Indonesia's New Rule

...Interestingly enough, the 1945 Constitution, though it granted the President substantial powers, was concerned about their possible abuse and specifically spelled out his limitations in relation to both the Consultative Assembly and the Chamber of Representatives: "The Consultative Assembly exercises supreme state power, whereas the President has the function of giving effect to state policy deter mined, as regards general orientation, by the Consultative Assembly...

...Sukarno, meanwhile, was pre paring the ground, in consultation with the Cabinet and the NAC, for the presentation of his latest, definitive institutionalization of Guided Democracy, which he has just done by his decree of July 5. He had al ready announced its content in a speech in Jogjakarta on February 20: "We must return to the Constitution of 1945...

...Few details are available about Sukarno's future plans...

...1959...

...Every dictator ship, whether it claimed to be a dictatorship of the poor or the rich, is in the ultimate analysis the direction of the lives of the many by a few who constitute themselves as the chosen class or race...

...Italics mine—H.G.] Its very nature compels it to sup press one freedom after another and to stop criticism...

...With some 26 or 27 parties on the scene, the inter- and intra-party bickerings and scramble for power were frenetic...

...Asian democratic leaders fear President Sukarno's revival of 1945 Constitution and his policy of Guided Democracy will lead to an authoritarian regime Indonesia's New Rule By Harry Goldberg PRESIDENT Achmed Sukarno's abrogation earlier this month of Indonesia's 1950 provisional Constitution and his revival of the 1945 Constitution, under which his powers are greatly expanded, has upset Asians who fear the rise of dictator ships in their countries...

...The Chamber cannot be dissolved by the President...

...and simultaneously enforce the laws on simplification of the political party system and amend the 1953 General Election laws for the participation of the 'functional groups' in the House of Representatives...

...In fact, it is quite similar to the present National Advisory Council...

...He is wholly subject to the authority of the Consultative Assembly...

...With the Consultative Assembly (which was specifically stated to be the "supreme state power" in the 1945 Constitution) out of the way, with Sukarno appointing the Cabinet, the Supreme Consultative Council and 50 per cent of Parliament, his power will be enormous...

...The parties have subordinated the interests of the country to the narrow interests of their organizations and their leaders...

...The people are losing confidence in the national currency, as shown by the enormously inflated black market prices for the Indonesian rupia...

...The argument will frequently be heard that Asian problems ought not be viewed through the distorting lenses of Western liberal democracy, that Asian countries do not have to model themselves slavishly on Western forms, that there are other forms of democracy, that Guided Democracy is a specific Indonesian form...

...His feeling at the time was dramatically symbolized by his famous dictum: "Bury the political parties...

...The intention of the 1945 Constitution to limit the President's powers is therefore quite clear, but it will be completely side-tracked under Sukarno's new plan...

...Thirty-five of the appointive quota would be composed of representatives of the Armed Forces, to be distributed as follows: 15 for the Army, 7 for the Navy, 7 for the Air Force, 3 for the Police and 3 for various other such groups (Veterans, Village Guards, etc...

...during which period Communist growth was stimulated...

...It is expected that the present NAC under its Deputy Director, Roeslan Abdulgani (Sukar no, of course, is the Director), will become the new SCC...

...A horse can't stand on three legs," he explained at the time...

...In personal conversations with this writer some years ago, he had complained of his being a "Frenchfigurehead" type of President, instead of an American-style President with substantial executive powers...

...The reference was to the "Big Three" parties—the Nationalists (PNI) and the two large Moslem parties, the Masjumi and the Nah datul Ulama (NU...

...Return to the 1945 Constitution," Sukarno seeks to legalize the two radical innovations of the older version of Guided Democracy: the personal Cabinet and the NAC...

...Under the protective umbrella of the slogan...

...And it is not surprising that such developments generated corruption and the progressive softening of the social ideals that underlay the struggle for HARRY GOLDBERG, who has lived in Indonesia, is with the AFL-CIO International Affairs Department...

...Sukarno desires to overcome the political muddle created by the plethora of parties by reducing their influence...

...This in turn led to the Civil War and the strengthening of the semi military dictatorship, with the Army, under General Abdul Haris Nasution, granted emergency powers which it still exercises today...

...It is not to be wondered at that, through these means, Communists, who are always more active than any other element, got some of their representatives in...

...On the day of the 14th Anniversary of the Independence Proclamation, the President may be able to say: 'The Re public of Indonesia has been restored to the unity of the Independence Proclamation of 1945.' " These general statements require some concrete explanation...

...There is today in these countries what has been aptly called 'the revolution of rising expectations.' One country after another has passed into authoritarian rule in the guise of 'Controlled Democracy,' 'Guided Democracy,' etc...

...Political freedom from foreign domination and colonial exploitation had come amidst social and economic poverty...

...Although not answerable to the Chamber of Representatives, the President does not dispose dictatorial powers...

...Now, it is certainly true that the political parties have played a highly unproductive, obstructive and disruptive role since Indonesia's independence...

