Indonesia ATL: The Presidency of Try Sutrisno (1997-)

[GSD310]

Good to see an update. Electronics and telecommunication industries should be improved too

And "toll laut" to even out the price in other islands, never forgot that. I really don't know why the government didn't do it long ago.

At the moment in ITTL, it’s the the Tol Langit that is ready to go. It actually has been in existence since 1997 as the Nusantara 21 Project. The electronics industry's improvement has also been alluded to in the April 2001 Policy Package.

Is this part of why you write this TL or just a happy coincidence you found while researching?

The Hartas interview decided it for me (nearly 3 years ago now) that a TL about a Try Presidency was the way to go. Not long after I began, the interview got put behind a paywall and I couldn’t link to it. But recently, it could be accessed again provided you haven’t used up your quota of Tempo articles. I just wanted to have a moment between Try and the guy who nominated him for vice president and by extension, the guy who help put him in a position to succeed Soeharto when he died.

I didn't start with the question "Do I think Try would've been a good president?" when starting the TL. Actually, the original What-if question I wanted to explore was the following:

What if Post-1945 Generation of Officers had a shot at running Indonesia?

In OTL, ABRI spent a lot of time preparing and signalling that Soeharto's Generation 45 Officers would eventually give way to a Generation of Officers that were too young to have fought in the War of Independence. In 1972, they held a Seminar in which the keynote speaker was Major Try Sutrisno who, as the representative of the new generation of officers, promised to stay true to the '45 Values. Of course what ended up happening was that Soeharto stayed around for too long and Try's Generation never had their shot so to speak. He had Try as Vice President (1993-1998) and Edi Sudrajat as Minister of Defense and Security (1993-1998) but these two were effectively sidelined. There were also Feisal Tanjung as Commander of ABRI and Hartono as Army Chief of Staff but they functioned more as enforcers rather than independent political actors.

So this was the original WI question for this TL. I wanted to see how Try, Edi Sudrajat, Wismoyo, Harsudiono, Soerjadi Soedirja, Sintong, etc. would have done if they were put in charge of Indonesia. If you notice, in the first post, I emphasized the fact that Try was of a different generation of officers than Soeharto.

Once I'd wanted to do a TL about this Post-1945 Generation of Officers running the country, it became natural that the TL would take the shape of a Try Presidency. OTL, he was the face of that generation of officers.

But if you were to ask me now "Do I think Try would've been a good president?" I would say yes, but he needs the right people around him. One thing that comes up a lot when reading about Try is the description that he's not the smartest. So if you notice in the TL, he spends a lot of time watching people argue ideas in front of him before he makes a decision. He doesn't come up with an idea and gets it adopted through domination the way Soeharto does.

The other thing that comes up when reading about Try is that he gets described as friendly and able to get along with people. I actually was in the audience during a 2015 event where Try spoke and got to shake his hand as he headed out of the building. The guy does come across as sympathetic and someone who you hope would do well in whatever he does. Of course this helps a lot because he's the "main character" of this TL.

Link: Event where I saw Try spoke

 

[GSD310]

25th May 2001:
President Try Sutrisno accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat, Governor of Jakarta Sutiyoso, and Commander of the Jakarta Regional Military Command Prijanto toured the Jakarta Convention Center to oversee final preparations for the G-15 Summit. At the press conference afterwards, the President declared it satisfactory but was swamped by questions about the election date.

“Why’s everybody keen to get the campaign going?” joked the President before turning serious “It’ll be held in 2002 which is 5 years from the last election, it’ll be held before the current DPR’s term is up, and I’ll announce it at the most opportune time. But just right now, my focus is on the G-15 Summit.”

26th May 2001:
The first G-15 Summit guest to arrive was Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee. After a welcome at the Presidential Palace, Try accompanied by Ginandjar and Edi sat down with Vajpayee who was accompanied by Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh.

Vajpayee told Try that the “New Cold War” has begun in full earnest. President of United States John McCain is reenergizing the US’ relations with NATO and strengthening relations with friendly Eastern European countries while President of Russia Yevgeny Primakov is trying to consolidate Russia’s influence in Central Asia. Both have tried to court India but Vajpayee says he wants to keep them both at a distance.

Talking about Asia, Vajpayee says that he is wary of China, that China is having close relations with Pakistan, and that what India needs right now is for China to be kept busy so that India could more freely deal with Pakistan. Ginandjar prodded Vajpayee on what keeping China busy means.

“India needs a strong Indonesia, to put it mildly”, said Vajpayee “In 1999, we took note that you were going to be the first one out of the Asian Financial Crisis and last year, well we had to take you seriously after those economic growth figures.”

“We’re still not strong enough to stand up to China”, replied Try “At least on our own.”

“Which is why you wanted to combine your strength with the other Southeast Asian countries?” asked Vajpayee “Perhaps we can be of assistance to achieve that goal.”

27th May 2001:
Though a Sunday, arrivals for the G-15, both official and business delegations alike, continued to flood into Jakarta. While Jakartans treated themselves to the sight of foreigners walking around in their malls, hotels, and convention centers, their President welcomed more state guest and gave them private audiences.

The most notable arrival today was President of Iran Mohammad Khatami. After their meeting, Try and Khatami held a joint press conference. Try hailed Khatami’s presidency and said that Khatami was a “force for peace” in the world if people would just give him a chance.

The evening saw football fans gather at Senayan Stadium. The President, as scheduled, attended the football match between Indonesia and China, the winner of which would top their group and go on to the second stage of the Asian Football Confederation’s 2002 World Cup Qualifications. A loud cheer echoed through the stadium when the President and First Lady made their disappearance.

The Indonesian National Football Team did not disappoint. Though there were nervous moments after after China scored the first goal, first Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto and then young striker Bambang Pamungkas brought Indonesia victory. The crowds were ecstatic that Indonesia had qualified for the next stage but it seemed that it was the President that was happiest most of all. Accompanied by State Minister of Youth and Sports Hajriyanto Thohari, he went to the dressing room of the team and congratulated them and manager Glenn Hoddle.

28th May 2001:
While Indonesia basked in the afterglow of a victory over China, it was making progress in other areas too. The G-15 Summit proper was only due to start on the 30th but the Ministerial Summit and the business conferences, lunches, and networking events at the Jakarta Convention Center and its surrounds were all well under way. A lot of activities were happening that day, including the following:

*A group of Nigerian importers and distributors, keen to get the “next Indomie” visited the Department of Trade where they watched presentations made by various executives and representatives of Indonesia’s fast moving consumer goods companies. Sosro, producers of Indonesia’s Teh Botol, was the big winner of the day and got some strong expressions of interest. Minister of Trade Anthony Salim and Nigerian Minister of Commerce Mustafa Bello sat in on the presentations, asking questions on behalf of their stakeholders.

*Minister of Transportation Soerjadi Soedirja, on behalf of the Indonesian Government, signed a Transport Technical Assistance Agreement with the Government of Colombia. As Soerjadi explained to the press afterwards, with a beaming Governor of East Java Haris Sudarno next to him, the agreement will see Colombia provide technical assistance to East Java as it seeks to build a Bus Rapid Transit system for Surabaya. The idea came about when Soerjadi Soedirja and Haris Sudarno attended the opening of the Transmilenio in Bogota, Colombia in December 2000.

*The task of welcoming the arriving heads of states and governments today fell to Vice President JB Sumarlin. His most notable audience today was with President of Mexico Vicente Fox. Fox told Sumarlin that as a result of being immediately south of the border of the United States, Mexico has felt the brunt of the economic slowdown north of their border in the form negative export growth. Sumarlin said that he hopes Fox can get some good results for Mexico at the G-15 Summit.

Away from all the activity, the President had a meeting with Chairman of DPA Rudini. They discussed various issues and Rudini gave the DPA’s input into said issues. They reached the end of the conversation when Rudini suddenly cut in with…

“You want to talk about whether or not the Chairman of Muhammadiyah should get another bone thrown at him, Mr. President?” asked Rudini.

“Who told you about that?” asked Try.

“The State Secretary”, replied Rudini “That’s a good thing about being a Cadet Trainer in the past, your former cadets like to talk to you about the problems they’ve been having.”

Try chuckled.

“Okay then, let’s hear your advice on this, Mr. Chairman”, invited Try.

“You need not only to give something to Amien Rais, you need to give it to those whose support you think will be important in the next two years”, said Rudini.

“As in to make sure everybody is on board until the end of the term or what?” asked Try.

“Only you will know whether you want that support until the end of the term or beyond, Mr. President”, said Rudini “My only advice is that if you have those whose support is doubtful, you should drop them now but if there are those whose support can be won over or whose support you think you will need, include them.”

29th May 2001:
“We cannot simply rely on the developed world to act as markets for our goods, services, and investments in the present international economic situation, it is in our fellow developing countries that we must look for goods, services, investments, and indeed, cooperation”, read President Try has he delivered the keynote speech at the G-15 Business Breakfast to positive reaction.

More leaders continued to arrive. The President welcomed Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa. Try had been briefed about him. A defeat in a referendum for a constitutional amendment the previous year, barely surviving a Parliamentary Election, pressure by South Africa and Nigeria, not to mention the economy had led President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe to relinquish the prime ministership to Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa said he would like Zimbabwe to focus on its internal affairs to which Try said that that would be beneficial.

The last arrival in Jakarta, it was noted by all, was Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak. Accompanied by Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Rais Yatim, Najib held discussions with Try, Ginandjar, and Edi. The discussions went smoothly until it fell upon Indonesia’s treaty of Thailand.

“I wonder, Mr. President, what is to become of ASEAN if Indonesia were to go around signing treaties like what it did with Thailand?” asked Najib “Who will it be next? The Philippines? Vietnam?”

“Treaties are regularly signed between ASEAN member nations, Mr. Prime Minister, some of which were between our two nations”, countered Try “It’s nothing out of the ordinary.”

30th May 2001:
The G-15 Summit proper got underway today with the leaders of the member nations getting their allotted time to make their speeches. Then they got into discussions, starting with the “New Cold War” between the United States and Russia/China.

The leader most favorably disposed towards the United States was Fox. Fox said that President John McCain was reacting to what he perceived was a “lack of leadership” from Clinton and he’s reacting to it by trying to take a tough line on everything. President of Senegal Abdoulaye Wade next spoke up. He said that he considers himself pro-US, but he had not taken kindly that the US has been really pushing Senegal to accelerate privatizing its state-owned electricity enterprise when it had not worked.

Next came President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez’ booming voice. Chavez said then the time has come for the G-15 to take a side. Russia and China are “rallying points” against the United States and that the G-15 could use them to apply pressure. Vajpayee got a few heads nodding, including Try, with his comments that not being close to the United States does not mean that the G-15 should automatically side with Russia and China. President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak said that the G-15 should wait for the Non-Aligned Movement and its summit in Bangladesh later in the year and encourage as many nations as possible to attend the summit.

In between sessions with leaders, Try met with President of Argentina Eduoardo Duhalde. Duhalde was accompanied by Argentinian Minister of Economy Jorge Remes Lenicov and Argentinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Guido De Tella. Try was accompanied by Ginandjar and Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti.

Duhalde thanked Try for continuing to import Argentinian soybeans but asked that the ban on cattle import be reversed. Try said for the moment, until the foot and mouth epidemic is contained, the import of cattle from Argentina would still be maintained. Lenicov explained that Argentina’s economy was recovering well until McCain’s election victory the previous November. Try asked what did that have to do with anything.

“When I took office, I was able to get some leniency from the IMF”, said Duhalde “But McCain saw this as failure on the part of the Clinton Administration to back the IMF. When McCain won and took office, the IMF began to play hardball and not caring about social unrest if we obeyed their conditions to the letter.”

The IMF was precisely what was next on the agenda. In addition to Duhalde, President of Kenya Daniel Arap Moi spoke how the IMF suspended aid for 3 years as a result of non-compliance. Now Kenya has tried everything to comply and the IMF thinks nothing is good enough. The session ended with all the leaders agreeing that some words as it relates to the IMF should be placed in the Leaders’ Joint Communique.

The President held a banquet dinner at the Presidential Palace for all the G-15 Leaders that night.

31st May 2001:
The President visited President of Nigeria Olesegun Obasanjo at his hotel to have a one-on-one breakfast with him. Try thanked Obasanjo for opening Nigeria’s market to Indonesian FMCGs. Obasanjo told Try he welcomed the investment. After talking about various issues of cooperation, Try congratulated Obasanjo on the 2nd anniversary of his assumption of office as president. Obasanjo looked upset. Try asked what was up.

“For the last 18 months, I’ve had Muslim-majority states to my country’s north declaring themselves one at a time that they will be adopting the Sharia Law as part of the legal system”, explained Obasanjo “Prior to that, Sharia Law only applies to civil cases but now we’ve had these states adopting effectively a paralel legal system to the one that is adopted across the nation.”

“I’m sorry about that, Mr. President”, said Try looking concerned before asking “Is there any steps that you could take to handle the issue?”

“About the only thing I can do is wish for it to go away”, replied Obasanjo “I’m a Christian, it won’t look good for me to be seen to be standing up to Sharia Law.”

Back at the Summit, there were meetings all throughout the Jakarta Convention Center as the Summit came rapidly to a close. Around lunch, Ginandjar Kartasasmita announced the G-15 Leaders Joint Communique. In it, the G-15 Leaders urged all Non-Aligned Movement Nations to attend the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Bangladesh laer in the year as it will be an important one. The G-15 Leaders also urged the IMF to behave “reasonably” towards nations asking for assistance and that nations have the “right to ask for more lenient terms from the IMF if existing terms has the potential to threaten social stability”.

There was a photo-session with all the leaders before the G-15 Summit was officially closed. The leaders held press conferences all generally commenting that the summit was productive and that Indonesia was a “flourishing nation”.

“I obviously thank the comments from the other leaders and want to say that the Summit went as great as it could be”, said Try during his own press conference “I thank Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar for his work coordinating the preparation of the events and I certainly thank the Indonesian people, without their contribution to the Indonesian economy, we would not look as strong as we did in the last few days.”

“Anything stuck in your mind from the G-15 Summit about Indonesia’s place in the world or what we can learn from other nations?” asked a reporter.

“There’s certainly a thing or two that’s stuck in my mind but I need some time to process them”, said Try as oddly, it was Obasanjo’s tale of Nigerian States adopting Sharia Law that came to his mind.

“Just to turn matters back on the domestic front now, Mr. President”, asked another reporter “Next week, there will be the respective 100th and 80th Birthday Celebrations of President Soekarno and Soeharto. Will you be attending?”

“Thank you, that’ll be all”, interrupted Edi to bring the press conference to an end.

---
OTL, Indonesia also held the G-15 Summit but under vastly different circumstances because it coincided with the beginning of Wahid’s removal http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/05/29/indonesia.wahid.04/

Yes, Sir. Jakarta gets the MRT years earlier than the OTL while Surabaya gets the BRT.

On States in Nigeria adopting Sharia Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shari...Sharia has been,the state level of government.

The IMF is more hardcore ITTL than OTL. ITTL, there’s no “Indonesia 1998” experience for them to say “OK, maybe we got it wrong”. Instead what’s happened here is that they want to adopt a more hardline approach, backed by the McCain Administration.

