Page 248 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

THE DYNAMICS AND ROLES OF DPR-RI IN IMPROVING THE LIFE OF THE NATION
IN THE REFORMATION ERA (1998-2018)

(Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia) in
the Government, which was better known as the
Dual Function of ABRI. This was especially fo-
cused on reviewing the doctrine of national de- “On the other hand, the
fense and security which was a core part of the reformation marked by
ABRI concept.
the fall of Soeharto also

During the New Order era, the military had launched a discourse
a close connection to the political history in
Indonesia. This was preceded by the Provisional on limiting the socio-
MPR session on 12 March 1967, when Soeharto political involvement
rose to replace Soekarno. It was as if there was a of ABRI (Armed
military victory over civilian politicians at the time.
Soeharto with the support of the military then Forces of the Republic
prepared an appropriate election law, centralized of Indonesia) in the
and strengthened the existing leadership, put
political parties under tight control, and prepared Government, which
and finalized Golkar (Functional Groups) to was better known as
become a political vehicle to win elections.
the Dual Function of

Of course, there were significant results. In the ABRI.”
1971 general election, for example, and then in the
subsequent elections, Golkar, which was backed
by the military and bureaucrats, had always won
and received more than 50 percent of the votes in
every election.

These victories certainly confirmed the dominance of the military in the
world of politics in Indonesia. This also had a significant impact on the
concept of politics in Indonesia, when ABRI or the military at the time
were also a political force to be reckoned with.

Finally, after conducting an in-depth study for approximately five months
since Soeharto’s fall from power, ABRI gave an answer by issuing a book
entitled ABRI XXI Century: Redefinition, Repositioning and Reactualiza-
tion of the Role of the TNI in the Life of the Nation. This book contained
the main points of reformation that would be implemented within ABRI.
Three things that later became the key elements of the changes that
ABRI tried to make in response to these reformation were: (1) empower-
ment of functional institutions, (2) carrying out the role of the TNI as part
of the national system, and (3) TNI’s role in accordance with the national
consensus.

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