210: Into 2003
25th December 2002:
After attending church at the Cathedral Church, Vice President JB Sumarlin and Second Lady Theresia Yustina Sudarmi Sumarlin returned to the Vice-Presidential Palace where they welcomed President Try Sutrisno and First Lady Tuti Setiawati, the First Couple visiting to wishing the Second Couple a Merry Christmas. The four posed for pictures, with both the President and Sumarlin explaining that this was a social occasion and that talking about politics would be inappropriate.
26th December 2002:
At her private residence, Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri held a press conference ostensibly to wish those who a celebrate it a Merry Christmas but she looked quite gleeful when she was inevitably asked about what she thought about what has been described as the President’s “Setbacks Speech” and the struggles ABRI faced in its exercises.
“Setbacks are one thing but decline is another”, said Megawati “We might just well go into decline if we have another five years like the last five…”
Megawati was asked about how confident she was of her prospects at the MPR General Session. Megawati only smiled and repeated her claim that there is a way for those who are looking out for the people’s interests.
27th December 2002:
At the Presidential Palace, the President had a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita. The President asked how the rest of the region was reacting to ABRI’s struggles in its exercise.
Ginandjar painted a mixed picture. Of the Southeast Asian nations which are part of the Jakarta Bloc, the Philippines are most concerned. The Indonesian Embassy in Manila has received word that the Malacanang Palace is worried that this might strengthen the hands of those who favor a more pro-American foreign policy such as Vice President Gloria Arroyo. On the other hand, in Cambodia where an election is due in 7 months, this will help FUNCINPEC’s Norodom Ranariddh as he seeks the prime ministership by blunting Prime Minister Hun Sen’s charge that Norodom will “subordinate Phnom Penh to Jakarta” and shine the spotlight firmly on China and its growing influence in Cambodia.
The President and Ginandjar also took the opportunity to go through the President’s mid-January itinerary which would take him, to Mauritius where he will attend the first Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Summit.
29th December 2002:
The ABRI Joint Military Exercise came to an end today with a simulation of taking over the Supadio Air Base in Pontianak, West Kalimantan and the Balikpapan Airbase in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan by the Air Force’s Paskhas followed by, in the case of the attack on Supadio Air Base, a landing by Army Raider personnel riding on MI-17 Transport Helicopters to back up the Paskhas attack and secure the air base. With sections of Pontianak and Balikpapan closed off to civilians for most of the day, personnel from all four branches of ABRI conducted an exercise of coming into a city and securing both its key points and buildings which the enemy could potentially attack out of. All those observing the exercise commented that there was a determination not to have anymore mishaps or mistakes as the exercise came to a close.
Commander of ABRI Wiranto held a press conference to mark the end of the joint military exercise. He announced that a review of the exercise will be conducted by a team chaired by the Deputy Commander of ABRI with the Commander of the ABRI Staff and Command College and Commander of the ABRI Academy as the vice-chairs. Wiranto explained that the involvement of the ABRI Staff and Command College and the ABRI Academy is because he wants the results of this review to be passed on to officers and officer cadets learning at both institutions.
Asked about what he thought about the exercise and how ABRI would be perceived by other nations in the region, Wiranto said that ABRI had a lot to learn from the exercise and that ABRI will be perceived by other nations in the region as an armed forces that is willing to work through its problems and learn from it.
“This setback will not weaken our resolve both to continue the reorganization mandated by the ABRI Leadership Meeting earlier in the year and to continue improving our military capabilities”, replied Wiranto.
30th December 2002:
The President was seen having lunch at the Presidential Palace with Minister of Mining and Energy Djiteng Marsudi and members of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI). Djiteng and the APBI members were tight-lipped as they emerged from the Presidential Palace though they looked pleased. Djiteng and the APBI members only said to the press gathered that what was agreed on will be announced in due course.
At the Presidential Palace, Minister of Forestry and Environment Barnabas Suebu was seen coming out of a meeting with the President. He announced that the President had approved the establishment of a legal timber certification scheme. Suebu said this certification will become available on 1st April 2003 and that it will be a key document in obtaining a permit to export timber. All forest concessionaires who have brought themselves into compliance with existing regulations are eligible to apply. Suebu said that while there are no time limits for those concessionaires who still have not complied to bring, they will simply not qualify for this certification.