 

[GSD310]

1st June 2001:
Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak was the last G-15 Leader to leave. He made a quick stopover at the ASEAN Secretariat to chat and have a photo-op with ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo Severino. Najib called for “any regional initiatives to be worked through existing regional institutions”. He then went to the Presidential Palace to farewell President Try Sutrisno.

“We’re going to have a run-in with him sooner or later”, muttered State Secretary Edi Sudrajat as Najib’s car left.

Any notion of wanting to bask in the afterglow of the G-15 Summit was interrupted by the sight of former Vice President Sudharmono visiting Chairwoman of PKPB Tutut Soeharto at Cendana Street. The two came out of the meeting with bright smiles. Sudharmono said that he would be happy to attend President Soeharto’s 80th Birthday Celebration at Kemusuk, Yogyakarta. A question was asked if the invitation was also extended to Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita.

“Well, Minister Ginandjar is invited as are all cabinet ministers and of course President Try himself”, said Tutut.

2nd June 2001:
This Saturday morning, a convoy of buses bearing about 300 activists and student activists and sympathizing with Budiman Sudjatmiko, the PRD leader who was still imprisoned, were seen leaving Jakarta. Under the leadership of Andi Arief, an activist kidnapped by Team Rose 3 years prior, the activists planned to head to Blitar so that they could attend Soekarno’s 100th Birthday Celebration. The buses had banners saying “Megawati for President!” and “Release Our Friends From Prison!”

Elsewhere in Jakarta, the city buzzed at the sight of Chairman of Muhammadiyah Amien Rais emerging out of lunch with Chairwoman of PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri. The two did not take questions from the press that gathered outside Megawati’s house though Taufiq Kiemas seemed to be happy with the “productive discussions” between his wife and Amien.

Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas and Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo watched these developments on their television as they had lunch.

“What’s your take on it?” asked Harsudiono.

“The two Presidential daughters are going after the weak links in the President’s coalition with the aim of getting these links to join their coalitions”, said Ari “Tutut’s going after Sudharmono while Megawati’s after Amien.”

“Damn right”, replied Harsudiono.

3rd June 2001:
“I’ve got a message from President Try”, said Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja after all the small talk was over “He asks that you keep your word to remain neutral and not attend the events planned by Tutut Soeharto next week.”

“Staying neutral and attending the events in President Soeharto’s memory are two entirely different things”, replied former Vice President Sudharmono “I hope the President has not confused the two.”

“Considering that he has two people coming after his job, you should give him the benefit of the doubt”, countered Sarwono.

“And if I were to attend, what would happen?” asked Sudharmono.

“The President would not take it kindly, Pak Dhar”, said Sarwono.

“And then what? He would remove Ginandjar?” challenged Sudharmono “Does he even have the gumption to do that, Ginandjar’s done well for him.”

“That’s for him to decide”, replied Sarwono.

“I’ll tell you what I told him last year when I withdrew from the coalition”, explained Sudharmono “I just don’t have what it takes to be on a different side to President Soeharto or his family.”

“So why did you throw your support behind him at the 1998 MPR Session? Why did you join his coalition?” challenged Sarwono “Was it only to get close enough to him to get Ginandjar to where he’s at?”

Sudharmono only smiled mysteriously.

“Do you remember the time when you just got elected Vice President, that year’s Golkar National Congress was approaching, and people were wondering whether or not you were going to run for re-election as Chairman of Golkar?” asked Sarwono.

“I do”, said Sudharmono with a chuckle “There was a campaign to smear me and accuse me as a communist.”

“Yes, it wasn’t the most pleasant time for you”, agreed Sarwono “Actually during one of those months, when I met with President Soeharto, I asked him if he believed the accusations that you were a communist. He told me that he did not believe that you were a communist. Not one bit.”

Sudharmono smiled and nodded sagely.

“But then I asked him again why didn’t he come out in your defense to your accusers?” continued Sarwono “President Soeharto said that it was good for you to run into problems once in a while.”

The smile disappeared from Sudharmono’s face.

“You helped President Soeharto run this country on a day-to-day basis for 16 years as State Secretary”, emphasized Sarwono “And he did not even lift a finger to defend you when you needed him.”

4th June 2001:
It was the Prophet’s Birthday Holiday with the evening seeing the Presidential Palace hosting a Prophet’s Birthday Prayers attended by President Try Sutrisno and all other state officials. Sudharmono was a notable absentee, though he was not at the Prophet’s Birthday Prayers at Cendana Street. There was an intriguing development at the conclusion of the event when the President asked Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita and Chairman of Muhammadiyah Amien Rais to hang back.

Chairman of DPR Harmoko, Wahono, BJ Habibie, Chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama Abdurrahman Wahid, and Chairman of PPP Matori Abdul Djalil gathered at an ice cream restaurant not far from the Presidential Palace to wait for the results. It was quiet enough that they could sit unbothered.

Wahono said that the President should do away with Amien Rais as far as the coalition was concerned because Amien was the last one to join the Pancasila Coalition and shouldn’t be dictating terms. Wahid countered that as untrustworthy as he was, the President needed Amien. To wage a successful campaign against the Extreme Right, the President needed the two major Islamic organizations in Indonesia in his coalition.

Habibie wondered aloud if the solution was to let Sudharmono and his supporters leave the coalition. Harmoko said that it would not do. If Ginandjar was allowed to go over to the “other side” with Sudharmono, it would make Tutut and her coalition look credible not to mention the fact that Ginandjar could bring his “boys” with him.

Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas arrived with news from the Presidential Palace. The President had talked separately with Ginandjar and Amien but that there were no results yet. Harsudiono said that Ginandjar said he could “not prevent it” if Sudharmono was to go over to the other side. Meanwhile, Amien Rais continues to ask for an extra ministerial position for Muhammadiyah.

5th June 2001:
The President attended Environment Day Ceremonies at the Department of Forestry and Environment’s Manggala Wanabakti building. In his speech, the President called on those in the forestry sector to put themselves in order during the 1 year forestry amnesty period. To applause in the room, the President also announced that he will be reinstating the Environmental Impact Control Agency (Bapedal). The Bapedal had been frozen during the efficiencies in Government organization in early 1998 and that it will be unfrozen.

At the conclusion of the event, the President and Minister of Forestry and Environment Barnabas Suebu faced reporters to take questions but they were more interested in what the President thought of the latest political developments and whether he would be attending Soekarno and Soeharto's birthdays.

“I can categorically say that I would not be attending the events in Blitar and Kemusuk over the next few days, I think these are private events, not official ones and my presence is not required”, replied the President “The reason why these events are held are a matter for the people hosting these events, I’m not interested in their motives, I’m only interested in working for the Indonesian people.”

The President got in the car and Edi Sudrajat got in with him.

“I’m here to talk about forests and the environment and they’re all interested in Blitar and Kemusuk”, said Try.

“That’s all the capital city’s going to be interested in in the next few days, Mr. President”, said Edi.

That afternoon, a set of officers and officials arrived at the Presidential Palace. Harsudiono Hartas, Minister of Defense and Security Wismoyo Arismunandar, Edi Sudrajat, Ari Sudewo, Commander of ABRI Wiranto, Army Chief of Staff Luhut Panjaitan, and Chief of Police Yun Mulyana. Luhut and Yun Mulyana began the meeting, reporting on information that had arrived to them from their subordinates. Hotels and inns at Blitar were filled to the brim by those intending to attend Megawati’s event the next day while Yogyakarta was filling up with those wishing to attend Tutut’s. Luhut reported that Tutut’s event looks set to be bigger as she has paid for the flights and accommodations of those attending.

“What is ABRI’s advice regarding these events?” asked the President.

“We are at your command, Mr. President”, replied Wiranto “Ready to take whatever steps you order.”

“If you want to stop these events from happening, it can still be done, Mr. President”, said Luhut.

Try nodded, scribbling on a notepad.

“Any further inputs?” asked Try looking around.

“Just that these events will be the occasion for both Tutut and Megawati to show that they have some measure of popular and political support”, replied Ari “We will likely see what constitutes their political coalitions. Seen in this context, Tutut Soeharto’s efforts to get former Vice President Sudharmono to join her side and Megawati Soekarnoputri trying to get Amien to join hers means that their coalitions are nearly complete and that they want to complete it by “taking” from your coalition.”

Try nodded his head, and continued to scribble on a notepad as he shifted in his seat.

“My orders are these”, he began “First, allow these events to go ahead without any disruption from ABRI, in this case the relevant regional military commands and the regional police; second, maintain a presence but only to keep watch over security rather than to intimidate; third, don’t be provoked and don’t allow yourselves to be provoked they say anything derogatory towards the Government or myself.”

“Sir, Yes Sir!” said Wiranto, Luhut, and Yun Mulyana at the same time.

The meeting ended not long after that. Try returned to his office to do more paperwork and was joined by Edi.

“I think that there are those in that room that expected you to try to stop Tutut and Megawati’s events, Mr. President”, said Edi.

“There’s no benefit to it”, replied Try “What good did it do when Megawati was removed as Chairwoman of the PDI? What good did it do when people came to the PDI Headquarters in 1996 and kicked her supporters out of that building? Nothing and nothing. It only made it look like the Government was scared of her and had to remove her so that she couldn’t win.”

“Maybe that’s the case with Megawati but not really with Tutut”, countered Edi “You already beat her at the 1998 MPR Session.”

“I outlasted her in 1998, I hadn’t beaten her”, replied Try “The only one I beat in 1998 was Habibie, I’m sure Tutut would agree on that.”

There was quiet in the room.

“I’ve got no choice but to let them take their shot at me… take their shot at this chair I’m sitting in”, said Try as he looked to a spot on the wall in front of him “The only way to stop the two ladies who think they deserve to sit here more than I do is not to get in their way or to disrupt them. The only way to stop them is to beat them. Overcome them, defeat them, whatever…make sure that at the end of all this they know without a shadow of a doubt that that they’ve lost and they won’t come back to take another shot.”

---

Sarwono’s tale to Sudharmono is based on https://books.google.co.id/books?id...armono yang waktu itu gencar diserang&f=false (pages 88-89)

This update is essentially about craks and weak points in Try’s coalition and how the Presidential daughters are trying to take advantage of that.

Signs that you’re pretty deep into a TL: when you refer to things that happen in the past and you’re referring to something that happens ITTL rather than OTL.

 

[GSD310]

6th June 2001:
Chairwoman of PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri celebrated her father’s 100th Birthday today and all but expressed her interest in running for the officer her father had held in the past. The day began quite early with Megawati, her followers, and guests gathering at Soekarno’s Tomb. The pride of position went to Megawati who accompanied by her husband Taufiq Kiemas, her children, and her siblings (the other children of Soekarno and Fatmawati), paid their respects at Soekarno’s tomb.

Those who were politically interested immediately took note of who Megawati’s invitees were. They included:

*Sutjipto and Laksamana Sukardi, representing the PNI as its Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
*Ali Sadikin, former Governor of Jakarta (1967-1977) and member of the Petition of 50.
*Sidarto Danusubroto, former Aide-De-Camp of Soekarno and Chief of the West Java Police (1988-1991)
*Goenawan Mohammad, former founder of Tempo Magazine.
*Marsillam Simanjuntak and Bondan Gunawan, members of the Democracy Forum, an organization which Abdurrahman Wahid established in 1991 to counter ICMI.
*Andi Arief from the PRD, a left-wing party not acknowledged by the Government whose leader Budiman Sudjatmiko is in prison.
*Andreas Harsono representing the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), a journalist association not acknowledged by the Government.
*Raswan Suryana representing the Indonesian Prosperous Workers Union (SBSI) a union not acknowledged by the Government whose leader Mukhtar Pakpahan is serving time in prison.
*Rizal Ramli, an economist and founder of Econit consultancy.

From the tomb, Megawati and her invitees walked to Istana Gebang, Soekarno’s residence in Blitar. There, standing on a table in the porch with Taufiq Kiemas holding the megaphone, Megawati delivered a speech to the PNI members and the members and activists of organizations who had come to support her there.

Megawati attacked the Government in two key areas.

On the economic front, Megawati criticized the Government for relying too much on foreign investment rather than domestic consumption. She criticized the presence of imports to help provide the fuel for economic growth as well as the wealth disparity which will threaten to get wider if the Government does not provide increases in minimum wage; pointing out that in 2000 and now in 2001, the Government had not raised the minimum wage.

“And let us also call things a spade a spade here”, said Megawati “The Government has failed to secure the divestment of shares from PT Freeport. It has failed to enforce the contract and it has failed to enforce national sovereignty!”

On the political front, Megawati said “This Government has preserved more than it had changed. It’s preserved the same repressive press laws, the same arbitrary use of power that has put our friends behind prisons, and it’s preserved a system conducive to capitalism that Bung Karno had spoken up against. Are you sure that this Government is not just an extension of the previous Government?”

The 2,000 or so people that had gathered applauded at this. PNI banners could be seen standing side by side with other banners with writings such as “Try is the extension of Soeharto”, “Who Masterminded The 27th July Riots”, “Justice for Tanjung Priok 1984”.

“We don’t want the previous President’s successors” said Megawati “Both the constitutional successor and the biological successor, we only want…”

“We want Mega!” screamed a voice in the crowd as people began saying Megawati’s name.

Before long a chant of “Mega! Mega! Mega!” broke out.

Back in Jakarta, only SCTV and Indosiar broadcasted the event live but by lunch, highlights from the event were all over the news and repeated over and over everytime there was a news update. Only TVRI tried to limit the amount of repetition.

“Well, I suppose there will be an audience for the sentiments represented by Mrs. Megawati but I believe that the Government and the PKPI will be running on its record and the Government’s record is one which the PKPI will seek to elaborate in the coming weeks and months”, said Chairman of the PKPI’s National Campaign Hendropriyono.

That evening, Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas arrived at the State Secretariat. Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo was there sitting in Edi’s office.

“Try’s in there with Basofi and Edi of course sitting in” said Ari “He wants to allow Basofi to start sitting in on Pancasila Coalition meetings.”

“That’s a sensible move”, replied Harsudiono “The PKPI hadn’t existed yet when the coalition was formed.”

“How did your meeting with Gus Dur go?” asked Ari, referring to Chairman of NU Abdurrahman Wahid.

“His nose was twitching really badly when he spoke”, said Harsudiono “But he admitted that he dropped the ball on his Democracy Forum friends and Rizal Ramli joining that group. He heard that Megawati had been approaching them through the grapevines but he didn’t…what’s the word he used…”

“Take it seriously?” came Try Sutrisno’s voice from behind them.

Harsudiono turned around and there was the President.

“I can take activists not accepting me”, Try began “I can take Goenawan Mohammad and journalists-activists not on my side, it’s the price for having Harmoko. But I’d hoped Gus Dur would keep them out of the crossfire if they don’t look at me favorably.”

“We don’t have any reason to suspect Gus Dur right?” asked OCDS Sugeng Subroto joining in the meeting.

“No, he’s safe”, said Ari “He just legitimately dropped the ball on this one.”

“We should worry about you, Mr. President”, said State of Secretary Edi Sudrajat as he returned from seeing off Chairman of PKPI Basofi Sudirman “And what your play’s going to be.”

