Page 143 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE
IN INDONESIA

MILITARY AS A POLITICAL POWER

TNI’s success in crushing the PRRI-Permesta rebellion under General Nasution

further increased Nasution and the military’s political power.

IN this liberal era, a government with a Parliamentary Democracy system
affected political and economic developments as well as defense and
security developments. The military experienced an expansion of power,
especially when viewed from their involvement in the economy and
politics.

The military, especially the Army, had a duty to deal with political turmoil
in various parts of Indonesia, which caused the government to declare a
state of emergency. However, the Army used this emergency to involve
itself in state matters.

With the legitimacy of the Presidential Conception and with the doctrine
of the Middle Way initiated by General Nasution, the Army began to be
directly involved in government. The 1956–1958 period showed the Ar-
my’s influence in the Indonesian political system and the shift in its role.

The law-backed state of emergency paved the way for the Army to have
an essential role in security and defense as well as in politics, general ad-
ministration, and the economy. After showing its strength in overcoming
the insurgency, the military demanded more governmental roles.

General A. H. Nasution, who led the Army, succeeded in controlling and
unifying the political interests of the Army. To make itself a central force
in the government, the Army began to point out the weaknesses of Par-
liamentary Democracy. It demanded a change in the government sys-

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