Contention and Regime Change in Asia by Linda Maduz

Author:Linda Maduz
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030492205
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

6.4.3 Indonesia: Diversity in Opposition with a Key Role to Non-Elite Actors

Opposition leaders in Indonesia came from the civil society as well as from the political society. Abdurrahman Wahid, Megawati Sukarnoputri, and Amien Rais were the main opposition figures in the late years of Suharto’s authoritarian regime (Aspinall 2005, Chapter 8). They had established their position as oppositional, or at least semi-oppositional, elite actors over time. Abdurrahman and Amien were the leaders of the two mass-based Islamic organizations the Nahdlatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah with an estimated membership of forty and thirty million people, respectively (Barton 2006, p. 224). Toward the end of the 1980s and in the 1990s, Abdurrahman emerged as one of the most influential critics of the Suharto regime (see ibid., 224). Amien joined him toward the end of the 1990s in his efforts to push for political reform. In 1999, Abdurrahman became the first president in the democratic era representing the opposition camp (Subianto 2008, pp. 165ff.).

All three oppositional figures had their own broad power base, which preceded regime change and endured it. Megawati’s power base was located in the political sphere. The eldest daughter of Indonesia’s popular former president Sukarno entered politics in the mid-1980s. She was elected to the parliament as a member of one of two opposition parties tolerated in parliament, namely the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). This party could be considered as the successor of the Indonesian Nationalist Party, which was closely associated with Sukarno (Eklöf 1999, pp. 25–28).32 As described in Sect. 2.​2.​2, Megawati got elected as chairwoman of the PDI in 1993, which triggered an intervention by the authoritarian regime. The heightened protest activity by organized and non-organized political actors in Indonesia ahead of regime change, as shown in our data, can be traced back to the struggle of Megawati and her supporters against repression and discrimination by the regime. Megawati was Indonesia’s president between 2001 and 2004.

Opposition leaders’ engagement in the protest arena was very cautious. As chief victim of Suharto’s repressive politics, Megawati would have been the “obvious choice as symbolic leader of opposition” (Aspinall 2005, p. 215). However, Megawati was unwilling to mobilize her mass base and reluctant to intervene in wider politics beyond party matters (ibid., pp. 216–218). She rather used the electoral arena in opposing Suharto by running for presidency in 1998, along with Amien Rais. Abdurrahman remained publicly reconciled with Suharto and appealed for an end to protests until Suharto stepped down in May 1998 (ibid., pp. 214 and 234). From late 1997 on, the role of main opposition figure was taken by Amien (ibid., p. 216). In interaction with the mobilization of mass actors, his actions decisively shaped the protest dynamics that led to Suharto’s fall. But he, too, would soften his stance at moments when changes in the political system seemed unlikely (Mietzner 2009, pp. 159–160).

Activism by non-elite actors were key in getting oppositional elite actors involved and pushing for substantial political debate. This is a finding we could establish based on our time-sensitive analysis.

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