A. H. Nasution and Indonesia's Elites by Barry Turner

Author:Barry Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lexington Books, a division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 7

The Leper Period

Nasution’s conservative attitudes were further reinforced in the three years that he spent on the inactive list (from late 1952 until late 1955) that he described as his “leper period.” Throughout his exile he continued to portray the period of military administration as a time of social harmony when all social groups were united in an all-embracing sense of nationalism. The IPKI party that he formed was supported by senior pamong praja figures with whom he had become friendly in Central Java. They lauded traditional forms of leadership and argued that the Indonesian masses were not sufficiently educated to choose between the unfamiliar and divisive ideologies of the parties. Importantly, Nasution formed an increasingly close association with the University of Indonesia’s professor Djokosutono, who was to guide him on how to deal the army into politics in opposition to the Communist Party short of mounting a military coup.

Some aspects of Nasution’s IPKI platform accorded closely with President Sukarno’s increasing doubts about liberal democracy. However, by referring to the guerrilla struggle Nasution (deliberately or otherwise) highlighted a significant point of difference between his and the President’s record. Unlike Nasution and his military and civil service associates, Sukarno had allowed himself to be captured and did not share in the ownership of the guerrilla struggle.

Nasution showed a strong interest in legal and constitutional affairs as he attempted to find a legally permissible way of challenging the parliament in the lead-up to the October 17, 1952 Affair. He then sought legal advice from Professor Djokosutono, who was a colleague of Professor Supomo, the drafter of the 1945 Constitution, in dealing with an investigation by the attorney general into his role in the affair. Nasution and Djokosutono showed a strong interest in developing legal training for Indonesian Army officers and the structures they created were developed and extended until the end of the New Order period.

As he made his way through this difficult period in his life, Nasution was embittered at his ignominious resignation as chief of staff:

At this dark time in moments of reflection I sometimes blamed myself. If in Yogyakarta after the guerrilla war I had not persuaded Pak Dirman [Sudirman] to accept again the leadership of Sukarno and Hatta it was very possible the 17 October 1952 Affair would never have happened. 1

He continued to associate with a few of his military associates, including the former KNIL non-commissioned officer Gatot Subroto with whom he was to form the IPKI organization, but his links with other officers, including Sutoko and others in the army headquarters who had organized the October 17 Affair, suddenly ceased. 2 His stress was compounded by the possibility that he could face legal action and he frequently had to report to the attorney general who was investigating the affair. He writes, perhaps disingenuously, that he did not attend the swearing in of Bambang Sugeng as acting chief of staff because he “had to report to the Attorney General in accordance with the demands of the anti-17 October group.

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