31st December 2002:
Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti and Head of BPS Gunawan Sumodiningrat came out of a meeting with the President to hold a joint press conference to talk about the economy. The following are the highlights:
*The Indonesian economy performed strongly again this year. Domestic consumption remains solid especially during the end of school year holidays (June-July) and during the double holiday period in December. Domestic consumption was stronger in the first half of the year fuelled by election campaign related spending by all four political parties.
*This consumption is matched by production in what Dorodjatun described as the “year factories open”. Domestic investors and businesses who played it safe during the Asian Financial Crisis with their investments, began investing and expanding again as the crisis abated in the second half of 1999, and now their factories are coming into operation throughout 2002.
*Economic growth including projection numbers for economic activity during the Eid and Christmas-New Year period at 9.4%. Inflation is at 5.1%, slightly higher than last year due to the combined demand for Indonesian goods and services from both domestic markets and foreign markets alike though the international economy had not fully recovered from the previous year’s recession.
Dorodjatun was asked by a foreign journalist about whether the economic growth figures being lower than 9.8% in 2001 is due to uncertainty as a result of the PKPB’s election victory and the possibility that Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto will become president in March. Refusing to get into the politics, Dorodjatun acknowledged that there was a lot of waiting and seeing when it became apparent that the PKPB was going to perform strongly at the 2002 Elections and in the aftermath of PKPB’s victory but that things have settled down especially after the PKPB cooperated in passing the Manpower Law.
Speaking to the press as he exited his office at the end of the day, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat pointed to what he thought was the most important statistic: the poverty rate being at 11.1%. Edi said that this means that not only has poverty been reduced to pre-crisis levels but that this pre-crisis level has been exceeded.
2nd January 2003:
At the Presidential Palace, the President swore in the following:
*Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Suadi Atma as Governor of West Kalimantan
*Maj. Gen. Ahmad Djunaedi Sikki as Governor of South Sulawesi
In a television interview, Leader of the PKPB in the DPR Akbar Tandjung was talking to the viewers that Tutut Soeharto would be a president that the Indonesian economy could rely upon, pointing to the fact that there was positive sentiment in the economy after the PKPB supported the passing of the Manpower Law. Akbar began struggling, however, when the questioning turned to the topic of how the PKPB members in the DPR were intending to delay the passing of the Anti-Terror Bill on grounds that it will give too much leeway for the government to “go after” those of the majority faith. As the interview ended, Akbar made another mental note.
3rd January 2003:
The President’s Friday Prayer partner today was Minister of Defense and Security Wismoyo Arismunandar. From the beginning, both could not hide the fact that defense policy was not the main reason why they were meeting that day.
“Mr. Minister of Defense and Security”, began the President “It is my intention that Vice President Sumarlin should put his name forward for another term at the MPR General Session. I think at the present stage of this nation’s journey, he is the best partner that I could have. I’ve been told that you have some interest in this office and I want to ask you, without disregarding all that you have done for me, to put whatever interest aside and show your support for him.”
Wismoyo nodded his head.
“I’ve gotten the message from the Minister of Tourism and I respect the fact that you’ve taken the time to tell me this, Mr. President so I can hear it directly from you”, said Wismoyo “I’ve always thought, Mr. President, that your strongest supporters are not those who think that some departure from how my Brother-In-Law has done things is necessary; it’s from those who think that there is no contradiction between supporting him and transferring that support to you. If the Vice President does not nominate for a second term, I would be obliged to nominate on behalf of my, dareisayit, consituents. So my first question to you is, do the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Industry and their constituents also support the Vice President’s nomination?”
“They do”, replied the President.
“The other thing I want to ask, Mr. President, is what would a second term for the Vice President mean for defense policy?” asked Wismoyo.
“I know that we’re able to spend more on defense because of our economic position, he knows that with our economic position he’s not in a position to say no to more defense spending”, replied the President “That and the fact that I am the Head of State, the Head of Government, and the Supreme Commander of ABRI.”
