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View all search resultsFadli’s May rapes denial and the rise of New Order part II
The Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF), formed by the government in July 1998 in response to public demand to investigate the May riots, concluded the rapes did occur.
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A thousand deaths: Actress Ria Probo plays Mawar, victim of a gang rape that took place during the 1998 May riots. (Courtesy of Komsos KAJ/-)
When someone puts their foot in their mouth, usually it is not deliberate. But you know, sometimes it is.
Recently, Culture Minister Fadli Zon did precisely that by denying that the rapes of ethnic Chinese women and girls that occurred during the May riots in 1998, actually took place (see “Culture Minister’s denial of mass rape in 1998 riots sparks outrage”, The Jakarta Post, June 16, 2025).
He reminds me of Donald Trump whose hallmark is to make misleading claims. He has made so many, there is even a Wikipedia entry called “False or misleading statements by Donald Trump”.
Maybe Fadli, fond of collecting records like biggest stamp collection, now aspires to attain Trump’s record? Well, he certainly got a lot of attention for his statement – in the form of a backlash—which triggered outrage and condemnation from feminist and human rights activists, historians and scholars alike.
The context of his statement is the state history project which aims to rewrite the government version of Indonesian history (see “Why the state history project is stirring controversy”, the Post, May 28, 2025).
This project also drew protest as it harkens back to the New Order regime’s version of a historical narrative which emphasized stability, development and anticommunism. Naturally, alternative perspectives were suppressed as the New Order’s version of history served to justify the regime’s oppressive rule and policies.
The central figure behind the New Order’s historical narrative was Nugroho Notosusanto, the education and culture minister from 1983 to 1985. His writing was critical in forming the regime's interpretation of the so-called September 30 Movement (G30S) in 1965 which was pinned onto the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), the arch enemy of the military. Nugroho’s role and works were controversial because they distorted historical fact in order to support the political interests of the rulers at that time.
