SETTING HISTORY STRAIGHT? INDONESIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE NEW ORDER A thesis presented to the faculty of the Center for International Studies of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Sony Karsono August 2005 This thesis entitled SETTING HISTORY STRAIGHT? INDONESIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE NEW ORDER by Sony Karsono has been approved for the Department of Southeast Asian Studies and the Center for International Studies by William H. Frederick Associate Professor of History Josep Rota Director of International Studies KARSONO, SONY. M.A. August 2005. International Studies Setting History Straight? Indonesian Historiography in the New Order (274 pp.) Director of Thesis: William H. Frederick This thesis discusses one central problem: What happened to Indonesian historiography in the New Order (1966-98)? To analyze the problem, the author studies the connections between the major themes in his intellectual autobiography and those in the metahistory of the regime. Proceeding in chronological and thematic manner, the thesis comes in three parts. Part One presents the author’s intellectual autobiography, which illustrates how, as a member of the generation of people who grew up in the New Order, he came into contact with history. Part Two examines the genealogy of and the major issues at stake in the post-New Order controversy over the rectification of history. Part Three ends with several concluding observations. First, the historiographical engineering that the New Order committed was not effective. Second, the regime created the tools for people to criticize itself, which shows that it misunderstood its own society. Third, Indonesian contemporary culture is such that people abhor the idea that there is no single truth. Approved: William H. Frederick Associate Professor of History For Nurchayati, Kartini, and Henky Sjarief Soeriadinata Acknowledgments Without the unstinting moral support of my mother Kartini and my wife Nurchayati, I would not have had the energies to complete this thesis. And it was my father, the late Henky Sjarief Soeriadinata, who, in 1987, awakened in me the desire to undertake a study overseas. It is to them that I dedicate this work. For the funding of my master’s study in the United States, 2003-2005, of which this thesis constituted the final part, I relied on three institutions. I am indebted to the Fulbright Exchange Program and Ohio University for their generous scholarships. And I wish to thank the University of Surabaya in Indonesia for allowing me to go on paid leave to undertake my study. I am grateful to many individuals in the United States and Indonesia who provided me with administrative assistance at critical stages of my study. I wish to thank Drew McDaniel, Karla Schneider, Joan Kraynanski, and Jill McKinney at Ohio University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies. I also wish to thank Piet Hendrardjo at the AMINEF in Jakarta as well as Brenda Simmons and Christina Holdvogt at the IIE Midwest Regional Center in Chicago. The research I conducted from 2004 to 2005 for this work would not have been possible without the kind support from various individuals in the United States and Indonesia. While hunting for and amassing various sources for Part Two of this thesis, I received considerable help at Ohio University’s Southeast Asia Collection from Jeff Ferrier, Jeffrey Shane, Lucy Conn, Nurul Pratiwi, and Nurhaya Muchtar. And, while working on parts of the thesis which deal specifically with students’ encounters with history in the New Order and with the post-New controversy over Indonesian historiography, I was able to benefit from the kindness of many people in Indonesia who were willing to share with me their ideas and experiences: Asvi Warman Adam in Jakarta, Bambang Purwanto in Yogyakarta, Zunafi in Kediri, and Evilina Sutrisno and Ahmad Faishal in Surabaya. I wish to thank my thesis director, William H. Frederick, for his wisdom, encouragement, and illuminating criticism. To say this, however, is an understatement. For in him, more than in anybody else, I find a teacher who has shaped my fundamental understanding of Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and history as a discipline. I am also grateful to the other members of my thesis committee for their instructive and constructive suggestions: Elizabeth F. Collins and Peter J. Brobst. All these people contributed a great deal to the writing of my thesis. Yet, it is only I who am responsible for any errors and misinterpretations that remain in it. 7 Table of Contents Page Abstract 3 Acknowledgments 5 List of Abbreviations 9 Introduction 11 Part One. Encounter with History in the New Order: Audience’s Point of View 15 1. Origins, Absence, and Forgetfulness 15 2. My Family, My Roots 20 3. Books and Libraries 27 4. School Books versus “Cool” Books 