Wismoyo chuckled.
“I’m satisfied, I won’t get in your way or in the Vice President’s”, said Wismoyo.
5th January 2003:
The PPP’s 30th Anniversary Celebration evening had to suppress a groan of disappointment when the Presidential Palace announced that the President was “not well enough” to attend. That placed more spotlight on Sumarlin though the star of the show was undoubtedly Chairman of the PPP Matori Abdul Djalil.
“Fellow PPP members, I stand before you as a PPP member holding the esteemed position of Chairman of the DPR/MPR”, Matori said proudly as the audience cheered him “And when you see that I am the Chairman of the DPR/MPR, you must remember who permitted it for this esteemed office to fall into our party’s hands, you must remember who it is that we will support at the 2003 MPR General Session for the office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia…”
“Try…Try…Try…”, chanted the PPP members in unison.
“And having given our party this esteemed office, our obligation now at the PPP is to support President Try in whoever he chooses to nominate as Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia”, continued Matori “So if he chooses someone with expertise in economics…”
The Jakarta Convention Center rumbled with laughter before some broke into a chant of “Sumarlin…Wapres…Sumarlin…Wapres” while Sumarlin nodded in acknowledgment at the support.
The President, who was in fact not unwell but just wanted Sumarlin and the PPP to spend some time together, watched on approvingly on the television at the Presidential Palace.
At Cendana Street, Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto did not fail to recognize that not everybody cheered and chanted for Sumarlin most notably Day-to-Day Chairman of the PPP Hamzah Haz who looked to be only clapping politely.
---
In 1996, the last year before the Asian Financial Crisis, the poverty rate was 11.4% https://www.google.co.id/books/edit....4%+poverty+1996&pg=PA193&printsec=frontcover
There's a part of the conversation between Try and Wismoyo where there is a coded aspect to the conversation. When he's asking what's going to happen to defense policy, Wismoyo is essentially asking how much influence Sumarlin is going to have over Try if he continues as VP, Try says "It's a give and take but ultimately I'm the one in charge and I make the final decision".
After attending church at the Cathedral Church, Vice President JB Sumarlin and Second Lady Theresia Yustina Sudarmi Sumarlin returned to the Vice-Presidential Palace where they welcomed President Try Sutrisno and First Lady Tuti Setiawati, the First Couple visiting to wishing the Second Couple a Merry Christmas. The four posed for pictures, with both the President and Sumarlin explaining that this was a social occasion and that talking about politics would be inappropriate.
26th December 2002:
At her private residence, Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri held a press conference ostensibly to wish those who a celebrate it a Merry Christmas but she looked quite gleeful when she was inevitably asked about what she thought about what has been described as the President’s “Setbacks Speech” and the struggles ABRI faced in its exercises.
“Setbacks are one thing but decline is another”, said Megawati “We might just well go into decline if we have another five years like the last five…”
Megawati was asked about how confident she was of her prospects at the MPR General Session. Megawati only smiled and repeated her claim that there is a way for those who are looking out for the people’s interests.
27th December 2002:
At the Presidential Palace, the President had a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita. The President asked how the rest of the region was reacting to ABRI’s struggles in its exercise.
Ginandjar painted a mixed picture. Of the Southeast Asian nations which are part of the Jakarta Bloc, the Philippines are most concerned. The Indonesian Embassy in Manila has received word that the Malacanang Palace is worried that this might strengthen the hands of those who favor a more pro-American foreign policy such as Vice President Gloria Arroyo. On the other hand, in Cambodia where an election is due in 7 months, this will help FUNCINPEC’s Norodom Ranariddh as he seeks the prime ministership by blunting Prime Minister Hun Sen’s charge that Norodom will “subordinate Phnom Penh to Jakarta” and shine the spotlight firmly on China and its growing influence in Cambodia.
The President and Ginandjar also took the opportunity to go through the President’s mid-January itinerary which would take him, to Mauritius where he will attend the first Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Summit.