“Let’s do that”, said Try.

7th June 2001:
Chairwoman of PKPB Tutut Soeharto accompanied by her siblings (except Tommy) and their spouses, former Vice President Sudharmono, Secretary of PKPB ZA Maulani, and Treasurer of PKPB Akbar Tandjung depart on a charter plane for Solo, Central Java. Not long after, Tutut’s entourage arrived at Solo. Upon descending, reporters and cameras waited for them. Tutut said that she regretted not being able to attend the events at Blitar the previous day though she had privately congratulated Megawati for holding the event. Meanwhile, asked why he was with Tutut, Sudharmono only responded saying that he was “thrilled to be a part of all this”. Tutut’s first engagement in Solo, with Sudharmono visibly alongside her, was to inspect the packing of basic commodity packages to be handed out tomorrow.

Sudharmono’s decision to side with Tutut and his departure had entered Ari Sudewo’s radar the previous day and had been discussed by the President and his Four Horsemen the previous night. The decision was made to wait until Sudharmono had departed for Solo and for him to be busy with the activities there.

The President had chosen his representatives well. This day he chose Edi Sudrajat to pay Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita a visit at the Department of Foreign Affairs while Harsudiono was seen paying his respects to Chairman of Muhammadiyah Amien Rais at the Muhammadiyah National Headquarters. The two locations were not far from the Presidential Palace and the two ministers were seen wandering back and forth between the two locations and the Presidential Palace throughout the day.

After lunch, Ginandjar came to the Presidential Palace to meet the President. When he walked out of the meeting, Ginandjar he held a press conference where he was immediately asked about Sudharmono’s participation in Soeharto’s 80th Birthday Celebration.

“Pak Dhar’s participation is a matter for him and has no bearing on me because I’ve chosen not to participate and those associated with me in Government have chosen not to participate in the event”, said Ginandjar “My focus and my loyalty are with the Government which is under the leadership of President Try Sutrisno.”

“Did you strike any deal with the President as part of your decision to continue to be loyal to the Government?” asked a foreign journalist.

“Why should there be any deals? He’s the President, I’m the Minister of Foreign Affairs, that’s as strong as a basis as any on which my loyalty rests.”

Back in the President’s office, the President patted Sugeng Subroto in the back as he watched the television. While the rest of the Four Horsemen wavered back and forth between wanting to remove Ginandjar and his allies as a result of Sudharmono’s defection to Tutut and not liking the idea of Ginandjar also defecting to Tutut, Sugeng Subroto suggested that the President “separate” Ginandjar from Sudharmono. The rest of the Four Horsemen liked the idea and adopted it as they came out with offers which would entice Ginandjar. Try liked it too though throughout the day Ginandjar proved to have some strong counteroffers of his own.

“Let’s hope there won’t be anymore trouble coming from Ginandjar’s end”, said Try “I’m going to remove a classmate from my years in the academy for his sake.”

Amien Rais was still trouble. By the time Harsudiono Hartas joined the President and Edi Sudrajat for dinner at the State Secretariat, Amien Rais was still not budging.

“What I’ve offered him is not good enough?” asked Try.

“It’s good but it’s not enough, Mr. President”, replied Harsudiono “Being the head of a new agency doesn’t exactly compensate for not being minister, you’ll probably need to give something more to Muhammadiyah.”

Try shook his head in frustration.

“Are there any appointments or posts that need filling?” he asked to Edi.

Edi’s eyes widened. He summoned his aide-de-camp, Lt. Col. Gatot Nurmantyo and asked him to bring a folder. Some minutes later Gatot returned with a folder. Edi flicked through some pages then handed Try a piece of paper.

“What’s this?” asked Try.

“All the appointments that are overdue, that need your approval at the present time, and you’ll have to make soon because there are agencies due to be formed just waiting your approval”, explained Edi.

Harsudiono looked over Try’s shoulder and nodded.

“That’s a fair few appointments that you have to make there, Mr. President”, said Harsudiono “You should…”

“You want me to start dividing up the spoils again?” asked Try in a way which said he was not going to like the process.

“Megawati just unveiled her coalition and Tutut in all likelihood will unveil hers tomorrow”, Harsudiono explained.

“And I already have my coalition”, said Try.

“ I’m not saying you don’t have one, Mr. President”, Harsudiono countered “I’m just saying you need to lock that coalition behind you …Goddamnit, Try, don’t walk out.”

There was silence after the President made his abrupt exit.

“And here I am thinking that this would be easier than telling him that Golkar’s split was imminent”, muttered Harsudiono.

“We’re not all ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Affairs like you”, said Edi “The only thing Try and I know about politics is that it’s the process where we progress from hating Harmoko to liking him after we realized we had a common cause.”

“You can’t tell me that I don’t have a point”, argued Harsudiono.

“You do”, said Edi “Try doesn’t want to give special favors or treatment or want to hand out lucrative projects or contracts or cash, the only thing he can do to gain or maintain political support is patronage.”

---
OTL, the likes of Sri Bintang Pamungkas, Muktar Pakpahan, and Budiman Sudjatmiko were released by BJ Habibie only days after he had become president. Here they have continued to remain in prison and as far those of an activist persuasion goes, that makes Try not much better than Soeharto.

OTL Sudharmono is very much a Soeharto loyalist. He continued to be on the board of Soeharto’s foundations after Soeharto fell from power.

The Democracy Forum was established by OTL Abdurrahman Wahid in April 1991 to counter Habibie’s ICMI. The sub-text behind Wahid’s “dropping the ball” as regards not doing anything to prevent his friends going over to Megawati is that he underestimated Megawati and did not think the latter had capacity to convert his friends to her cause.

I will eventually get around to the associations and organizations (HKTI, SPSI, HNSI, PWI, KOWANI, etc.) and what's been happening to them "off-screen" so-to-speak.

 

[GSD310]

8th June 2001:
Chairwoman of PKPB Tutut Soeharto paid her respects to her father and mother in the morning at the Astana Giribangun Mausoleum. Much as Megawati, those who formed Tutut’s entourage was immediately cast in their own spotlight. Aside from her siblings, Tutut’s entourage included:

*Secretary of PKPB ZA Maulani and Treasurer of PKPB Akbar Tandjung
*Chairman of the PKPB’s National Campaign Prabowo Subianto
*Vice Chairman of DPR Theo Sambuaga
*Leader of the PKPB in the DPR Hartono
*Former Vice President Sudharmono
*Former Commander of ABRI Feisal Tanjung accompanied by Syarwan Hamid and Yunus Yosfiah
*Prabowo associates such as Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Kivlan Zen, and Muchdi PR
*Soeharto siblings, cousins, and close family friends represented by Probosutedjo, Sudwikatmono, Bob Hasan, and Hashim Djojohadikusumo
*Former Secretary of ICMI Adi Sasono
*Former Soeharto speechwriter and Head of the Crescent and Star Group Yusril Ihza Mahendra
*Nurmahmudi Ismail and Hidayat Nur Wahid from the Jemaah Tarbiyah, a campus-based movement of Islamist leanings
*Chairman of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) Pontjo Sutowo
*CEO of TPI Ishadi S.K.
*Former Chairman of PDI Soerjadi and Secretary of PDI Buttu Hutapea whose PDI had merged into the PKPB

While all this was happening, Chairman of PPP Matori Abdul Djalil arrived at the Presidential Palace, smiling and waving at the gathered media. He emerged an hour later to have microphones thrust at him. Matori only said that the PPP is fully committed to the Pancasila Coalition and fully committed to supporting the President until the end of his term in 2003. At the same time, Matori said that it was the PPP’s intention to provide real competition for the PKPI at the 2002 Elections and that the President said that the competition will be welcome.

When asked if there were any new “deals” with the President, Matori only said that the PPP is just happy to be “of assistance” to the President.

Soeharto’s 80th Birthday Celebration began after lunch at Kemusuk, the village where he was born. By that time, Tutut and her entourage had arrived from Solo. The event was held at the land where the Soeharto Museum will be constructed. A stage had been set up and the entire village it seemed, along with the PKPB’s DPR members and employees of the Soeharto children’s companies, had turned out for the event.

It would be said later that the event gave a first taste of how much resources Tutut had at her disposal. TPI, RCTI, and SCTV provided live broadcast of the event and repeats of the highlights over the next few days. The Soeharto foundations, chaired by Mamiek, organized distributions of basic commodities at Kemusuk, in Solo at the Soehartos’ Ndalem Kalitan Residence, and in Jakarta at Cendana Street. There were recipients who said that the basic commodities also came with Rp. 50,000 in cash. At Kemusuk itself the air was hot and more than a few collapsed in the heat but large fans kept the crowd and those on stage cool.

After the national anthem and a warm-up from Sudharmono, the stage was given to Tutut who began to speak.

“Our nation is in a good place right now. But it’s in good place not because of what happened in the last 3.5 years but because of what happened in 1967. Strong, decisive, and correct leadership provided by President Soeharto has given us food self-sufficiency and economic growth”, she said.

After further elaboration of what Soeharto has achieved, Tutut began to go after the Government.

“So why after all of this, our Government and our President seems to feel that they have to distance themselves from what has been achieved? Our economy has become more liberal to accommodate foreign investment, our food self-sufficiency laid by wayside for reasons entirely unclear, our villages’ development has stalled because of the Government’s focus on building cities, and our devout citizens are worried that the Government is hostile to them because they observe their religion’s laws.

If only the Government and its leaders have proven themselves to be worthy successors to President Soeharto, there would be no need for me to be here. There would be no need for me to run as Chairwoman of Golkar nearly 3 years ago and there would no need for Golkar to die.”

The crowd cheered and chanted Soeharto’s name as Tutut brought it all to an end.

“We at the PKPB are the true and worthy successors to President Soeharto. And it is we at the PKPB that, God Willing, will complete the work which President Soeharto had begun!”, she concluded.

The event concluded with veteran singer Titiek Puspa singing “Our Father Soeharto”.

Even as Jakarta’s attention was turned to Kemusuk, there was a lot of activity at the Presidential Palace with officials coming in and out of the Presidential Palace. While the event was on, State Minister of Youth and Sports Hajriyanto Thohari and Inspector General of Development Bambang Sudibyo, both Muhammadiyah members were seen departing the Presidential Palace.

A few hours later, a car arrived at the Presidential Palace. Chairman of Muhammadiyah Amien Rais came out of it and he was welcomed by State Secretary Edi Sudrajat. He disappeared into the Presidential Palace. Half an hour later, he emerged out.

“I just want to say that Muhammadiyah is firmly behind the President and will continue to support him”, said Amien cheerfully.

“Any deals, Mr. Chairman?” asked a report “You were seen publicly with Megawati Soekarnoputri and Taufiq Kiemas last week, what did it take to keep you in line?”

“The President has done great honor to Muhammadiyah and he as continued to honor Muhammadiyah”, said Amien before disappearing into his car.

In his office, President Try watched this on his television. State Secretary Edi Sudrajat, Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo, and OCDS Sugeng Subroto were with him.

“Hopefully there will no more trouble from his end”, muttered Try.

“It’s a good deal you offered him, Mr. President”, encouraged Ari Sudewo “Muhammadiyah knew it, that’s why they were eager to pressure him to accept it.”

The four watched the news coverage which were discussing Megawati’s comments about how Try was the “extension of Soeharto” and Tutut’s which said that Try and the Government had “distanced” themselves from Soeharto.

“I have an identity crisis”, joked Try “Megawati thinks I’m too much like President Soeharto and Tutut thinks I’m too unlike President Soeharto.”

There were chuckles in the room.

“You’re in a good position though, Mr. President”, came the voice of Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas, who walked into the room.

Try stood up and shook Harsudiono’s hand, giving the latter a pat on the shoulder.

“You know that I’m right about what steps you need to take next”, said Harsudiono.

“Maybe”, said Try “What were you saying about being in a good position?”

“Your coalition is broad, Mr. President”, replied Harsudiono “NU, Muhammadiyah, moderate reformists like Sarwono and Marzuki Darusman, economic technocrats, Hatta’s daughter, Chinese businessmen, Indigenous businessmen, ABRI, right up to those who were close to Soeharto but don’t see a contradiction with supporting you. This is a broad coalition that already represents a large cross-section of, if not society, then at least a large cross-section of political sentiment in Jakarta.”

“It’s still going to be a fight though”, added Ari Sudewo “Those activists that support Megawati will now get to channel their energies into a real and actual political campaign rather demonstrations and Tutut…well we know the money that’s going to be at her disposal.”

“It was always going to be a fight”, said Edi before realizing that Sugeng was raising the volume of the television “What’s up?”

The screen showed Indonesian scholar R. William Liddle speaking over the phone on CNN after being asked about what’s happened over the last few days:

“I think what we saw today at Kemusuk and two days ago at Blitar are the unveiling of two ‘armies’”, began Liddle “Two very different armies indeed but armies which Tutut and Megawati hope will carry them and win them votes at the 2002 Legislative Elections as a precondition for victory and the presidency at the 2003 MPR Session. The question now of course is what the President’s response will be. His army has been visible in the shape of the coalition he’s gathered around himself to govern. Now, perhaps with a few finishing touches, he can convert that army to govern into an army to get re-elected.”

9th June 2001:
Though a Saturday, the Presidential Palace was busy. Attorney General Soedjono C. Atmonegoro came to the Presidential Palace and came out announcing that he has submitted 3 names for the President’s consideration for the Deputy Attorney General’s position. The position had been vacant for a year.

The next to come was Governor of BI Boediono. He came out of it not discuss monetary policy but said that the President will be appointing a new Board of Governors and a new Commissioner (ie. Boediono will remain but the other members of the BI Board of Governors would change)

There was a commercial break of sorts when attention was diverted to the DPR. Here PPP’s Ismail Hasan Metareum held a press conference to announce his resignation as Vice Chairman of the DPR. Elsewhere, Chairman of PPP Matori Abdul Djalil said that he was calling a meeting of the PPP’s Central Leadership Council tomorrow to discuss who would be the vice chairman of the DPR from the PPP.

Then it was back to the Presidential Palace again where Minister of Civil Service Reform Kuntoro Mangunsubroto came out of a meeting with the President accompanied by Edi Sudrajat. Kuntoro said that first and foremost the Government will be dissolving and consolidating certain Commitees, Commissions, Teams, and Councils including the following:

*The National Seed Office and the Sugar Council's to be dissolved and its functions will be taken over by existing organizational arrangements in the Department of Agriculture
*The Book Council's functions will be taken over by existing organizational arrangements in the Department of Industry
*The Film Advisory Agency's to be dissolved and its functions will be taken over by the Junior Ministry of Arts and Culture
*The National Commission of Human Rights will dissolved its functions taken over by existing organizational arrangements in the Department of Legal Affairs
*The Development of the Province of Riau Coordination Team to be dissolved and its functions taken over by the Provincial Government of Riau
*The Tariff and Fiscal Team to be dissolved and its functions taken over by the Department of Economics and National Development Planning
*The Regional Autonomy Advisory Council to be dissolved and its functions taken over by the the State Ministry of Regional Autonomy
*The Indonesian-Singapore Tourism Cooperation Team to be dissolved and its functions taken over by the Department of Tourism
*The Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Cooperation Team, the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines Growth Area Coordination Team, and the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Triangle Cooperation Team to be consolidated and placed under the authority of the State Secretariat
*The Telematics Coordination Team to be dissolved and its functions taken over by the Department of Information, Posts, and Telecommunications
*The President's Advisory Team on the P4 to be dissolved and its functions taken over by the BP-7

At the same time the President has approved of the formation of the following:

*The National Zakat Agency (BAZNAS)
*The Indonesian Wakaf Agency (BWI)
*The National Quarantine Agency (BARANTIN)
*The National Transport Safety Committee (KNKT)
*The Agrobusiness and Agroindustry Coordination Committee (KKAA)
*The Environmental Impact Control Agency (BAPEDAL) (Reactivated Agency)

At the Soehartos’ Ndalem Kalitan Residence in Solo, Tutut watched what was happening on television. Prabowo and Titiek sat close to her.

