4 November Demonstration and Explore the Untold History

By: Fernando A.T. Ximenes

After I went through the international news both traditional and social media, all is heading by the demonstration in Jakarta, Indonesia, that had held by 4th November 2016. Front Pembela Islam and the other Muslim-based groups in Indonesia are reportedly gather in front of State Palace and from around the Indonesia  to run a peaceful protest against the actual Jakarta number one person, Basuki J. Purnama or commonly known as Ahok that condemned for his allegedly defamation against the Muslim religion. The issue it self got viral during the last two weeks and it has been proceeded within the judicial process. Even it is just a defamation made by the current Governor of Jakarta but the issue spread wider so fast then any before. Such issue leave a serious discourse between politician as well as intelectual and religious debate that had shaping a new securitization process after the issue of PKI’s rise during the last months.

At the other, this case has bring to us some question also following by the critics that fall into the intervention and intense of political interaction between the key and central political figures, such as the current President of Republic Indonesia Mr. Joko Widodo and his Vice-President Jusuf Kalah and it’s former rival Prabowo Subianto then in another places such as the involvement of the six President of RI, Mr. Susilo B. Yudhoyono. 

4 November Demonstration. Photo: Orbitindo.com

In this article I will introduces the historical background or some facts behind the public discourse and that had served as historical imperative to the event of 4 November. The view it self base on the author individual analysis and the statement I will address in generally will be considered as assumption without an academic test. It is the article where the author would like to portrait the dynamic politics in Indonesia post-Suharto and how it’s relation with the Muslim political evolution. Or how the Muslim political movement has created? Due to the limited resource, the author tend to analyze the statement and linking it with the dynamic of domestic politics, such as the factor of Muslim, external involvement, provincial elections as well as the issues of security and the economy.

This article is divided into three parts, (i) is to introduce in shortly the evolution of Muslim direct involvement in the state affairs, (ii) is to demonstrate the intersection process between the protest and the Jakarta Governor elections and then (iii) is to explore and bring a dynamic and complex situation that mostly doesn’t appears on media in generally.

Muslim Politics in Indonesia

This wouldn’t be the new political phenomena it is just the peak of it’s radical evolution. The Muslim politics in Indonesia has been marginalize during a first and the second period of New Order Regime but with the domination of Muslim middle-class during the awake period of Suharto resignation has giving a significantly changes and dynamic within the domestic and the foreign relation on this maritime state. The Muslim position during the new order had been designed by the most critical persons that served during that regime, and one them as such General Ali Moertopo, a man who work behind the headline and the architect of new order regime.

The fall of this military dictatorship, has  become a preface and the new faces of politics has just to emerge, and according to Anak Perwita(2007) that, “the young Islamic generation began to speak significantly about the need for a greater role for Islam in domestic politics and foreign policy-making”.

The new structure of state, society and religious relation has taken it place where the moderate and radical Muslim organization occurs simultaneosly, and it happened during the B.J. Habibie administration, for instance, Front Pembela Islam and more radically such as Forum Komunikasi Ahlussunnah Waljama’ah (FKWAJ), Laskar Jihad, Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia and so forth. At the other that, it’s not merely just the ulamah movement but the religious-oriented political party also rise and influencing the whole internal affairs. These process evolve and for me that, with these emerging social and political order, the Muslim political movement growing steady and this power projection process mostly describe as the rise of Muslim in Southeast Asia along with the democracy at the one hand.

Some analysis argue that, the main objective of this emerging political structure was to adopt and implement the Islamic Law or Shariah as a state ideology in Indonesia. In order to achieve these goals, the Muslim political relation wasn’t limited as these features but the close relation with some critical and key military leader also become a political tools and was to pursue the para-military’s political goals as part of these character.

My intention to bring the historical records just to provide it’s genealogical process so that the readers could understand not just the current situation  but how its evolution took it place. And I hope that this could be a shortly brief for you that trying to explore more the event of the 4 November demonstration so that the reader could articulate the situation in holistic view and by their own level of interpretation.

4 November and the Journey To Jakarta

What’s the main reason for the Agus Yudhoyono resign from his professional career as a Colonel in TNI? After the end of the Suharto regime, military has separate radically within the state-building process particularly within the construction of democratic institution. Military seems went back to the traditional model of civil-military relation that mostly adopted in western countries, it is mean that military must be submit into the civilian supremacy. This new architecture has been drawn for a period of 1998 onward where the military no longer can serve as the political tools and integrated into the political party influences or Biro bureaucratic system.

With these backdrop hope it could help to responds to that question but the other has followed as we still confuse whether it has a relation with the Jakarta election that will shape a future direction of political and economic relation in Jakarta and beyond?

Jakarta, a central government and to rule the capital, you will be the second President of Republic Indonesia. The capital itself representing the operational hub of external actors in Indonesia. The relation of Jakarta and the other provinces have to created a  reciprocal situation that it’s outcome could impact to the state behaviour in collectively.