29th December 2002:
The ABRI Joint Military Exercise came to an end today with a simulation of taking over the Supadio Air Base in Pontianak, West Kalimantan and the Balikpapan Airbase in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan by the Air Force’s Paskhas followed by, in the case of the attack on Supadio Air Base, a landing by Army Raider personnel riding on MI-17 Transport Helicopters to back up the Paskhas attack and secure the air base. With sections of Pontianak and Balikpapan closed off to civilians for most of the day, personnel from all four branches of ABRI conducted an exercise of coming into a city and securing both its key points and buildings which the enemy could potentially attack out of. All those observing the exercise commented that there was a determination not to have anymore mishaps or mistakes as the exercise came to a close.
Commander of ABRI Wiranto held a press conference to mark the end of the joint military exercise. He announced that a review of the exercise will be conducted by a team chaired by the Deputy Commander of ABRI with the Commander of the ABRI Staff and Command College and Commander of the ABRI Academy as the vice-chairs. Wiranto explained that the involvement of the ABRI Staff and Command College and the ABRI Academy is because he wants the results of this review to be passed on to officers and officer cadets learning at both institutions.
Asked about what he thought about the exercise and how ABRI would be perceived by other nations in the region, Wiranto said that ABRI had a lot to learn from the exercise and that ABRI will be perceived by other nations in the region as an armed forces that is willing to work through its problems and learn from it.
“This setback will not weaken our resolve both to continue the reorganization mandated by the ABRI Leadership Meeting earlier in the year and to continue improving our military capabilities”, replied Wiranto.
30th December 2002:
The President was seen having lunch at the Presidential Palace with Minister of Mining and Energy Djiteng Marsudi and members of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI). Djiteng and the APBI members were tight-lipped as they emerged from the Presidential Palace though they looked pleased. Djiteng and the APBI members only said to the press gathered that what was agreed on will be announced in due course.
At the Presidential Palace, Minister of Forestry and Environment Barnabas Suebu was seen coming out of a meeting with the President. He announced that the President had approved the establishment of a legal timber certification scheme. Suebu said this certification will become available on 1st April 2003 and that it will be a key document in obtaining a permit to export timber. All forest concessionaires who have brought themselves into compliance with existing regulations are eligible to apply. Suebu said that while there are no time limits for those concessionaires who still have not complied to bring, they will simply not qualify for this certification.
31st December 2002:
Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti and Head of BPS Gunawan Sumodiningrat came out of a meeting with the President to hold a joint press conference to talk about the economy. The following are the highlights:
*The Indonesian economy performed strongly again this year. Domestic consumption remains solid especially during the end of school year holidays (June-July) and during the double holiday period in December. Domestic consumption was stronger in the first half of the year fuelled by election campaign related spending by all four political parties.
*This consumption is matched by production in what Dorodjatun described as the “year factories open”. Domestic investors and businesses who played it safe during the Asian Financial Crisis with their investments, began investing and expanding again as the crisis abated in the second half of 1999, and now their factories are coming into operation throughout 2002.
*Economic growth including projection numbers for economic activity during the Eid and Christmas-New Year period at 9.4%. Inflation is at 5.1%, slightly higher than last year due to the combined demand for Indonesian goods and services from both domestic markets and foreign markets alike though the international economy had not fully recovered from the previous year’s recession.
Dorodjatun was asked by a foreign journalist about whether the economic growth figures being lower than 9.8% in 2001 is due to uncertainty as a result of the PKPB’s election victory and the possibility that Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto will become president in March. Refusing to get into the politics, Dorodjatun acknowledged that there was a lot of waiting and seeing when it became apparent that the PKPB was going to perform strongly at the 2002 Elections and in the aftermath of PKPB’s victory but that things have settled down especially after the PKPB cooperated in passing the Manpower Law.
Speaking to the press as he exited his office at the end of the day, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat pointed to what he thought was the most important statistic: the poverty rate being at 11.1%. Edi said that this means that not only has poverty been reduced to pre-crisis levels but that this pre-crisis level has been exceeded.