34 5. Documents and History 39 6. Love and the Destruction of Personal Archives 41 7. Museums: Official versus Unofficial 42 8. Flag Raising Ceremony and National Memory 57 9. The National Monument and Others 65 10. The Treason of G30S/PKI: A New Order “Historical” Movie 78 11. Mohammad Husni Thamrin on Television 90 12. Cemetery, “History,” and Personal Monument 93 13. My History Teachers 96 14. My Interest in History: Its Origins and Development 103 Part Two. On the Rectification of Indonesian History: Major Themes 120 15. The Structure of This Part 120 16. The Elite’s Perspective: Debating Indonesia’s Genesis, 1946-1990s 124 17. Education That Went Awry: Students’ and Teachers’ Experience with History in the New Order 174 18. The Plight of the Academic Historian in the New Order 191 a. The Politics of Representation: Chaos, “Pornography,” and Purification 191 b. The Economics of Historical Studies: Poor Facilities, Poor Human Resources 201 19. After the Collapse of the New Order: Questions 207 20. On the Rectification of the History of 1965: Themes in a Controversy 211 a. Asvi Warman Adam 211 b. Bambang Purwanto 222 c. Taufik Abdullah 229 8 d. Comparison, Contrast, Critique 237 21. The Problems of History Teachers in the Post-New Order Era 242 22. Students’ Problems with History in Post-New Order Indonesia 246 23. Afterthoughts 250 Part Three. Concluding Remarks 253 Bibliography 265 9 List of Abbreviations ASEAN : Association of Southeast Asian Nations BPUPKI : Investigatory Body for Preparatory Works for Indonesia’s Independence (Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia) BTI : Indonesian Peasant Front (Barisan Tani Indonesia) FAO : Food and Agriculture Organization G30S/PKI : September 30 Movement/Indonesian Communist Party (Gerakan 30 September/Partai Komunis Indonesia) GDP : Gross Domestic Product Gerwani : Indonesian Women’s Movement (Gerakan Wanita Indonesia) Golkar : Functional Groups (Golongan Karya) GPA : Grade Point Average HAM : Human Rights (Hak Asasi Manusia) HIS : Dutch-language primary school for Indonesians (Hollandsch-Inlandsche School) HMI : Islamic Students Association (Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam) IKIP : Teachers Training College (Institut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan) IMF : International Monetary Fund KITLV : Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde) KNIL : Royal Netherlands Indies Army (Koninklijk Nederlandsch Indisch Leger) Leknas : National Institute for Economic and Social Research (Lembaga Ekonomi dan Kemasyarakatan Nasional) Lekra : People’s Cultural Association (Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakjat) LIPI : Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia) Manipol : Political Manifesto (Manifesto Politik) MULO : Dutch-language Junior High School (Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs) NRC : National Research Center OSIS : Intra-School Student Organization (Organisasi Siswa Intra Sekolah) P2E-LIPI : Center for Economic Research-Indonesian Institute of Sciences (Pusat Penelitian Ekonomi-LIPI) PDI : Indonesian Democracy Party (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia) PDIN : National Center for Scientific Documentation (Pusat Dokumentasi Ilmiah Nasional) Permesta : Universal Struggle Charter (Piagam Perjuangan Semesta Alam) 10 Pesindo : Indonesian Socialist Youth (Pemuda Sosialis Indonesia) PETA : Defenders of the Fatherland (Pembela Tanah Air) PGRI Nonvaksentral : Leftwing Association of Indonesian Teachers (Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia Vaksentral) PII : Indonesian Islamic Student Association (Pelajar Islam Indonesia) PKI : Indonesian Communist Party (Partai Komunis Indonesia) PNI : Indonesian Nationalist Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia) PPIA : Indonesia-America Friendship Association (Perhimpunan Persahabatan Indonesia-Amerika) PPKI : Committee for the Preparation for Indonesia’s Independence (Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia) PPP : Unity Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan) PRD : People’s Democratic Party (Partai Rakyat Demokratik) PRI : Youths of the Republic of Indonesia (Pemuda Republik Indonesia) PRRI : Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (Pemerintahan Revolusioner Republik Indonesia) PSI : Indonesian Socialist Party (Partai Sosialis Indonesia) PSPB : History of the National Struggle (Pendidikan Sejarah Perjuangan Bangsa) SDI : Islamic Traders’ Association (Sarekat Dagang Islamijah) SMA : Senior High School (Sekolah Menengah Atas) SMID : Student Solidarity for Democracy in Indonesia (Solidaritas Mahasiswa Indonesia untuk Demokrasi) SMP : Junior High School (Sekolah Menengah Pertama) SPG : Special High School for the Training of Primary School Teachers (Sekolah Pendidikan Guru) SSN : National History Seminar (Seminar Sejarah Nasional) TKR : People’s Security Force (Tentara Keamanan Rakjat) TVRI : Television of the Republic of Indonesia (Televisi Republik Indonesia) VCR : Video Cassette Recorder YMB : Foundation for Mutual Progress (Yayasan Maju Bersama) [...]