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25 years after the fall of Soeharto we are much better off
We experience the “democratization” of corruption and abuse of power, meaning everybody stands an equally great chance of committing corruption and abusing power.
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University students protest against the revision of the Criminal Code (KUHP) in front of the House of Representatives' compound, on Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (JP/Donny Fernando)
Today, 25 years after Soeharto stepped down on May 21, 1998, following nationwide protests and riots and against the backdrop of devastating economic and political crises, our nation is much better off than we were in the past. Therefore, it looks unlikely for the people to let the corrupt and authoritarian regime return.
Despite all the imperfections of Indonesia today and the fact that many bad practices characterizing Soeharto’s rule remain, we can proclaim proudly that we are on the right track toward a resilient and prosperous nation.
Between 1999 and 2002, we amended the 1945 Constitution four times to ensure democracy prevails and people have the right to directly elect their leaders at national, provincial, city and regency levels. The amended Constitution limits the presidential term to two times and separates the police from the military, with the former in charge of security and order and the latter in national defense.
From time to time, memes of a smiling former president Soeharto with the caption Piye kabare, enak zamanku toh? (How are you, my era was better, right?) circulates on social media or pops up on side streets, especially prior to general elections. Such a phenomenon indicates that there are people who romanticize, if not glorify, “the good old days.”
For me, the sentiment of people who miss Soeharto is just like my longing for my father who died in 1991. I always want him to be alive again. But when it happens and my awakened father approaches me, I will run away and scream, “Help, a zombie is threatening me!”
Many have also heard the joke of a conversation between a young man and an old villager about Soeharto. The young, energetic man asks the villager if he would choose to live under the era of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo or Soeharto’s.
“Definitely, it was better under Soeharto,” the old man answered. When asked why, he responded, “Because during Soeharto’s era my wife was still young.”
