re-election during which at least 8 protesters were killed.[52] On 16 August 2019, forty-three Papuan students inSurabaya,East Java were arrested by police following reports that an Indonesian flag was damaged outside the building where they lived,[53] leading toprotests in Papua and other parts of Indonesia.[54]A series of mass demonstrations led by students took place in major cities of Indonesia in September 2019 to protest against new legislation that reduces the authority of theCorruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as well as several bills.[55] The protests subsequently developed into the largeststudent movement in Indonesia since the 1998 demonstrations thatbrought down the Suharto regime.[56] On 26 August 2019, President Joko Widodo announced that the country'snew capital city will be located inEast Kalimantan onBorneo island.[57] The new capital will replaceJakarta and will be built in parts ofPenajam North Paser Regency andKutai Kartanegara Regency.[58]
An ongoingworldwide pandemic ofcoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novelinfectious disease caused bysevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first confirmed to havespread to Indonesia on 2 March 2020.[59] As of 5 November 2020, the coronavirus has killed more than 14,000 people in Indonesia.[60] In late 2020, the pandemic has caused the economy to fall into a recession for the first time in 22 years.[61] In October 2020,protests erupted throughout Indonesia after the DPR passed the controversialOmnibus Law on Job Creation.[62]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(November 2025) |
In March 2024, Prabowo Subianto won the presidentialelection, meaning he will become Indonesia's next president with his running mateGibran Rakabuming Raka, son of outgoing President Joko Widodo, as new vice president.[63]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)