... would spell chaos in the classroom Those were some of the changes in the landscape of Indonesian history in the wake of the New Order s collapse They have led me to ask myself a question: What on earth happened to Indonesian history under the New Order (1966 to 1998)? I break the question down into three smaller questions: First, what kind of Indonesian history did my generation come into contact with... ENCOUNTER WITH HISTORY IN THE NEW ORDER: AUDIENCE’S POINT OF VIEW 1 Origins, Absence, and Forgetfulness The European historian used to have an idol Marc Bloch called it the obsession with origins.”6 I cannot say what the contemporary Indonesian historian’s idol was under the New Order But at least as the anecdote below would show, Indonesia’s origin was an important theme in the sort of history that... Sejarah Indonesia” [Demilitarizing Indonesian history] , Kompas, September 2, 2000 In “Perlu Reinterpretasi Penulisan Sejarah Masa Orde Baru” [Re-interpretation of the New Order s historiography is necessary], Kompas, September 4, 2004, Anhar Gonggong is quoted as saying that history- writing under the New Order was dominated and tightly controlled by the government and the military As a result, much of the. .. parents, all the eyewitness accounts of my origin would be lost forever in the black hole of oblivion Yes, they are the 20 guardians of my origin.10 Their role is indispensable For in my beginning oblivion was the master When I was born, I was born into a nation-state and a religion I was not there when they were born In their beginnings was my absence The ummah (community of believers) and the nation-state... spy: He infiltrated the Dutch-occupied territory in West Java in the guise of an itinerant, bike-riding, Chinese egg-dealer The Dutch soon captured him Knowing that he was a MULO student, they offered him a scholarship to continue his study in the Netherlands if only he was willing to co-operate Though he always wanted to be a physician, he refused the offer Thereupon, they incarcerated him in the notorious... (titular) Nugroho Notosusanto, the army historian responsible for the production of the state-sanctioned national history 2 Asvi, for instance, suggested that Indonesians should abandon what he called the New Order s standpoint in the understanding of facts from the past” and adopt instead the perspective of reform,” which, he claimed, has become the mainstream perspective among Indonesians nowadays.” See,... themes in the debate on the “straightening out” of Indonesian history which involves Indonesian professional historians in post-Soeharto Indonesia? It is to this question that I shall devote Part Two My discussion will be focused on the debate concerning the incident of 1965 3 See “Pengajaran Sejarah Sering Tidak Sesuai Fakta: Siswa Anggap Guru Bohong” [The teaching of history often contradicts the facts:... when in 1950, a 1960s many Javanese on the right likened themselves to the Pandavas, the good guys, while referring to members of the PKI as the Kauravas, the bad guys 25 year after the transfer of Indonesia’s sovereignty from the Dutch to the Indonesian government, she chose to abandon her career in a Dutch shipping company and marry him, rather than return, with her parents and siblings, to the Netherlands... restore the courage to cope with the real world When we lived in Malang during the years 1975 to 1977, Mother subscribed to the Jakarta-based weekly newspaper Buana Minggu (The World on Sunday) I read avidly almost everything in the newspaper, including the advertisements of fancy restaurants in Jakarta No doubt I barely understood what I read But that was not the point I did not read for understanding;... 1961), p 7 The song, entitled “Hari Merdeka,” was written by H Mutahar 16 into being?” Indeed, at the time I was unaware of the metaphysical nature of her instruction in the classroom (It was not until I was eighteen that I got acquainted with Heidegger’s idea that to inquire into the origin of something is to ask a metaphysical question about it.) All I knew was that learning to sing the song together . SETTING HISTORY STRAIGHT? INDONESIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE NEW ORDER A thesis presented to the faculty of the Center for International Studies of Ohio University In partial. to Indonesian historiography in the New Order (1966-98)? To analyze the problem, the author studies the connections between the major themes in his intellectual autobiography and those in the. encounters with history in the New Order and with the post -New controversy over Indonesian historiography, I was able to benefit from the kindness of many people in Indonesia who were willing to share