2nd January 2003:
At the Presidential Palace, the President swore in the following:
*Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Suadi Atma as Governor of West Kalimantan
*Maj. Gen. Ahmad Djunaedi Sikki as Governor of South Sulawesi
In a television interview, Leader of the PKPB in the DPR Akbar Tandjung was talking to the viewers that Tutut Soeharto would be a president that the Indonesian economy could rely upon, pointing to the fact that there was positive sentiment in the economy after the PKPB supported the passing of the Manpower Law. Akbar began struggling, however, when the questioning turned to the topic of how the PKPB members in the DPR were intending to delay the passing of the Anti-Terror Bill on grounds that it will give too much leeway for the government to “go after” those of the majority faith. As the interview ended, Akbar made another mental note.
3rd January 2003:
The President’s Friday Prayer partner today was Minister of Defense and Security Wismoyo Arismunandar. From the beginning, both could not hide the fact that defense policy was not the main reason why they were meeting that day.
“Mr. Minister of Defense and Security”, began the President “It is my intention that Vice President Sumarlin should put his name forward for another term at the MPR General Session. I think at the present stage of this nation’s journey, he is the best partner that I could have. I’ve been told that you have some interest in this office and I want to ask you, without disregarding all that you have done for me, to put whatever interest aside and show your support for him.”
Wismoyo nodded his head.
“I’ve gotten the message from the Minister of Tourism and I respect the fact that you’ve taken the time to tell me this, Mr. President so I can hear it directly from you”, said Wismoyo “I’ve always thought, Mr. President, that your strongest supporters are not those who think that some departure from how my Brother-In-Law has done things is necessary; it’s from those who think that there is no contradiction between supporting him and transferring that support to you. If the Vice President does not nominate for a second term, I would be obliged to nominate on behalf of my, dareisayit, consituents. So my first question to you is, do the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Industry and their constituents also support the Vice President’s nomination?”
“They do”, replied the President.
“The other thing I want to ask, Mr. President, is what would a second term for the Vice President mean for defense policy?” asked Wismoyo.
“I know that we’re able to spend more on defense because of our economic position, he knows that with our economic position he’s not in a position to say no to more defense spending”, replied the President “That and the fact that I am the Head of State, the Head of Government, and the Supreme Commander of ABRI.”
Wismoyo chuckled.
“I’m satisfied, I won’t get in your way or in the Vice President’s”, said Wismoyo.
5th January 2003:
The PPP’s 30th Anniversary Celebration evening had to suppress a groan of disappointment when the Presidential Palace announced that the President was “not well enough” to attend. That placed more spotlight on Sumarlin though the star of the show was undoubtedly Chairman of the PPP Matori Abdul Djalil.
“Fellow PPP members, I stand before you as a PPP member holding the esteemed position of Chairman of the DPR/MPR”, Matori said proudly as the audience cheered him “And when you see that I am the Chairman of the DPR/MPR, you must remember who permitted it for this esteemed office to fall into our party’s hands, you must remember who it is that we will support at the 2003 MPR General Session for the office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia…”
“Try…Try…Try…”, chanted the PPP members in unison.
“And having given our party this esteemed office, our obligation now at the PPP is to support President Try in whoever he chooses to nominate as Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia”, continued Matori “So if he chooses someone with expertise in economics…”
The Jakarta Convention Center rumbled with laughter before some broke into a chant of “Sumarlin…Wapres…Sumarlin…Wapres” while Sumarlin nodded in acknowledgment at the support.
The President, who was in fact not unwell but just wanted Sumarlin and the PPP to spend some time together, watched on approvingly on the television at the Presidential Palace.
At Cendana Street, Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto did not fail to recognize that not everybody cheered and chanted for Sumarlin most notably Day-to-Day Chairman of the PPP Hamzah Haz who looked to be only clapping politely.
---
In 1996, the last year before the Asian Financial Crisis, the poverty rate was 11.4% https://www.google.co.id/books/edit....4%+poverty+1996&pg=PA193&printsec=frontcover
There's a part of the conversation between Try and Wismoyo where there is a coded aspect to the conversation. When he's asking what's going to happen to defense policy, Wismoyo is essentially asking how much influence Sumarlin is going to have over Try if he continues as VP, Try says "It's a give and take but ultimately I'm the one in charge and I make the final decision".