"The Deputy Attorney General's position, 5 BI Board members plus the BI's Government Commissioner, the heads of six agencies, and the PPP's vice chairmanship in the DPR", counted Prabowo.

“It doesn’t make sense”, Tutut said “Surely it doesn’t take these many appointments to keep Ginandjar and Amien Rais onside.”

“I don’t think these appointments are just to keep Ginandjar and Amien Rais onside, Mbakyu”, explained Prabowo “I think he wants to show off the power he has at his disposal."

---
“Our Father Soeharto” is a an actual song

The whole "Commissions, Committees, and Teams" being dissolved is based on something that happened in OTL recently https://www.beritasatu.com/whisnu-b...jalan-menteri-pan-dan-rb-tinggal-tunggu-waktu though in ITTL the purpose is to safe on money and direct it to the new agencies.

Gus Dur actually had a National Quarantine Agency set up for both agricultural and fish quarantine but got overthrown before it could be properly implemented https://ngada.org/kp178-2000.htm.

These chapters are to show what the Presidential daughters and Try are going to bring with them to the battlefield so to speak. Mega's going to rely on activists and dissidents and going to channel their spirit and enthusiasm towards winning, Tutut's going to rely on her and her family's financial resources, and Try's going to rely on being the incumbent and the benefits that it brings, in this case the ability to hand out offices and positions.

 

[Pilatypus]

Let the political carnival begins!

 

[Unknown]

*The National Quarantine Agency (BARANTIN)

That's going to be useful in, oh, about 18 months or so (with SARS), and nearly 20 years later (with Covid-19--assuming, of course, that both still happen like IOTL)...

 

[GSD310]

11th June 2001:
It was a day that political junkies enjoyed with the warm-up provided by the DPR. In a plenary session, Leader of the PPP in the DPR Zarkasih Nur announced that the PPP had unanimously nominated Ali Hardi Kiai Demak, a PPP member of Muhammadiyah background to become vice chairman of the DPR. Though the PKPB members expressed displeasure at the nomination, it was quickly approved. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Albert Hasibuan administered the oath and Ali Hardi became the new Vice Chairman of the DPR representing the PPP.

After Ali Hardi delivered a short address, the DPR Session was closed by Chairman of DPR Harmoko who had to depart from the Presidential Palace. He was intercepted by DPR Member Markus Wauran who handed him an envelope. As he exited the DPR’s meeting hall, Markus Wauran confirmed to the press that he had just handed his resignation as a DPR Member. A member of the dissolved PDI, Markus said that he had never received his PKPB membership card and had no interest in doing so and that he had to rush because he had a ceremony at the Presidential Palace.

The Presidential Palace was abuzz with activity as a swearing-in ceremony was scheduled. There were some guesses as to who would be sworn in to what position but no one could be sure. What was certain was that there were going to be some surprises.

President Try Sutrisno arrived at the swearing-in-ceremony and took his position in front of the room. The national anthem played and the ceremony got underway.

State Secretary Edi Sudrajat then stepped over and began to read the Presidential decisions regarding those sworn in starting with the ambassadors to be sworn in and they were:

*dr. Nafsiah Mboi, Sp.A, MPH as Ambassador to Argentina
*Dr. Alwi Dahlan as Ambassador to Egypt

There were some gasps among the press covering the event. Nafsiah Mboi’s appointment as ambassador meant that the Head of BKKBN’s position was now going to change hands while Alwi Dahlan’s position meant the Vice Chairman of BP-7’s position was also going switch hands. Both positions were not originally thought to be part of the President’s appointments.

Next up were the Board Members of the BI and Edi read out the names.

*Prof. Dr. Anwar Nasution as Senior Deputy Governor
*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Adolf Sahala Radjagukguk as BI Commissioner
*Iwan Prawiranata S.E., MIB, MA, Ph.D as BI Board Member
*Achjar Iljas, S.E., M.B.A, as BI Board Member
*Prof. Dr. Miranda S. Goeltom, S.E., M.B.A, as BI Board Member
*Maman H. Soemantri as BI Board Member
*Siti Chalimah Fadjriah, S.E., AKT, MM as BI Board Member

At the house of Chairwoman of PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri they looked at the lineup. Treasurer of PNI Laksamana Sukardi, being a banker said it was a good line-up though it was not devoid of political calculation.

“Achar Iljas is your explanation why Amien Rais did not want to commit to us”, said Laksamana “He’s a Muhammadiyah member and is involved with Muhammadiyah’s Economic Council.”

After the BI Board Members came the Heads of the Agencies.

*Prof. Dr. Bambang Sudibyo MA as Head of Baznas
*KH Mar’uf Amin as Head of BWI
*Dr. Ir. Alirahman as Head of BARANTIN
*Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Tamlicha Ali as Head of the KNKT
*Dr. Sapta Nirwandar S.E., as Head of the KKAA
*Ir. Erna Witoelar as Head of the BAPEDAL
*dr. Sumarjati Arkoso, SKM as Head of BKKBN
*Drs. Markus Wauran as Head of BATAN

Taufiq Kiemas was amazed at how much calculation went into the appointments. Erna Witoelar with her connections in civil society and NGOs seemed to be a way for Try to counter Megawati’s effort to have activists and dissidents in her coalition. Megawati, meanwhile was gobsmacked that, Markus Wauran’s genuine interest in nuclear energy aside, Try dared to appoint someone from the now-dissolved PDI that had once stood against her.

“Ali Hardi Kiai Demak, Achjar Iljas, and Bambang Sudibyo”, muttered Chairman of the PKPB’s National Campaign Prabowo Subianto “Muhammadiyah just got a vice chairmanship of the DPR, a seat on the BI board, and is in charge of distributing Zakat; well we know now why Muhammadiyah’s sticking with Try.”

There was only one name on the next Presidential Decree, which concerned the Deputy Attorney General.

*Harprileny Soebiantoro SH, CN MH as Deputy Attorney General

At the Garuda Indonesia Lounge at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Chairwoman of PKPB Tutut watched the announcement; feeling some of the other VIP passengers looking at her to see how she was reacting.

“A lot of women today sworn in by President Try, 2 in the BI Board, 2 among the heads of agencies and 1 Deputy Attorney General” Tutut overheard a woman say.

“Well darling, the two people most interested in challenging him for the presidency are female”, replied her husband “I suppose he is trying boost support among women.”

There was also one other name in the next Presidential Decree, which concerned the Vice Chairman of BP-7.

*P. Krissantono as Vice Chairman of BP-7

Treasurer of PKPB Akbar Tandjung watched all this in his office and felt a knot. Alirahman the new Head of BARANTIN was a fellow HMI activist. In fact when Akbar was the Chairman of HMI, Alirahman was the Chairman of the Bogor Branch of HMI. Krissantono on the other hand was Secretary of the Indonesian Youths National Committee (KNPI) when Akbar was the chairman. Akbar did not think these two appointments were accidents.

Standing in the crowd of officials, Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas watched wondering how Akbar Tandjung would take all this. Back at the 1998 Golkar National Congress, it had been Akbar Tandjung throwing his support behind Tutut that decisively tipped the balance in Tutut’s favor. The President said that Akbar’s influence, the latter having networks everywhere it seemed, needed to be countered.

Finally the last Presidential Decision was read out which concerned one appointment:

*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) I Gede Awet Sara as Inspector General of Development

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita, also standing amongst the officials, had a slight smile on his face. He was going to continue being minister, a part of the Government, and a part of the President's coalition on the condition that authority over all ASEAN matters be restored to minister of foreign affairs without it having to be shared with the Ambassador of ASEAN. Ginandjar had emphasized that this was more important than a seat at the table with the Pancasila Coalition The President agreed to abolish the Ambassador to ASEAN’s position though it was evident he wished to retain I Gede Awet Sara’s by his side.

The President swore in the officials in front of him and after the national anthem was played to end the event, he shook hands with them one-by-one.

At the airport, Tutut watched the live RCTI broadcast of the swearing in ceremony at the Presidential Palace. Already the commentators invited on the broadcast were offering their analysis on what these new appointments might mean. As a Garuda Lounge Attendant informed her that her flight had begun boarding, Tutut dwelled on the realization that the appointment meant that the President had continued to strengthen his hold on the presidency and that this hold would only continue to grow stronger the longer the President stayed in power.

That’s why we have to make sure it all comes to an end for him in 2003, Tutut thought to herself.

---
So we officially have "3 Kingdoms" now: Try's Coalition, Tutut's Coalition, and Megawati's Coalition. The Legislative Elections are scheduled for 2002 though the date is TBD with the MPR General Session scheduled for March 2003, by New Order convention normally coinciding with the final 10 days of the presidential term.

That concludes this series on coalitions. Going to start picking up the pace again as far as the passage of time goes.

 

[Unknown]

And we're now three months out from 9/11...

 

[GSD310]

12th June 2001:
Vice President JB Sumarlin attended a luncheon attended by foreign correspondents. Taking questions he explained how some the new posts created yesterday were justified. The BARANTIN, for example, was because the Department of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries wanted their own quarantine agency instead of being attached to the Department of Agriculture’s quarantine agency and that it was better to create one quarantine agency for everything instead of two of everything. When asked if the President was preparing for re-election, Sumarlin only laughed. He laughed even louder when asked if he was interested in a second term.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita issued a statement on behalf of the Indonesian Government congratulating Nong Duc Manh on his official election as General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party at the 9th VCP National Congress. Ginandjar said that the President looks forward to working with Nong.

13th June 2001:
President Try Sutrisno landed at Bandar Lampung’s Radin Inten Airport this morning and immediately transferred to a helicopter which took him to Batutegi Dam. Accompanied by Minister of Public Works Rachmat Witoelar, Minister of Mining and Energy Djiteng Marsudi, Minister of Transportation Soerjadi Soedirja, Governor of Lampung Sofjan Jacoeb, and Governor of South Sumatra Bimo Prakoso, the President inaugurated the following:

*Batutegi Dam which will provide irrigation, water supply and electricity for Bandar Lampung and its surrounds
*Besai Hydroelectricity Generator which will help provide electricity to Lampung and South Sumatra
*Extension of the Runway at the Radin Inten Airport at Bandar Lampung

After calling on the people, economy, and infrastructure of Lampung and South Sumatra to “feed off each other”, the President toured the dam and talked to the workers there (“I enjoy talking to these folks better than politicking”, he muttered to State Secretary Edi Sudrajat).

Helicoptering back to Bandar Lampung, the real meeting awaited him. At the meeting room of the Governor of Lampung’s office, the President met with Governor of Aceh Syamsuddin Mahmud, Governor of North Sumatra Syamsir Siregar, Governor of West Sumatra Muchlis Ibrahim, Governor of Riau Dunidja, Governor of Bengkulu Afifuddin Thaib, Governor of Jambi Hasip Kalimudin Syam, Bimo Prakoso, and Sofjan Jacoeb; in other words all governors of Sumatra’s provinces.

With State Minister of Regional Autonomy Oemarsono sitting in, the 8 governors made a proposal for a Trans-Sumatran Toll Road to extend from Banda Aceh in Aceh to Bakaheuni in Lampung. The President told the governors that if they can show him they can make sure the lands can be vacated, the funds, and attract some private sector investment in the road, the Central Government will get involved with funding and support.

“Let’s see what they come up with”, the President told Edi as the Presidential Airplane departed back for Jakarta “It’s already a win if the governors from Java get moving as well when they hear this”.

14th June 2001:
Minister of Manpower and Small Business Fahmi Idris attended a DPR Work Meeting today. He explained to the DPR members that the Government had not raised minimum wages because of the high demand in the economy. Enterprises are offering higher salaries on account of them needing a workforce to meet demand from customers. Fahmi cited the hospitality sector which had become a well-paid sector in the past 3 years. More recently with increased investment and economic activity, duty managers whether it it be in factories, supermarkets, or restaurants are in high demand.

Elsewhere, a small demonstration was held outside the Department of Legal Affairs offices mourning the “death” of the National Commission of Human Rights. As he left his office for the day, Minister of Legal Affairs Marzuki Darusman explained that human rights will be attended to from existing organizational structures from the Department. He added that the Government’s decision to abolish discriminatory laws towards the Chinese-Indonesians was done without any input from the National Commission of Human Rights and that he made this point as someone who used to be a member of the said commission.

15th June 2001:
The President’s guest today was none other than United States Secretary of State Richard Williamson. Accompanied by Ginandjar Kartasasmita, the President remarked that it was a long way to come from the NATO Summit at Brussels to Jakarta. Williamson said it was because President John McCain wished his message to be brought to the President.

Williamson said that the Administration did not take kindly to the G-15’s Leaders Communique trying to tell the IMF to do its job and reminded that the Administration’s stance was to support the IMF in making sure that its conditionalities are met. Try repeated the argument to Williamson that it would not do if all the terms the IMF put forward are fulfilled but at the cost of social stability and cited Turkey as an example. Williamson said he could not budge.

When the meeting came to a close, Williamson said that Indonesia had its advocate in the State Department in the form of Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Paul Wolfowitz but that McCain had chosen to listen to “others” in the Administration on Indonesia and Southeast Asia. He warned that there might be repercussions for Indonesia if it kept this stance. In the only “good news” of the meeting, Williamson said that Indonesia’s observance of its contract with Freeport and not trying to obtain its shares will provide legal certainty for investors.

16th June 2001:
Minister of Economics and National Development Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Finance Mar’ie Muhammad, and Governor of BI Boediono came to the Presidential Palace today. They came out of the meeting looking serious. Dorodjatun said that the three of them and the President had a discussion about the state of the world’s economy and the international economy. He explained that the President had agreed that while the international economic situation was worrying, they must concern themselves with Indonesia’s economy.

“Our economy’s growing, our economy’s strong”, said Dorodjatun “But we must not allow it to overheat and not allow it to come under inflationary pressures.”

Boediono announced a series of policies designed to make Indonesia’s economic growth more sustainable. Effective on Monday, the BI will increase interest rates. At the same time, it will place a ban on electronic shops and car and motorcycle dealers from offering credits with interest to their customers because they were not “financial institutions”. These restrictions will allow industry more capacity to cope and keep up with customer demand. When asked if Indonesia’s economic growth will slow down as a result of this, Dorodjatun disagreed. He said that the aim was to make economic growth sustainable and not slow.