Recently development in the capital gradually shaping by the presence of Chinese citizens. During the Ahok administration and Jokowi rise in power as a President, several critical and mega-project in Jakarta has been replaced by the China’s businessman. Approximately there are some critical project has giving to China and the most important project is the Jakarta to Bandung High-Speed Rail that take a billion dollars and the challenges for the China’s credibility on infra-strucuture investment in Southeast Asia as it was the first test to China maritime silk road initiative in overseas.

My intention is not to provide a racial approach that taken by both Ahok or Jokowi, but with the rise of China or power shifting to Asia, and Indonesia in here Jakarta, has become the geo-economic battlefield between the traditional economic power in the world like as United State of America and Japan and the rest of emerging economic  power such as China and India. However, both Democratic Party, lead by the Agus’s father SBY has a close ties with the United State of America particular with the American businessman and the other hand is PDI-P lead by Megawati was the China Communist Party’s partnership in Indonesia.

So what I’m trying to say is that candidacy of Ahok to govern the Jakarta, are the main important factor that contributes to the wider and serious disrupted reaction by the Muslim organizations that leading to the 4 November mass protest. In my argument that  the protest showed up that the clash of civilizations based on the religious and racial particularism that has dominating the political discourse within the Muslim society in Indonesia and the consequences is Ahok, a Chinese and Christian and Jokowi that came up with the political preposition in tolerating the inclusion of various religous and racial background in the high political level could serve as the root and causes to the 4 November Protest. I do not mean that the external actor backed the Muslim to take an action against both Leader but there are still possibility to justify it.

Are There Any Intangible Hands Playing the Game?

The contemporary world order favor to the invisible hand to make and execute the plan. That is neo-liberal order, a system where state will playing a role as regulator or administrator where the market will automatically shaped by the corporate. This is the form of the state where mostly accepted worldwide after the disintegration of Soviet Union in 1991.

What’s their relation? So, Indonesia, one of the largest democratic and secular state in the world are moving toward this path in post-1998. Even the tragedy of  Trisakti was running by the human rights defenders and activists but the power to overthrow the regime remain weak and illusion until people discover that there are the man under he curtain take on position, there is IMF and World Bank, that come with liberalization process in East Asia and how to export democracy universally.

A more than decade Indonesia has limited it’s strategic alignment but it remain a folks for Western influences particularly with the United States of America. During the SBY presidential, he has reconnected and some of security and economic relation has been improved and the Free Port are constant things between both Indonesia and USA to renegotiate. A Free Port, the large gold deposit and biggest gold investment for USA in the world has leave several problem relating to the territorial integration of  West Papua but the project it self contribute a big number the Indonesia’s top list of OIL CARTEL.

The beginning of Jokowi administration, he has defined that to combating the oil cartel within the State-Owned Enterprises and Ministry of Natural Resource was the main top political goals. These radical approach has taken by Jokowi even cabinet’s reshuffle has become a rule model of its leadership to attain an efficacy government in order to bolster the economic development for particular in energy sector. In his first cabinet’s reshuffle put the most anti-corruption figure such as Sudirman Said in position as Minister of Mineral and Natural Resource so that It could help the president on tackling the Oil Cartel in it’s respective sector. Without significant achievement, in 2016 Jokowi has elected newly Minister named Arcandra Tahar, that his main mission was to revitalize energy sector and for sure to tackle that oil cartle.

At the other case that, with the latest month before the 4 November, Indonesia was terrified the issue of the rise of Partai Komunist Indonesia(PKI) and then the controversial debate on Commission to inquiry the facts of the tragedy G30 September PKI, a case where the genocide and mass prosecute made by Suharto’s military repressive to the people associated with PKI doesn’t achieve a justice. Not just that, Munir, an activist pro-democracy and one of the leading activist that protest against Suharto, in which some people claim he has been killed by the conspiracy forms from some of the military officers in Indonesia and one of them was SBY.

During his cabinet, Jokowi have taking a policy of seeking the truth for the pass historical records of human rights abuse in Indonesia and the extra-fights was to combating oil cartel and revitalize the energy sector. Indonesia during Jokowi has make a tremendous achievement within the national economic development and indirect pivotal with China.

Why should I put Jokowi and it’s leadership in the case of 4 November demonstration and to answering that is so why Jokowi have to be worried and canceling his official state visit to Australia due to the demonstration? The answer also laying on the SBY meeting with the Jusuf Kalah and Jokowi meeting with the Prabowo. Where the way SBY make his statement shall be mentioned Arab Spring and I truly believe that if there is no general consensus has been reaching behind that 4 November 2016, and Jakarta would be a second Maidan Square or another experiences of square tragedy in the world, most deserve is the  Trisakti experiences.