...In the meantime, all the accumulated economic and political dissatisfactions—of which Guided Democracy was not the least important cause—finally led to the formation of the rebel government at Padang...

...The position of the Chamber of Representatives is firmly established...

...With 50 per cent of its members to be appointed—and in the last analysis, Sukarno will have the deciding voice in their choice—Parliament will obviously be in a much weakened position, and practically docile vis-a-vis Sukarno...

...In a recent address, he said: "In the newly awakened Asian and African countries, democratic ideals are being put to their severest test...

...Sukarno and his supporters, on the other hand, believe Guided Democracy is necessary for bailing Indonesia out of its difficulties...

...The proposal to make the Communist party (PKI) a "fourth leg" startled the country, which still had bitter memories of the Communists' attempted putsch at Madiun in 1948...

...For instance, that Constitution provided for a sort of Senate upper house (People's Consultative Assembly) in addition to the House of Representatives...

...Unfortunately, he has chosen a course which threatens to perpetuate the Indonesian tragedy...

...which so enhanced his political power...

...But the "cure" he pro poses is worse than the disease...

...Two things stand out about these two new bodies: (1) its members were all hand-picked by Sukarno, thus beginning the process of personal decision and control which is inseparable from an authoritarian approach...

...His opponents regard this as a basic violation of genuine democracy and the chief instrumentality of authoritarianism...

...If most of the parties were to disappear, it would be a contribution to the country's political stability...

...At the same time...

...The country is at the lowest economic ebb in its history...

...He limited himself to including Communists in the NAC...

...Sumatra, in February 1953...

...No wonder the PKI watches the developments with satisfaction and is waiting quietly behind the scenes to exploit to its advantage the inevitable reaction...

...The President is appointed by the Consultative Assembly and is sub ordinate to and answerable to the Consultative Assembly...

...However, the Constitution's provision for a Supreme Consultative Council was also to be kept...

...It was not very long, however, be fore some political leaders began to be worried by the greatly increased Communist strength, as registered in the 1957 local elections from which the PKI emerged as the strongest party on the most populous island...

...Now he hopes that the Constitution will be put into effect by-August 17...

...replacing their unprecedented amiability in the honeymoon days of the Ali Sastroamidjojo Cabinet in 1955 and 1956...

...For—leaving aside the rather uneasy dual-power relationship of Sukarno and Nasution, a serious problem in itself—Guided Democracy represents an enormous step forward on the road toward authoritarian control...

...The best answer to this line of reasoning comes from a respected leader of Asia, Pandit Pant, the Home Minister of India...

...Originally, its most startling point was Sukarno's insistence that Communists be included in the Cabinet and the National Advisory Council, the two institutional innovations he proposed...

...which is Indonesian Independence Day, so that...

...Furthermore, a rift developed between the PKI and the PNI...

...It can only make those divisions deeper and the developing hatreds more ineradicable...

...Sukarno developed the concept soon after his 1956 trips to Soviet Russia and Red China, where he was deeply impressed by the "efficiency" of the Communist regimes...

...First, the return to the 1945 Constitution, a provisional one until the legal international recognition of Indonesian sovereignty four years later, was de sired by Sukarno because of the substantial executive powers granted under it to the President...

...The second national election, originally scheduled for 1959-was also postponed, since the Communists, with their greatly increased strength, would undoubtedly have won it had it been held...

...If ever there were a time when Sukarno needed the saving grace of objective statesmanship, it is now...

...The President must give full consideration to the views of the Chamber of Representatives...

...Sukarno had always chafed under his constitutional limitations long before the present troubles in Indonesia began...

...Guided Democracy can never bind Indonesia's wounds and bring its divided sections together...

...Prices are rising steadily, real wages are falling proportionately, social misery to the point of starvation is growing apace...

...This increasing dissatisfaction was reflect ed in a reshuffle of Sukarno's personal Cabinet which somewhat decreased the power of the pro-Communist elements in it...

...Sukarno pro posed that the NAC include "functional groups"—representatives of the workers, farmers, intellectuals, women, etc...

...Secondly, as regards representation of the "functional groups" in the House of Representatives, 50 per cent of the members were to be elected at an unspecified future time, and 50 per cent were to be appointed from the so-called functional groups...

...The President was motivated by his concept of "Guided Democracy...

...The concept has had a shifting history...

...Java...

...It was indicated that the present unicameral arrangement would be maintained...

...But Sukarno's espousal of Guided Democracy has had deeper and more questionable purposes than legitimate criticism of the parties...

...The result is the same: negation of democracy...

...The President will also appoint his personal Cabinet...

...2) for all practical purposes, the power of suggesting, initiating and deciding on policies was now lodged in the hands of these two newly appointed "committees," with Parliament effectively by-passed...

...Solid currency reserves are incredibly low, much below the safety point, and are dwindling steadily every day...

...But as of his February pronouncement, it seems that the Constitution of 1945 will not be exactly copied...

...independence...

...The resulting uproar forced Sukarno into a partial retreat, and he dropped the idea of including outright Communists in the Cabinet—although there were some well-known fellow travelers in it...