18th June 2001:
This morning, President Try welcomed the arrival of President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov. During the initial talks, the President was accompanied by Ginandjar and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat while Karimov was accompanied by Uzbekistan Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulazis Komilov. It was a most productive talk. Try found that the two nations had more in common than Indonesia’s desire for Uzbek cotton like Karimov’s desire to clamp down on religious radicals. They also found something in common on the broad international front. Karimov said that while Uzbekistan’s relationship with the United States is not good, it does not wish to fall into Russia’s orbit. Ginandjar joked that in Indonesia that’s wanting to adopt a “free and active foreign policy”. More seriously, Try said that Indonesia and Uzbekistan should stick closer together.

In the end it was about Uzbek cotton. There was a signing ceremony for an Agreement on Economic Cooperation, Uzbekistan Minister of Finance Rustam Azimov representing his nation and Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti representing Indonesia. In addition to cooperation across various areas, the agreement guaranteed imports of cotton from Uzbekistan at a favorable price for the next 5 years. The President hosted a State Dinner for Karimov that night.

19th June 2001:
After Karimov made his farewells, Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja arrived for a meeting. Sarwono reported to the President about meat prices in the 3 months since meat imports from Europe and Latin America had been suspended. Sarwono reported that meat prices had stabilized as a result of encouraging people to diversify their sources of protein consumption to chicken and fish. The people did heed the advice because the demand for beef experienced a decrease and slowed the rise of beef prices. Sarwono said he was certain that beef prices will decrease even more when it becomes safe to allow beef imports again into Indonesia.

The President was happy to hear this. He joked that had Sarwono told this news earlier, the BARANTIN would still be under the Department of Agriculture. Sarwono laughed and said that he was not interested in turf battles and that he needed Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Tanto Kuswanto’s help to promote the eating of fish. But then he grew serious.

“If I may, Mr. President, I would like to try something similar to what I just did with meat to another agricultural commodity”, said Sarwono “Stop forcing people who aren’t used to planting and eating this commodity from planting and eating it and decrease demand for this commodity while at the same time increasing its production.”

“What commodity are you talking about?” asked Try.

“Rice”, replied Sarwono.

20th June 2001:
At a luncheon with members of the business community, Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo discussed with various factory owners about the state of the national economy. Discussing about economic affairs and specifically his area, Siswono said that:

“One thing that we realize was how reliant we are on imports when it comes to industry. We manufacture electronics and cars here, for example, but we still rely on imports for the components and the spare parts. We want to change that and strengthen our industrial structure. It’s why in the 16th April Package we announced tax breaks for prospective and expanding electrical components, automotive spare parts and heavy machinery spare parts factories. We have applicants already for tax breaks and there’s never been a better time to get into components and spare parts than now”.

21st June 2001:
“I got that from the Minister of Finance and the Governor of BI last Saturday”, said Try “What do you think, Mr. Attorney General?”

“It’s a bad news good news situation, Mr. President”, said Attorney General Soedjono C. Atmonegoro after reading the letter Try had handed to him “The bad news is that she’s transferred $2 billion into Indonesia, probably for the election campaign, the good news is that there’s no doubt now that there’s Cendana money in Austria.”

“How are we doing with the Austrian Government?” asked Try “I think it’s been about 13 months since I visited them.”

“We’re making progress but these things take time”, replied Soedjono “And I can’t make promises when the deal with the Austrian Government will be completed.”

“Very well”, said Try, unsatisfied.

---
It’s a “Try and the Government gets back to work episode”. I’d probably want to highlight Sarwono wanting to make changes to rice policy and Siswono saying that the Government wants to strengthen industry here.

I always found OTL Sarwono and Siswono to be unique. They were recognized enough by Soeharto that they were named to his cabinet (both served as ministers twice under Soeharto) but they had something of a critical towards the regime that they were a part of and not afraid to express that critical streak. In May 1998, Sarwono famously called on Soeharto to resign on live television using the metaphor of "pulling teeth out"

Their last respective cabinet posts OTL were Minister of Environment for Sarwono and Minister of Transmigration for Siswono. Incidentally, they joined with Try and Edi to form the OTL PKPI.

Information on Uzbekistan courtesy of Wikipedia of course https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistan. OTL, it eventually fell in with China and Russia’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization but not ITTL.

Refer to Chapter 86 for Try’s visit to Austria.

 

[deepoceanblue]

Dang i remember watching that interview live back then...

 

[GSD310]

22nd June 2001:
Putting aside domestic concerns for the moment and after an all-night flight, President Try Sutrisno and his delegation landed in the morning at Islamabad International Airport in Islamabad, Pakistan. Welcoming and saluting Try on the tarmac was none other than the President/Chief Executive of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf. After the national anthems were played and a welcoming speech by Musharraf, Try and First Lady Tuti Setiawati hopped into the car with Musharraf and Mrs. Musharraf.

At the Pakistani Presidential Palace, Try accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Trade Anthony Salim, and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat had a meeting with Musharraf who was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdul Sattar, Minister of Finance, Revenue, and Economic Affairs Shaukat Azis, Minister of Commerce, Industries, and Production Abdul Razak Dawood, and Minister of Information Javed Jabbar. At the end of the meeting, Edi and Javed Jabbar held a joint press conference announcing that the two governments expressed their intentions to have closer ties.

The two presidents meanwhile had Friday Prayer at Faisal Mosque, Pakistan’s National Mosque. They had lunch together at the Presidential Palace talking one-on-one. Musharraf told Try he had no qualms expressing his admiration for Try for the way he led Indonesia out of the Asian Financial Crisis and took decisive action against radicals within the country. Try told him that Musharraf can take a decisive stance by withdrawing support from the Taliban Regime in Afghanistan. Musharraf smiled and said that he’s constrained by “political circumstances”. On Pakistan’s close relationship with China, Musharraf said that this was only natural considering India’s hostility.

The day ended with a meet and greet with Indonesians at the Indonesian Embassy in Pakistan and dinner. At the hotel, Try compared notes with his delegation. While Dorodjatun reported a willingness for cooperation amongst the economic ministers, Minister of Defense and Security Wismoyo Arismunandar reported that Chief of Army Staff Azis Khan and Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence Mahmud Ahmed were most definitely “cool and cautious” towards Indonesia.

23rd June 2001:
There was a working breakfast with the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce where the President spoke about the potential of economic cooperation between the two countries. After the breakfast, Try made a farewell call to Musharraf. At their joint press conference, both Try and Musharraf hailed each other as friends and announced that they will open negotiations towards a bilateral trade agreement.

From Musharraf, Try headed for the Islamabad International Airport. Briefing the Indonesian press, Ginandjar that Pakistan was a warm-up and that the next two visits are crucial for the strategic interests of the country.

A few hours later, the Presidential Airplane touched down at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India. Try shook hands with Indian Minister of External Affairs /Minister of Defense Jaswant Singh who welcomed him when he landed. The official welcome was at the Indian Presidential Palace, given by President of India KR Narayanan. From there, it was of to the Secretariat building to meet Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Vajpayee brought Singh to the meeting while Try brought Ginandjar, Wismoyo, and Edi Sudrajat. Fernandes said that despite his rhetoric, Musharraf was not to be trusted and reminded that he was behind the Kargil War. Wismoyo confirmed that at least militarily and strategically, Pakistan is in China’s orbit. The meeting had a positive result. In a small ceremony afterwards, Try and Vajpayee watched as Wismoyo and Singh signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement. The agreement will open the path for officer exchanges between the two nations’ staff colleges and joint naval patrols of the Indian Ocean.

24th June 2001:
The morning saw the President pay his respects at the memorial sites where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated after he was assassinated. He then had a meet and greet followed by lunch by the Indonesian community living in New Delhi.

His afternoon tea was spent with Vajpayee at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, the Prime Minister’s Official Residence. Vajpayee was kind enough to give Try a tour of the place though this provided the opportunity to talk. Vajpayee talked with Try about his visit to Pakistan. He said that Try and Musharraf seemed to get on well. Try told Vajpayee that cooperation between Indonesia and Pakistan will be in the economic field rather than the strategic field and that India had nothing worry about. Try also said he wants cooperation between Indonesia and Pakistan to strengthen Musharraf’s position because if Musharraf falls from power, his successor might be pro-Taliban and with a finger on the nuclear trigger and that this will be to both India and Indonesia’s disadvantage. Vajpayee told Try that he could see the value of Indonesia’s closer relations with Pakistan for India and that is that Indonesia could have some leverage over Pakistan, not as much as China, but some leverage that could be useful for India in tense situations.

“Indonesia may yet be valuable for India, Mr. President”, said Vajpayee “But tell me, how can India be valuable to Indonesia?”

“You told me at the G-15 that it was in India’s interest to have a strong Indonesia and that you can be of assistance to us in Southeast Asia, Mr. Prime Minister”, said Try.

“That’s true”, replied Vajpayee.

“You have been establishing closer relations with Myanmar in the last few years to counter China’s influence”, began Try “If India can influence Myanmar to see that their future is best served by joining an Indonesian-led bloc, it would be useful.”

25th June 2001:
The President today visited the Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Indian Minister of Road Transport and Highways BC Khanduri explained about the Vajpayee Government’s ambitious national highway construction project, which had been launched weeks prior to the visit, to Try. While Try looked over the models, Khanduri found himself chatting animatedly with Minister of Public Works Rachmat Witoelar over highway constructions.

After that he went to the offices and studios of DD National, India’s state-owned television network to record an interview. The highlight of the interview came when Try, in a bid to be respectful to his host nation, said that perhaps it is India that deserved to be called the Tiger Economy.

The evening saw Try and the Indonesian delegation attend an Official Dinner at the Presidential Palace hosted by Narayanan. At the end of the event as they posed for pictures for the final time, Vajpayee responded to Try’s comments earlier that India should be dubbed a Tiger Economy by saying that if it was the case, Indonesia deserved to be called a Garuda Economy.

In Jakarta, Chairman of PPP Matori Abdul Djalil officially registered the PPP as a participant in the 2002 Legislative Elections at the KPU.

26th June 2001:
Still in India, the President and his delegation landed in Mumbai where he was given an official welcome by Governor of Maharashtra PC Alexander and Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Desmukh.

The President and his delegation’s first stop was Film City, the largest film studio in Mumbai and which was owned by the Maharashtra Government. Hopping onto a few buses, the Indonesian delegation began touring a large film studio, looking across various movie sets, including one where they were shooting a dance scene. Junior Minister of Art and Culture Subrata was busy taking notes and asking questions for this part of the trip. Being the president of a country had its perks for Try got the chance to shake hands with the film crew and actors.

From Film City, the President and his delegation visited the Santacruz Electronics Exports Processing Zone (SEEPZ), a 100-acre special development zone for India’s electronic and jewellery export. Touring the industrial parks and factories from the SEEPZ’ bus, the President and Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo spent their time asking questions from their host. They also toured the SEEPZ’ Main Building to have the history of the SEEPZ explained to them.

Dinner was with India-Indonesia Business Association which had its headquarters at Mumbai. In his address, Try said that both Indonesia and India had the potential to be economic powerhouses in the 21st Century and that they should cooperate to achieve this end. There was a meet and greet session afterwards and then the President accompanied by his delegation completed their quick visit of Mumbai by heading through the airport.

27th June 2001:
After a red-eye flight through the night, the President landed in mid-morning at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Hiroyuki Hosada welcomed the President on behalf of the Government. First stop was the Imperial Palace and an official welcome by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko followed by a photo-op.

Next stop was the prime ministerial residence. As Try, Ginandjar, and Edi arrived they were welcomed Prime Minister of Japan Koichi Kato, Hosada, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshiro Mori. The first thing Kato asked was what Indonesia’s intentions were in Southeast Asia. Try asked what had Kato heard.

“Your trips overseas this year, Mr. President”, said Kato “To Papua New Guinea to your east, to Australia to your south, India to the west, and now us…we’re the north, right? These are trips to the four directions of the wind to ask that Indonesia be given permission to have a free hand in Southeast Asia, are they not?”

“These are dynamic times, Mr. Prime Minister”, explained Ginandjar “Russia and China wants to challenge the United States of America, President McCain made it his first act after taking office to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty…Indonesia wants Southeast Asia to take an independent position and not have to choose between the two blocs.”

“Independent under Indonesia’s leadership?” asked Kato.

“We’re not forcing the nations in the region to do anything that they do not want”, said Try.

“You must certainly know that the cornerstone of my foreign policy is for Japan to have as good a relation with Beijing as with Washington, Mr. President”, Kato countered “Beijing will not be happy to see your Southeast Asian bloc. It will be even more unhappy if it saw us supporting you in this venture.”

“We’re not against Beijing, we have no intention of opposing its accession to the WTO”, replied Try.

And so it went, with Kato reluctant to give Indonesia a free hand in Southeast Asia though in front of the television cameras they shook hands, smiled and said that they had a “Robust and frank discussion”. As their car drove away from the meeting back to the hotel, Try commented that Ginandjar was right, this was a very “Pro-China” Prime Minister of Japan. Try spent the day resting at his hotel.

28th June 2001:
Try was up early, making an appearance at the Tsukiji Fish Market with his delegation. He toured the market, looked at all the fish and the auction going on. He was heard to remark that he had a better understanding of what “Tanto is trying to do” in reference to the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries who did not make the trip.

After taping an interview for NHK, the President joined a lunch hosted by the Keidanren, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Try found himself sitting between Japanese Minister of Finance Taro Aso and Japanese Minister of Trade and Industry Sadakazu Tanigaki. Speaking no word of Japanese, Try was curious what Aso and Ginandjar were talking about. Ginandjar later explained to Try Aso said how the Japanese Cabinet was going to let Kato get his way on relations with China but not on economic relations with Indonesia. Aso told Ginandjar Indonesia was “too important” economically to be sacrificed for China. As Ginandjar later told Try, Aso is “anti-China”.

The President had an afternoon session with Kato, this time the meeting was more economic in nature. Try was accompanied by Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Siswono Yudohusodo, Anthony Salim, Head of BKPM Mari Pangestu, and Edi Sudrajat. Kato was accompanied by Hosada, Aso, Tanigaki, and Mori. It was a productive meeting, Try was very happy in particular to hear that the Japanese Government would fund Jakarta’s West-East MRT line that will be due to start construction after the North-South MRT Line is completed.

The PNI, bringing masses yelling “Mega will win! Mega will win!”, today registered its participation in the 2002 Legislative Elections at the KPU.

29th June 2001:
Today the President and his delegation headed out early from Tokyo on a Bus. Arriving at Shizuoka Prefecture, the President enjoyed views of Mount Fuji but instead visited Izu Fruit Park. To all in the delegation including the press, Try said that Indonesian farmers “can’t just be satisfied” with only harvesting and selling it as quickly as possible. Holding up fruits in plastic packaging, he said that just having the agricultural goods packaged is already going a long way to adding value.

He then visited a factory outlet which just opened the previous year in Gotemba. He bumped into an Indonesian tour group and was very happy to hear the story of an entrepreneur in the group who went through hard times in 1997-1998 but can now take his family on holidays. Try and his delegation caught the train back to Tokyo where Try caught the Tokyo Metro back to his hotel (“We’ve got a whole lot of work before we catch up with this railway system, that’s why we have to start now”).

During a meet and greet session with the Indonesian community living in Tokyo at the Indonesian Embassy, Try was interrupted by Edi who told him there was a phone call. It was Vice President JB Sumarlin, Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas, and Commander of ABRI Wiranto. They reported that there was a tense situation developing at the KPU Building.

“It appears that the PKPI and the PKPB decided to register their participation in the 2002 Legislative Elections at the same time and decided to bring their supporters along” reported Harsudiono “Someone from the PKPB crowd threw an egg at the Chairman of the DPR and it hit then someone from the PKPI crowd threw an empty water bottle at the Chairwoman of PKPB and then it missed.”

“We’ve always had extra security around KPU in anticipation but we had to call in reinforcements from the Jakarta Regional Command and Kostrad for this one”, explained Wiranto “Things are under control, Mr. President”.

After holding a hastily gathered press conference calling for calm and expressing his support with the steps taken by Sumarlin, Harsudiono, and Wiranto, Try took a call from Chairwoman of PKPB Tutut Soeharto. Both apologized to each other for their supporters’ actions. Tutut promised to make a statement to follow the President’s.

“The tense situation aside, I take it the PKPB is officially registered to compete in the elections?” asked Try.

“Yes, Mr. President”, replied Tutut “And your PKPI has also been registered by Chairman Basofi.”

Silence between the two.

“I guess it’s official then, Mas Try”, said Tutut dropping the formality.

“What’s official?” asked Try.

“My political party’s registered and your political party’s registered” commented Tutut “That makes them…and us…officially on a collision course.”

30th June 2001:
There were farewell visits to be made; first to Kato at the Prime Minister’s Office which concluded with a photo-op though without a press conference and then to Akihito. Then it was to Narita Airport where the Presidential Airplane awaited. After the plane took-off, Try watched Kato conduct a lone press conference. Ginandjar and Edi sat either side to him while State Minister of National Security Soerjadi joined them via telephone.

“Kato’s right you know”, said Try with a chuckle “The whole point of visiting Papua New Guinea, Australia, India, and Japan was to get the nations to our east, west, north, and south to give us a free rein in Southeast Asia.”

Ginandjar thought the visit to India was a success but seemed despondent about Japan not wanting to give support to Indonesia’s forming a Southeast Asian Bloc because it did not want to offend China. Soerjadi thought differently.

“I wouldn’t be too quick to call the Japan visit a failure” said Soerjadi “If Japan is reluctant to support our goal of countering China’s influence then so be it. It will just be a signal to the countries in our region that China has a pretty strong hold over this part of the world. There’s a pro-China Prime Minister of Japan running around in Tokyo and hell, even the President of Taiwan is friendly towards the mainland. This is good. It helps us.”

“Go on”, said Try.

“We want India and Australia to approve of us taking up a decisive leadership role in the region because of their proximity but ultimately it’s the Southeast Asian Nations who we want approval from” continued Soerjadi “Why is ASEAN there? There’s an argument that it’s to make sure Indonesia doesn’t pursue an aggressive foreign policy after President Soekarno’s Confrontation with Malaysia.”

“It’s there to neutralize us in other words”, said Edi.

“Maybe”, replied Try “But we’re not after an aggressive foreign policy.”

“That’s what we think but what about all the others?” asked Soerjadi “We’re the big kid in the neighborhood. Not the richest not the most prosperous but the biggest. Some will tend to be afraid of us based on that factor alone.”

Ginandjar chuckled; finally getting it.

“The question is”, Ginandjar began “What circumstance would make all the kids in the neighborhood come to the big kid and say “Please lead us because we’re scared”?”

“If there’s an even bigger kid wanting to move in and show that he has all the power”, said Try.

“We’re all on the same page then”, said Soerjadi “The stronger China’s position, the more our neighbors will be able to see the argument that Southeast Asia needs to act as one bloc under our leadership or even better, it might be able to see the case for a stronger Indonesia.”

---
OTL Musharraf spent some time in Turkey during childhood and is thought to have Kemalist (ie. military dictator who takes a tough stance on Islamism) inclinations. The presence of Try on the world stage here means that Musharraf has to deal with the temptation of emulating someone with similar sentiments whilst the head of an Army which adopts a pro-Taliban sentiment.

The visit to India and Japan is not only to get those nations’ approval for Indonesia’s pre-eminence in Southeast Asia, it’s also for Try to get “inspired” by how India and Japan are doing in various fields such as culture and transportation. The defence cooperation agreement is as in OTL https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/Indonesia_January_2014.pdf. ITTL India is probably relieved to have ITTL Indonesia that can be use to counter China's influence.

Indonesia and Japan has a close relationship OTL. Soeharto and whoever’s the Prime Minister of Japan usually took turns visiting each other’s countries in nearly all of the years Soeharto was in office.

The notion of ASEAN being there to keep Indonesia from going on an aggressive foreign policy ala Soekarno’s Confrontation and a stance on the New Order’s part to no longer have an aggressive foreign policy is something that you’d find scattered in literature about ASEAN’s history.

 

[GSD310]

1st July 2001:
A busy Sunday with Chairman of KPU HBL Mantiri coming out of the Presidential Palace to officially announce that there will be 4 political parties taking part in the 2002 Elections: PPP, PNI, PKPI, and PKPB. Mantiri announced that the next deadline will be on Saturday 15th September 2001. That will be the deadline for all 4 parties to submit their Provisional Candidates List.

Chairwoman of PKPB Tutut Soeharto made a statement on TPI tonight. Attributing the egg to Chairman of DPR Harmoko’s as “overenthusiasm” on PKPB members’ part, Tutut urged restrain and work diligently towards victory at next year’s elections. Tutut said that in the meantime, she’s interested in how the Government will deal with the current international recession, which has now officially arrived in Southeast Asia. She ended by saying that how the Government deals with this will be entirely in its hands and that it could no longer rely on “President Soeharto’s past economic management”.

2nd July 2001:
President Try Sutrisno, Vice President JB Sumarlin, and the Cabinet had a meeting attended by all the ministers. Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti spoke before the cabinet saying that Malaysia and Singapore are officially in recession. Malaysia in particular is in for a bad year because they have not recovered from the Asian Financial Crisis. The President asked for reactions specifically how this recession will impact Indonesia.

Minister of Trade Anthony Salim said that exports, such as clothing and electronics, are taking a hit. This was not only because the economies of nations such as the United States and Japan are feeling the effects of the recession but also because the Rupiah has been progressively getting stronger and especially after the interest rates a few months ago. The Rupiah’s exchange rate as of the cabinet meeting was $1= Rp. 4,192 and that this meant that Indonesian exports are more expensive. Anthony said that he will try to compensate for these factors by ensuring that FMCG exports’ access to Nigeria and Africa are set up.

Minister of Tourism Soeyono reported that bookings by international tourists are down overall while Head of BKPM Mari Pangestu reported that the nation can expect a decrease in foreign investment as the impact of the recession also hits Europe but that for domestic investors, with the currency in a strong position, this was the time to expand.

The meeting turned into something of a debate. Governor of BI Boediono advised the Government to just “ride the recession out” and not take action to try to stimulate growth because the economy’s in full flow and that might cause inflation. Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo echoed this. He said producers of motorcycles and refrigerators are starting to increase prices because of high demand. Things got heated when Soeyono asked for a stimulus for the tourism sector and took it the wrong way when Minister of Finance Mar’ie Muhammad tensed and said that not all sectors will be doing well all the time.

The cabinet meeting broke up with no decision over how to tackle the 2001 Recession and Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti got the task of speaking to the press telling them that the Government is always monitoring the international economic situation.

The President had lunch with Sumarlin with the cabinet meeting still on his mind.

“Should we be doing something about this recession, Mr. Vice President?” asked Try “We’re not in one but it’s arrived at our region.”

“If I may ask, is there anything you’re concerned about, Mr. President?” asked Sumarlin “Perhaps that there are other considerations we should be making.”

“Only that in 1997, when Thailand’s currency began to lose its value, I was sitting in your chair when the person sitting in mine thought we had nothing to worry about and then the currency lost a lot of value by the time I assumed office”, replied Try “I don’t want to underestimate what’s happening but then I’m looking at our economy now and I’m worried if I might be overreacting.”

3rd July 2001:
In a work meeting with DPR members, Minister of Education Fakry Gaffar reported on the latest developments in education:
*Enrollments in junior secondary school for the 2001/2002 school year are 87.4% due to improvements in capacity in terms of both buildings and teacher training as well great better economic conditions in rural areas making parents more confident to invest in their children’s further education.

*Mandarin will be offered in schools starting from the next school year due to preparations to include it in the curriculum. The Department of Education has opened up an office where Mandarin language courses can get their permits to operate.

Interviewed on TVRI, Chairman of DPR Harmoko said he thought it was a badge of honor to have an egg thrown at his face. Harmoko reminded that he was the first to throw away his Golkar membership card for PKPI’s sake and that he was loyal to President Try and the PKPI.

4th July 2001:
At a State-Owned Enterprises Luncheon and with State Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Bacelius Ruru by his side, the President remotely inaugurated the following projects:
*Debottlenecking of Pertamina’s Cilacap Refinery in Central Java for extra capacity
*Integration Bridge linking Pertamina’s Plaju and Sungai Gereong Refineries in South Sumatra
*Launch of TVRI’s 19 hours broadcasting day from 05:00-24:00 and TVRI’s Programa 2 Channel’s 12 hours broadcasting day from 12:00-24:00
*Basuki Rachmat Paper Factory’s Second Paper Machine
*The operation of PT KAI’s Jakarta-Solo Executive and Freight Train
*The operation of PT KAI’s Jakarta-Surabaya Executive Train

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita issued a statement congratulating the re-election of Kofi Annan to a second term as UN Secretary General. Ginandjar said Indonesia looks forward to working with Annan on matters such as AIDS.

Chairwoman of PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a statement to mark the founding of the original PNI on 4th July 1927. Megawati called upon party member to “go to the masses” just like the original PNI in their bid to win votes at the 2002 Elections.

5th July 2001:
There were effusive handshakes today at the Presidential Palace as the President welcomed the arrival Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra. Accompanied by Ginandjar and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat, the President sat down with Thaksin and Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Surakiart Sathirathai to discuss various issues.

*On International Affairs: Thaksin said that the United States is firmly focused on strengthening NATO while Russia and China are focusing on expanding its influence in Central Asia. Surakiart told Try that Southeast Asia is, at the moment, seen as something of a nuisance and adds that Washington is not too happy the G-15 Communique calling for the IMF to take local situations into account when prescribing its policy conditions. Try just chuckled. Thaksin said that both he and President of Philippines Joseph Estrada agree that Washington is being unwise in its treatment of Indonesia.

*On Southeast Asia: Both Try and Thaksin agreed that the rise of General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party Nong Duc Manh is to be welcomed because Vietnam will look at Indonesia and Thailand as natural allies against China. Ginandjar informed Thaksin that Estrada had become the first Southeast Asian leader to make contact with the Nong-led regime in Hanoi. Thaksin half-jokingly said that Estrada is trying to make himself useful. Try only kept a poker face.

Next was Malaysia. Thaksin said Malaysia continues to drift closer to China and that it is only a matter of time before Malaysia has a run-in with Indonesia. Surakiart said that China is looking to make Malaysia, along with Cambodia and maybe Myanmar, its surrogates in Southeast Asia.

*On the 2001 Recession: Try told Thaksin that he hoped the 2001 Recession would not last for long. Thaksin said he hoped so to but that it’s already doing damage in the region with Malaysia and Singapore already in recession. The Philippines’ budget is in deficit because of Estrada’s policies. Thaksin told Try that his government is preparing something to guide Thailand’s economy through the recession. Thaksin asked Try what he intended to do with Indonesia’s economy. Try said that he’s still waiting and seeing.

6th July 2001:
After a breakfast at the Presdential Palace between Try, Thaksin, and their wives, they departed for Halim Perdanakusuma Airport. There, accompanied by Commander of ABRI Wiranto and Air Force Chief of Staff Ali Munsiri Rappe, Try and Thaksin inspected Paskhas Troops scheduled to depart for Thailand to take part in joint exercises with the Thai Air Force’s Security Force Regiment.

At the joint press conference at Halim, Thaksin said that he was in Indonesia to discuss various matters with President Try and build on the already deep trust between the two nations. Try said that Thailand is a friend to Indonesia and that he would like to invite King Bhumipol Adulyadej to visit Indonesia. After this press conference, Thaksin departed back for Thailand.

7th July 2001:
Try normally got his weekly intelligence report in written form every Friday. But reports of great importance are given directly by Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo and that was what happened today. Today, Air talked about Kuala Lumpur with Jemaah Islamiyah Member Hambali.

“The flying lessons guy?” asked Try “How is he doing?”

“We’ve just been following his movements over the last few months. At the end of 2000, he was in Saudi Arabia, was in Afghanistan in February, last month he was back in Saudi Arabia and now just last week, he’s back in the United States”, reported Ari “Saudi Arabia doesn’t give us any clues because that’s where he’s from. His stop in Afghanistan is what we’re worried about because we know Osama Bin Laden’s there.”

“Where is he now?” asked Try.

“Our most recent intel says that just a few days ago, he landed in the United States, Mr. President”, said Ari “I don’t think that he’s planning an attack on Indonesia but we have reason to believe that Khalid al-Midhar is planning or is part of an ongoing plan to launch an attack on the United States; possibly involving aircrafts if his flying lessons are anything to go by.”

“Well we’re amateurs compared to the CIA and FBI”, concluded Try “If BAKIN can found a decent amount of information, I’m sure the CIA and the FBI would be able to find more information about this guy.”

9th July 2001:
The President met with Minister of Forestry and Environment Barnabas Suebu. The President asked Barnabas about the progress of the 3 month socialization period and then the 12 month amnesty period for all in the forest industry to get their affairs in order. Barnabas said stakeholders in the forestry industry are taking in the information thus far but there is an air of skepticism from within the Department of Forestry and Environment’s bureaucracy and that the Government would actually do anything to enforce the rules after the 12 month amnesty period.

The President raised an eyebrow at that. Barnabas advised the President that he might want to revoke a forest concession that’s been flouting the rules as a signal of seriousness at the beginning of the 12 month amnesty period before suggesting some names of those whose concessions should be considered for revocation.

10th July 2001:
ABRI Headquarters announced a command shuffle which included the following highlights:

*Maj. Gen. Tri Tamtomo, presently Commander of the Irian Jaya Regional Military Command, will take over as Commander of the Central Java Regional Military Command. He is seen as an ally to Commander of Kostrad TB Hasanuddin.

*Maj. Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo takes over as Commander of the East Java Regional Military Command. He is seen as an ally to ABRI Chief of General Staff Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

*Brig. Gen. Tan Aspan is promoted to major general and appointed as Commander of Kostrad’s Second Division. His appointment officially makes TB Hasanuddin the most senior officer at Kostrad.

*Brig. Gen. Amirul Isnaeni is promoted to major general and takes over as Commander of the Irian Jaya Regional Military Command. It is a promotion but it removes him from being the first in line to succeed at Kopassus.

*Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Gaffar is without assignment after being removed as Commander of the Central Java Regional Military Command. Though he has been Commander of the Presidential Bodyguard (1999-2000), Gaffar is son-in-law of Cholil Badawi, Patron of the Indonesian Islamic Prosetylization Council (DDII), whose member Agus Dwikarna was arrested earlier in the year for links to Jemaah Islamiyah. That organization’s attitude towards the Government has drastically soured since that time.

11th July 2001:
In a ceremony at Pondok Indah Mall, Jakarta, President Try, accompanied by Mari Pangestu, the President inaugurated Indonesia’s first Zara Outlet and first two Shell Gas Stations. In his speech, the President called on the nation to “not be afraid of foreign investment” saying they, as much as domestic investments, also create employment. Speaking of the Shell Gas Stations, the President said that this will provide competition for Pertamania’s gas stations and encourage competition.

Touring the shopping center with First Lady Tuti Setiawati, the President looked at how full it was; how people were buying clothing and electronics and furnitures in the department stores. But something still bothered him. Edi Sudrajat noticed it though he did not discuss it with the President in the car.

12th July 2001:
In the aftermath of Cooperatives Day celebration at the Presidential Palace hosted by the President, Junior Minister of Cooperatives Cacuk Sudarijanto found himself in an impromptu debate with former Minister of Cooperatives and Small Business (1993-1998) and PKPB Member Subijakto Tjakrawerdaya. Subijakto said that cooperatives were considered to be a pillar of the economy, together with the private and state sectors, and yet the Government seemed to have taken a step backwards with cooperatives. Cacuk countered that the Government was improving the cooperatives sector with the aim of making the cooperatives sector more professional.

Rupiah strengthened to $1= Rp. 4,157 on the back of Indonesia’s economy continuing to look strong in the region when compared to the likes of Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Thailand.

13th July 2001:
The President visited the Lemhanas building today where he was due to give a speech in front of Governor of Lemhanas Johnny Lumintang and the students of Lemhanas’ Regular Course. The speech, in actuality a lecture, also covered the following point:

“I speak to you today at a time when the 2001 Economic Downturn is making its presence felt around the world but most especially in Southeast Asia. This economic phenomenon has arrived almost exactly 4 years since the arrival of the last economic crisis in Asia, what we now refer to as the Asian Financial Crisis. In Indonesia this downturn has begun to take effect in the shape of declining export figures and a decrease in tourist arrivals especially from the United States and Europe though by and large, our economy still looks strong.

Yet this must be no reason for us to relax and to be lax about the state of our nation’s economy. 4 years ago our nation thought that we would be spared the Asian Financial Crisis because our “economic fundamentals” were strong. By the grace of God, we survived through that crisis, though not unscathed because we lost some of our currency’s value and had to resort to assistance from the IMF. Our mistake was that we waited until companies were beginning to struggle repaying their debts and people were being laid off before we begun to take action.

That our economy is still strong must be seen as an opportunity to make our nation even stronger and further improve our position and stature”.
---
As a comparison, in OTL, we’re counting down the days to the end of Gus Dur’s Presidency in July 2001.

Shell’s first gas station opened in 2005 and Zara’s first outlet is also in 2005.

ITTL, the only real damage to Indonesia’s economy from Asian Financial Crisis is the Rupiah floating at around $1= Rp. 4,000-4,500 as opposed to $1= Rp. 2,400 pre-crisis.

Try's attitude to Soeharto's handling of the Asian Financial Crisis is a guess but I'm basing his comments here on things the consensus that no one expected Indonesia to go through such a crisis because of its good "economic fundamentals" before the crisis.

 

[GSD310]

14th July 2001:
“The comments made by President Try in his speech at Lemhanas yesterday were interesting. It perhaps represented a first public, though indirect, distancing of himself from his predecessor. The implication of the President’s comments yesterday was that the blame for the lost of the Rupiah’s value and for having to resort to the IMF for assistance should be laid squarely at the feet of President Soeharto”- Wimar Witoelar, Column on the 14th July 2001 edition of Kompas.

16th July 2001
The President and his delegation today touched down at Dili Airport and were welcomed by Permanent Representative to East Timor Warouw and Governor of East Timor Clementino Dos Reis Amaral. The arrival was coordinated so that he would be on the tarmac to welcome the arrival of Prime Minister of Portugal Antonio De Sousa Franco. After the official welcome, the two held a joint press conference. When asked what this visit meant, both agreed that it meant that Indonesia and Portugal was ready to be friends.

From the airport, the official party went to Dili Hospital. There the President inaugurated a new hospital wing which will increase the capacity of beds in Dili and East Timor. A tour of the hospital followed led by Minister of Health Azrul Azwar. From Dili Hospital, the two dignitaries dropped in at a Primary School in Dili’s Bairopite Region, delivering impromptu speeches to the children there before visiting the adjonining Bairopite Perumnas Housing Complex where they chatted with locals.

The Governor’s House became the place where President Try, accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat, met with Franco who was accompanied Deputy Prime Minister of Portugal/Portugal Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Barosso. Amongst various matters discussed, Franco expressed Portugal’s appreciation that East Timor has been made into a Special Administrative Region and that Indonesia has done well to develop East Timor most especially during Try’s presidency. Ginandjar prodded, asking that perhaps Indonesia and Portugal can resume diplomatic relations. Barosso countered saying that the prime minister’s visit was a first step. Franco added that this all can only proceed one step at a time. Try expressed his understanding. The day ended with an official dinner attended by East Timor’s top officials and members of the Provincial DPRD.

17th July 2001:
At the East Timor Provincial DPRD today, the President, with Franco as his special guest, presided over the 25th Anniversary of the Formation of the Province of East Timor. It was memorable in its own right with the President insisting last minute that he stood with East Timorese primary school children when the Indonesian National Anthem played. In his speech the President hailed the spirit of the East Timor people and promises that his Government will be the Government to work towards the betterment of East Timor and its people. Franco also made a speech, stating in it that Portugal acknowledges East Timor as a province of Indonesia.

When the ceremony finished, the President met with the Governor, Commander of the East Timor Operations Command Hotmangaradja Panjaitan, and Chief of the East Timor Police Gories Mere to discuss the situation in East Timor while Franco went on a tour of Dili again with Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas playing tour guide.

It was here that some hiccups occured. Making an unannounced visit to a civil registry office, Harsudiono remarked things were going smoothly only for one of those in attendance to report to the media following the visit that one had to pay large sums of money just to have a marriage certificate made. Though Franco and the Portuguese delegation tried to be polite about it, Harsudiono looked embarrassed. On the way to meet Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, a banner with the writing “Don’t forget to visit Santa Cruz” had to be taken down. Franco did not see the banner being taken down though members of the press, especially the foreign ones, were keen to take pictures.

That was nothing compared to the demonstrations held around the world most notably at the Indonesian Embassy in Australia and at the Indonesian Embassy in New Zealand. In New Zealand, Indonesians visiting the Embassy for consular affairs found themselves harassed by jeering demonstrators. Chairman of the Timor Lorosae Government-In-Exile Jose Ramos Horta also made an appearance, this time denouncing the Portuguese Government as well.

At mid-afternoon, the President and Franco met at Dili Airport to say their farewells. Franco departing for Australia, the President back to Jakarta. On the flight back to Jakarta, the President was asked about what was happening overseas.

“Unfortunately there’s just going to be people who will always wonder what our nation looks like broken apart”, said Try “The only way to combat that is to make sure that economic development touches all corners of our nation.”

The President was also asked about his comments the previous Friday. He only smiled and said that he was pointing out facts.

18th July 2001:
Minister of Finance Mar’ie Muhammad and Minister of Civil Service Reform Kuntoro Mangkusbroto held a press conference to introduce two documents. The first is a Directorate General of Taxation Standard Operating Procedure for Making Taxpayer Number Cards and the second is a Directorate General of Customs and Excise Code of Ethics. Mar’ie said that these will be put in practice across the two agencies beginning 1st August and that it was made in consultation with the Minister of Civil Service Reform. Kuntoro said that similar documents may be created for other ministries.

Touring and visiting PKPB cadres in Pesisir Selatan, West Sumatra, Chairwoman of PKPB Tutut Soeharto cautioned the President against making “potentially worrying statements” about the economy. Tutut said she believed that the economic fundamentals of the Government in 1997 were sound and that what were not sound were the currency speculators causing currencies around Southeast Asia to lose their value. She concludes that it was useless to try to blame this on Soeharto.

19th July 2001:
In a TVRI Interview, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Tanto Kuswanto received a handover of 15 new maritime patrol boats which the department purchased two years ago from PT PAL. He also announced that the Government has purchased 30 more and will await further delivery.

Meanwhile Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said that it was interesting to note that the Chairwoman of PKPB things that anything negative should not be blamed on the previous president. Sarwono says that Indonesians may respect President Soeharto but that Tutut should give more credit to the people’s intelligence whenever she and the PKPB try to imply that he’s infallible. Sarwono also pointed out that Indonesia had ceased to be self-sufficient in rice since 1992, last he checked “President Try was not in power then”.

20th July 2001:
Leader of PKPB in the DPR Hartono said in a doorstop interview that President Try’s “indirect criticism” of President Soeharto is invalid. Hartono pointed out that this was because President Try was an integral part of the previous government given that he was the vice president and that if there were any problems, it was then-Vice President Try’s responsibility to inform President Soeharto. Hartono said that the way the President was acting, he was no different from officials who held a position in Soeharto’s Government and then turned around and criticized it when no longer holding office.

State Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Bacelius Ruru announced that the President has approved of the formation of PT Penjaminan Infrastuktur. This state-owned enterprise will function to provide risk mitigation for the private sector in public-private infrastructure projects and help attract more investment in infrastructure from the private sector.

23rd July 2001:
The President, First Lady Tuti Setiawati, Minister of Education Fakry Gaffar, Minister of Social Affairs Meutia Hatta, and State Minister of Female Empowerment and Children’s Affairs Khofifah Indar Parawansa attended the National Childrens’ Day Celebrations at Balai Kartini, Jakarta. In his speech, the President said that though the nation already has a Child Protection Law, it is not enough to merely protect children. The aim is to nurture and develop them into noble individuals who will play their part in the nation’s development and that this can be achieved by paying attention to early education.

After posing with the children, the President went to the Jakarta Stock Exchange. With Junior Minister of Finance Marzuki Usman beside him, he inaugurated the Jakarta Stock Exchange’s Scripless Trading and Remote Trading System.

24th July 2001:
Chairwoman of PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri has secured the permit to hold a gathering at Diponegoro Street to mark the 5th Anniversary of the 27th July 1996 Incident. Harsudiono Hartas, Commander of ABRI Wiranto, and ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Affairs Agus Wirahadikusumah made the announcement today. Wiranto said that the PNI has agreed to the Jakarta Regional Military Command providing security for the event.

Governor of Jakarta Sutiyoso, Governor of West Java Muzani Syukur, Governor of Central Java M. Ma’ruf, Governor of Yogyakarta Hamengkubuwono X, and Governor of East Java Haris Sudarno accompanied by State Minister of Regional Autonomy Oemarsono came to meet the President today. They came out all smiles but said nothing.

25th July 2001:
The President and State Minister of National Security Soerjadi spoke by phone to Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita who attended the ASEAN Regional Forum Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. Ginandjar said that Vietnam, acting as hosts of the ARF, are echoing much of the President’s rhetoric, calling for Southeast Asia to be free of the influences of all “major powers”. Ginandjar reported that he met with Filipino Secretary of Foreign Domingo Siazon to compare notes. Siazon said that Vietnam is “most interested” in reaching out to Indonesia on a regional bloc.

The problem was Malaysia. Ginandjar met with Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Rais Yatim. Rais Yatim said that it was the view of Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak that restarting AFTA must be put back on the agenda again at the upcoming ASEAN Summit and that Indonesia should play an important part in this in its capacity as the largest nation in the region with the largest economy.

When the call ended, Soerjadi said that Malaysia is trying to put Indonesia in an awkward position. If Indonesia rejects Malaysia’s call for AFTA to be continued at a time when Southeast Asia is struggling with the 2001 Recession and Indonesia is doing relatively well, it may well be seen as Indonesia not wanting to help the region when it is struggling.

26th July 2001:
The President’s was joined for lunch today by Vice President JB Sumarlin. The two talked about their various work with Sumarlin reporting to the President how he was doing with what was delegated to him. Sumarlin said that the Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines-East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) is all ready for the President to attend next week. Sumarlin was interested to talk about something else though.

“Everyone I’m meeting in this city has been asking about your comments two weeks ago at Lemhanas, Mr. President”, commented Sumarlin “I must say I’ve become intrigued as well, was there a criticism of President Soeharto in your comments?”

“Whether there was a criticism is in the eye of the beholder, Mr. Vice President”, replied Try evasively “I was just telling them the facts that the Rupiah lost value in 1997 all the while saying that our economic fundamentals were OK and that as far as this recession goes, we shouldn’t wait for it to have a real damage on our economy before we take action.”

“People are still buying goods…exports and tourism might take a hit but consumer spending will keep our economy in a good position”, argued Sumarlin.

“We can’t rest on our laurels, Mr. Vice President…” began Try as he continued on, explaining what’s been in his head since he heard that the 2001 Recession had arrived in Southeast Asia at the Cabinet Meeting some weeks back.

Sumarlin’s mind flashed back to the past. He had only been the most junior member of a group economists recruited by Soeharto to help with economic policy, what became known as the Berkeley Mafia, but that was enough to give him a front row seat to how economic policy was made. He knew that Soeharto was at his best when the economy struggled, doing whatever was necessary, including sacrificing the interests of his cronies for the sake of economic recovery. But once the economy was back on track, his desire to do what was necessary dulled and the interests of his cronies, and increasingly his children, would once again be part of the calculation when making policy.

M. Sadli one of Sumarlin’s colleagues and a former Minister of Mining would quip about these cycles that “Bad times make for good economic policy and good times make for bad economic policy”.

And yet, looking at the President talking in front of him, Sumarlin saw an opportunity to break the cycle. The President seemed to be making it abundantly clear that he was not waiting until the economic situation in Indonesia was bad before he began implementing “good” economic policy and that even if the recession’s impact on Indonesia was not as bad as one thinks, he was determined that Indonesia used its strong economic position.

The meeting finished not long thereafter and Sumarlin soon found himself flanked on one side by Edi Sudrajat and on the other by Vice Presidential Secretary Jusuf Anwar. Being accompanied by the State Secretary to his car was a courtesy that the President extended to Sumarlin.

“The President’s been restless all month, Mr. Vice President”, said Edi “He refuses to believe that after the hard work of the 3.5 years that he’s been in office, he’s supposed to do nothing in the face of a recession.”

“His restlessness is good for the nation, Mr. State Secretary”, replied Sumarlin “I advised him to lay out to the nation what he wants to do next when he delivers his State Address in front of the DPR on 16th August and he has agreed to do just that."

---
The "Visit Santa Cruz" banner refers to Santa Cruz Cemetery in Dili where the Santa Cruz/Dili Massacre happened https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_massacre

ITTL, Soeharto would still have a near-infallible status with the general public with only whispers here and there about corruption and nepotism. This is because the nation never saw a crisis as bad as OTL and thus Soeharto was never as discredited as he did in OTL 1998. It would’ve been a big deal ITTL to see a perceived change, from the President no less, in attitude towards Soeharto. As one can already see those who tend to be critical of Soeharto ie. Wimar Witoelar are already feeling confident enough to add their own criticism while those who are defending Soeharto have immediately jumped to his defense.

On Sadli’s Law: https://books.google.co.id/books?id=XZ9zCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT449&dq=Sadli's+Law&hl=id&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUj5Py64nsAhXA8HMBHQYFBcQQ6AEwAHoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=Sadli's Law&f=false

 

[Rizkyss]

it was the President’s responsibility to inform President Soeharto.

I'm confused here, Mr. President informing Mr. President?

 

[GSD310]

I'm confused here, Mr. President informing Mr. President?

I meant that Hartono was saying it was Try’s responsibility as the vice president at the time to remind Soeharto if something was amiss. But I get your point and have edited it.

 

[Rizkyss]

What is is the condition of the weapons industry? With the East Timor issues that exposed the vulnerabilities of TNI seemingly will not escalate, there will be lack of will to develop the defense industry

 

[GSD310]

What is is the condition of the weapons industry? With the East Timor issues that exposed the vulnerabilities of TNI seemingly will not escalate, there will be lack of will to develop the defense industry

I supposed the will to develop the defense industry comes from the Government’s stance on defense which is to position itself to spend more on defense than Soeharto (people always forget Soeharto underspent on defense). ITTL Pindad is doing well for itself with all Army battalions now using Pindad rifles. It’s begun to export overseas in Sri Lanka and it’s also begun to develop Armored Personnel Carriers.

 

[GSD310]

27th July 2001:
The day had gone smoothly, beginning with a laying of flowers at the PDI National Headquarters which now lay empty given that the PDI had merged into the PKPB. The Commander of the Jakarta Regional Military Command Prijanto kept a close but lenient watch on events. Even when the activists among Megawati’s cadres shouted out things like “Try is an extension of Soeharto” the soldiers remained still.

“Five years ago when they forced us out of this building, they thought that it would be our end. But it wasn’t! When they had to force us out of this building, it showed us that they feared us. They feared the Marhaen and the Wong Cilik. No, brothers and sisters, 27th July 1996 was not the end, it was the beginning! We will carry the spirit which we have now towards victory in the 2002 Elections and beyond! Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!”, concluded Chairwoman of PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri as she brought her speech to an end.

At the Presidential Palace, Minister of Tourism Soeyono watched all this. He was waiting to report that the tourism sector was going to take a hit in 2001 as a result of the recession but forgot all that when watching Megawati spoke. State Secretary Edi Sudrajat came by to tell him that the President will be with him soon but noticed Soeyono watching intently. Edi suddenly remembered that Soeyono was removed as ABRI Chief of General Staff by Soeharto after the 27th July 1996 incident. Soeyono smiled, saying that he was seen as not sufficiently supportive of what was happening. He half-jokingly said that he spent nearly two years doing nothing before being saved from boredom by being appointed minister of tourism.

“See, people think that President Soeharto wanted Megawati removed as Chairwoman of the PDI because he was scared of the PDI becoming strong and Megawati challenging him for the presidency in 1998”, said Soeyono.

“You don’t think Soeharto was worried about Megawati?” asked Edi.

“He has more guts than that, Mr. State Secretary”, said Soeyono “I think what’s more likely was that he was trying to remove someone who could be his daughter’s rival for the presidency”

28th July 2001:
Edi Sudrajat and Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas had a breakfast meeting with Chairman of PKPI Basofi Sudirman and Chairman of the PKPI National Campaign Hendropriyono. Basofi and Hendropriyono all but salivated at the idea of the President outlining his future vision at the State Address saying that it would energize the PKPI. Hendropriyono suggested that the President have a few things to announce at the speech rather than just outlining a vision. Edi noted this down.

30th July 2001:
The President and his delegation arrived at Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi in the morning. Their arrival was greeted by Governor of South Sulawesi Zainal Basri Palaguna and Commander of the Sulawesi Regional Military Command Ahmad Djunaedi Sikki. The first stop was the Celebes Convention Center which the President inaugurated with Soeyono and Zainal Basri Palaguna by his side. The Celebes Convention Center’s work began immediately with the 1st BIMP-EAGA Summit which the President opened with a speech and a gong.

There were delegations to meet from other nations. As Vice President JB Sumarlin headed the Indonesian delegation, the other nations attending also sent their deputy heads of state or government. The Bruneian delegation was headed by Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah. The President conveyed his thanks to Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah through the Crown Prince for the beef imports which Brunei had provided for Indonesia. The Crown Prince said that the Bruneian economy was still stagnating from the effects of the Asian Financial Crisis.

The Filipino delegation was headed by Vice President of the Philippines Gloria Maccapagal Arroyo. Arroyo conveyed President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada’s greetings. Sitting down to talk about various issues, the President got the impression of an economy that was also struggling despite having a good year last year.

It was the Malay delegation which the President wanted to meet. Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia/Minister of International Trade and Industry Syed Hamid Albar accompanied by Malaysia Minister of Foreign Affairs Rais Yatim conveyed Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak’s request that Indonesia show “leadership in the region” by proposing that the implementation of the AFTA be put on the agenda at the next ASEAN Summit. The President smiled and said he’d take Malaysia’s suggestions on board.

Once all the delegations had gotten their chance to meet, the President headed to Ujung Pandang’s Soekarno-Hatta Harbour where together with Minister of Transportation Soerjadi Soedirja inaugurated the Ujung Pandang Harbour’s Crane Container Terminal. After hailing the new facilities as improving Ujung Pandang’s capacity to handle increased economic activity, the President and his delegation toured the harbor waving at the workers. From there the Preisdent flew back to Jakarta.

31st July 2001:
Commander of ABRI Wiranto, Army Chief of Staff Luhut Panjaitan, ABRI Chief of General Staff Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and Commander of Kostrad TB Hasanuddin came out of a meeting with the President to announce that the Army will be unveiling 5 new infantry brigades in the next 12 months and the creation of Kostrad’s 3rd Division in 18 months.

The Rupiah is now at $1= Rp. 4,140. Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said this reflects the market’s confidence in the Indonesian economy as the economy with the best prospects in the region. That said, the Government is keeping an eye on the imports for consumptive purposes which was starting to rise.

1st August 2001:
In a three-way meeting, Sumarlin and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita reported to the President on the recently-concluded BIMP-EAGA Summit. Ginandjar commented that Malaysia is “really” lobbying the other BIMP-EAGA nations that AFTA implementation be put on the agenda.

As she toured sugar factories in East Java with Leader of the PKPB in the DPR Hartono, Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto remarked what while the currency is getting stronger, Indonesia’s agricultural exports will become more expensive and there will be less people buying these agricultural exports. Tutut implored the Government to stop “neglecting” farmers.

2nd August 2001:
Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas, Mnister of Finance Mar’ie Muhammad, Minister of Social Affairs Meutia Hatta, State Minister of Poverty Alleviation GKR Hemas, and State Minister of Rural Development Feisal Tamin held a joint press conference to announce the President’s approval for the Empowered Communities National Program (PNPM).

Hemas explained that the program is an expansion of the District Development Program administered by the Department of Home Affairs during the Asian Financial Crisis using aid from the World Bank. Under this program, communities will be involved in deciding the priority in developing their local communities and monitoring the use of funds to ensure transparency and accountability. It is envisioned that this program will reduce poverty, especially in rural areas. Pilot implementation of the program will start at the beginning of the month with full implementation of the program to begin at the beginning of the next financial year. This program will replace the Left Behind Villages Inpres Program which ended in April 2001.

In the question and answer session, one of the reporters remarked that it seemed that this program is just the Left Behind Villages Inpres under a different name and pointed out that that program also has a community development aspect to it where members of the community decide on their own what to do with the funds given to them. To summarize “is this not just a way for the current Government to differentiate itself from the previous government?”

“What’s the harm in that?” asked Harsudiono.

3rd August 2001:
Minister of Information, Post, and Telecommunications Oka Mahendra came out of a meeting with the President. He reported to the President that the Nusantara 21 Project has officially gotten underway. Oka said that the project would take about 4 years to complete but at the end of it, the Government is aiming to make internet more available for the Indonesian public.

Oka Mahendra also discussed the state of the mobile phone service provision industry, saying that state and private mobile service providers are competing to alike to provide the best services. This is good for a mobile phone market which is continually expanding.

4th August 2001:
In a ceremony conducted at the Monas MRT Station, the President accompanied by Minister of Transportation Soerjadi Soedirja, State Minister of Urban Development Giri Suseno, and Governor of Jakarta Sutiyoso inaugurated Jakarta MRT’s North-South Line which begins at Kota Tua in the North and extends to Lebak Bulus in the South. The President looked satisfied and happy as he caught the train from Monas to Blok M Station where the station is linked with Blok M Plaza. As he shook hands with people at Blok M Plaza he encouraged people to try out the MRT to go to work.

6th August 2001:
Hitting the gong at the Jakarta International Expo, the President declared the 2001 Indonesian Production Exhibition opened. Accompanied by Cabinet Secretary Hayono Isman who chaired the committee to prepare the exhibitions, the President toured the exhibitions.

At the agribusiness section, the President was accompanied by the Head of the KKAA Sapta Nirwandar. Among the agriculture-related businesses he saw, the President was introduced to a chocolate bar business based in Yogyakarta, using Yogyakartan chocolate, and owned by a Belgian who had been living in Yogyakarta since 1999.

At the pharmaceutical section, accompanied by Head of BPOM Umar Anggara Jenie, the President handed out Good Medicine Production Practices (CPOB) and Good Traditional Medicine Production Practices (CPOTB) to Sido Muncul.

7th August 2001:
Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Finance Mar’ie Muhammad, Governor of BI Boediono held a joint press conference after a meeting with the President and Vice President. The three ministers made the following statements:

*Dorodjatun said that the economy continues to perform strongly with the exchange rate now standing at $1= Rp. 4,126. He commented that the strength of that economy is due to domestic demand. In terms of the economy potentially overheating and causing inflation, Dorodjatun reported that there is a phenomenon occurring over the last 4-6 weeks which is encouraging: with exports taking a hit, exporters have simply begun to sell their goods on the domestic market. He points to an example that demand for electronics from Batam suffered a 70% drop in its foreign demand as a result of the 2001 Recession has been made up for in domestic demand. That these goods are being diverted domestically is good because its supply would keep inflation down.

“This is where having a large population, a large domestic market works in our favor”, Dorodjatun explained.

*Mar’ie said that from a budgetary standpoint, the Government will move cautiously as it keeps watch over developments. There are no specific steps the Government is taking from his end.

*Boediono said that there will be no increases in interest rates at the moment. But the BI will focus on further implementation of what it announced in June of taking actions against shops selling goods offering credits and payment plans with the purchase of their product. Dorodjatun added that the purpose here to have more of a share of economic activity that can be classified as productive rather than merely consumptive. There was a question about buying houses but Boediono said it will be for the President to announce at the State Address.

In terms of credit for productive purposes, Boediono said that there will be a tightening of criteria in terms of credit given out to businesses. This is to minimize non-performing loans and preventing borrowing from “running out of control”.

8th August 2001:
The President had a meeting attended by Wiranto, State Minister of National Security Soerjadi, Edi Sudrajat, Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo, Luhut Panjaitan, Chief of Police Yun Mulyana, and Chief of ABRI Intelligence Agency Ian Santoso Perdanakusuma. Ian reported that he had received intel from the military attaché in the Indonesian Embassy in the US that the CIA had given a briefing report to President of the United States John McCain entitled “Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US” which reported about there being “suspicious activity” pointing to a terrorist attack in the US involving aircrafts. When asked by Soerjadi, Ian said that the reaction of the Oval Office was that this was a threat to be taken seriously but that the priority remained on China and Russia.

The President remarked that this confirms the intel that Ari Sudewo provided the previous month but that ultimately, McCain will have to deal with this threat however he sees fit. He issued orders for the Army and the Police to increase their alertness. He also ordered BAKIN to keep an eye the present movements of Jemaah Islamiyah members in Indonesia.

9th August 2001:
“I believe that my actions 14 months ago were correct. There were those seeking to form an organization within an organization, what we now refer to as the PKPI, that is seeking to subvert my chairwomanship of Golkar. If the evidence is to be believed, the President is involved and encouraged the movement within Golkar that now became the PKPI. As such, I thought that it was very much my duty to expel Golkar members trying to undermine my chairwomanship.

The the death of Golkar were tragic but unavoidable. Once it became clear that Pak Try wanted to use his powers as both the President and the Chairman of Golkar’s Council of Patrons against Golkar and against me as its chairwoman, I had no choice but to agree to Golkar being dissolved. It was the only option I had left, otherwise I would not be able to carry out my current struggle alongside the PKPB”
-Chairwoman of PKPB Tutut Soeharto during a “1 Year Since Golkar Was Dissolved” Special on RCTI

10th August 2001:
Reporters and cameramen at the Presidential Palace were caught off guard when the President and First Lady appeared after lunch dressed in casual gear. The President ignored questions about Tutut’s comments as he disappeared into the Presidential Car and only quipped that he’s “looking for mountain air”.

After the President’s Motorcade disappeared, it fell for Edi Sudrajat and Hayono Isman, both dressed in casual gear, to fill in the reporters. The President, they revealed, will be going to Cipanas Presidential Palace. He will be spending the weekend there and will work from Cipanas until the 14th. When asked, Edi and Hayono said that the President will be putting the finishing touches on the State Address he will deliver on 16th August.

“Will President Try be channeling President Soekarno who was known to use Cipanas Presidential Palace to look for inspiration to write his Independence Day Speeches?” asked a reporter.

“Just because President Try is using the same locality to prepare for his State Address, doesn’t mean he’s going to channel President Soekarno and just because he’s continuing the practice of delivering speeches on 16th August he’s going to be channeling Soeharto”, said Edi “The only person he’s going to be channeling will be himself.”

---
Busy times at work even with social distancing restrictions but also because this is one of those “things coming together” chapters.

Marhaen: The name of a peasant who Soekarno claimed he met and who he named his ideological theory of Marhaenism after.

Wong Cilik: The little people

Soeyono’s notion that the purpose of 27th July 1996 was to block Megawati and clear the way for Tutut’s rise is based on his comments in his OTL Official Biography which can be found http://www.soeyono65.web.id/

Jakarta MRT a good 18 years earlier than OTL and Palapa Ring getting underway 14 years earlier than OTL.

The PNPM Program that is being prepared here was initiated by Yudhoyono’s Government OTL.

Electronic factories in Batam getting less orders due to recession abroad is based on this OTL article https://jawawa.id/newsitem/tens-of-thousands-may-lose-jobs-in-batam-1447893297 (This is a good website containing English language Indonesian articles from 1994 onwards). The only difference is that Indonesia has a domestic market that wants to keep buying things.

 

[Unknown]

In the TL, we are now one month out from a certain world-changing event...