Indonesia ATL: The Presidency of Try Sutrisno (1997-)

[KvAT]

TFTC! I'm sooo looking forward to seeing Tutut and, in extension, Cendana Family as a whole pay for their massive corruptions.

Also, slightly unrelated to the "current" events but, Timor crashed and burned because Tommy was imprisoned, right? I wonder if or when another national car brand would emerge (mayhap sponsored by Try?).

 

[Kosaki_MacTavish]

15th June 2003:
The PKPB Extraordinary National Congress saga continues despite it being a Sunday. In a short press conference as he arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Akbar Tandjung said that he welcomes the news that there will be a PKPB Extraordinary National Congress before announcing that he will be a candidate for the office of Chairman of the PKPB. Akbar promised that the PKPB under his chairmanship will be “constructive rather than obstructive” before disappearing inside the terminal, saying that he will be busy consolidating support across the nation.

Would be a tough fight nonetheless.

That night, with most of the nation at home as it prepares for Monday, Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto appeared on the TPI television station which she owns. Though the format of the appearance was an interview, it was clear that the questions had been pre-approved. Tutut had sufficiently recovered from the shock of the previous day’s events to openly acknowledge that there will be a PKPB Extraordinary National Congress rather than continually refer to it as “the event”.

Though she had some choice words for Akbar (“Bringing about an Extraordinary National Congress is not the same as winning it”), she saved most her venom for President Try Sutrisno. Though she did not refer to him by name, she talked about “Party destroyers” who, after destroying Golkar, is now seeking to do the same with the PKPB.

Ha

16th June 2003:
ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Affairs Staff Saurip Kadi found himself crowded by the press at ABRI Headquarters as he explained that ABRI was not involved in helping to bring about the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress. He said that this was because ABRI’s current socio-political focus is on explaining the planned territorial reforms to ABRI’s officer corps.

Why i got a gist that the "soldier wannabe" protests would be intensified in the coming weeks?

At the Presidential Palace, Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan accompanied by Chairman of the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress Moerdiono came out of a meeting with President Try Sutrisno. Sintong and Moerdiono announced that the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress will be held on 11th-13th July 2003.

Well, well, would be interesting.

17th June 2003:
President Try Sutrisno landed at Batam, Riau. [snip]

When the President toured the factories, however, the questions from the press were not about what he discussed in his speech but rather about the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress.

“Well, this is an internal matter for them, the government is just assisting with what fulfills the criteria set out in the PKPB’s constitution and by-laws”, the President said.

“What about the Chairwoman of the PKPB’s comments about certain people being “Party Destroyers”?” asked another member of the press.

“People’s memories might be hazy but I’m pretty sure others but they should look in the mirror if they’re looking for party destroyers”, the President said “It was they after all who destroyed Golkar when they decided that they want to undermine me in the previous term.”

Man, it's going to be real nasty.

At this point, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat conveniently said that he had to move on to the next part of the itinerary which was lunch with the Nokia factory workers at their cafetaria. After the Nokia factory and lunch the President toured the Batam State Polytechnic and inspected the facilities there. In the afternoon, the President had an afternoon tea which doubled as a meet and greet with various businessmen, domestic and foreign alike, with investments in Batam. In the evening he was seen visiting Bukit Nagoya Shopping Center and was crowded by locals as he bought some food in the supermarket “for me and the State Secretary to eat in our room at the hotel”.

Can i say that Edi to Try is like... uhm, Leimena (he isn't from the military, but he's a personal friend) to Sukarno?

18th June 2003:
Appearing on Anteve’s morning news show, Ginandjar Kartasasmita weighed in on the PKPB’s Extraordinary National Congress and he was asked about what this all meant for Tutut Soeharto’s offer to him of a PKPB membership. Ginandjar said that as a non-PKPB member, he has no choice but to watch this situation play itself out. When told that he is not just any ordinary member of the public, Ginandjar only smiled coyly.

I thought he's already a member of PKPB.....

The Presidential entourage landed at Bandar Lampung from Batam. From Radin Inten Airport, the President travelled the short distance to Tarahan. There, accompanied by Minister of Mining and Energy Awang Faroek Ishak, Minister of Transportation Chappy Hakim, State Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Cacuk Sudarijanto, and Governor of Lampung Sofjan Jacoeb, the President inaugurated the Fourth Stage of the Tarahan Coal Port.

The inspection tour doubled as a meeting of sorts. The President instructed Chappy to make sure “as many ports and railways related to coal” makes it into Repelita VIII. Meanwhile, Siswono, who was not part of the inaugurating ceremony was appealing to the President and Awang not to forget that coal was also needed for domestic purposes such as cement factories and not just for exports. Awang actually agreed with this saying that the challenge medium and long term will be to balance exporting coal and making sure cement factories and electricity generators domestically get their coal.

“We have to make sure we have supply for both purposes”, the President said “Have to be quicker in issuing permits so these guys can explore and get to production as quickly as possible if they find anything.”

The President and his entourage then returned to Jakarta by plane.

Hmm, looks like Medan and Palembang would be connected to Pekanbaru sooner by toll road than rail for REPELITA VIII.

19th June 2003:
Minister of Finance Boediono, Governor of Bank Indonesia Bambang Subianto, Head of IBRA Herwidayatmo, and Head of the BPKP Sjahruddin Rasul came out of a meeting with the President with cheerful expressions on their faces. In their joint press conference, the four officials announced that all the banks which have received BLBI assistance during the Asian Financial Crisis has repaid the assistance they received, that the BPKP has audited the banks and can declare that all of the repayments has been made.

*claps Very nice.

State Minister of Youth and Sports Indra Djati Sidi was also seen coming to the Presidential Palace to meet with the President. Indra emerged to report the President’s approval for his ministry’s intention to have a special commemoration for the Youth Pledge Day. Indra said that President has instructed athat a big deal should be made of Youth Pledge Day that year given that it’s the 75th anniversary of the event.

As an aspiring historian that read lots of book surrounding the events of 1928 Youth Pledge, maybe they can add Sukarno and Sukiman's PPPKI (Permoefakatan Perhimpoenan Politik Kebangsaan Indonesia) for the showcase of the event. Sure, it would be still too far to mention that event (1927 Communist Rebellion) as this is the Renewal Order, but PPPKI would suffice. Speaking of historians, Benedict Anderson and Ruth McVey are still banned from entering Indonesia, right?

20th June 2003:
[snip]

In a press conference at the Department of Health, Minister of Health Azrul Azwar announced that China, Hong Kong, and Macau has been taken off the list of SARS “travel-advised” countries and that anti-SARS measures directed against them will be ceased with immediate effect. This follows the WHO’s announcement that China, Hong Kong, and Macau has been decleared to be SARS-free.

They're really didn't want to lose prestige, eh.

21st June 2003:
Though it was a Saturday, Vice Chairman of the DPR Hartono, Leader of the PKPB in the DPR Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani, Treasurer of the PKPB Fuad Bawazier, and Prabowo Subianto assembled at the PKPB’s National Headquarters for a morning meeting. A lot were discussed during the meeting.

Tutut said that the PKPB should give full cooperation to Moerdiono as the latter organizes the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress saying that Moerdiono was loyal to the President Soeharto and that it was just the case that “The President is hiding behind him” to make sure that the Extraordinary National Congress ahead.

Well, does he? I'd say he's loyal to "the President" rather than "Soeharto", just like Wiranto.

Regarding the contest for the chairman’s position, Maulani reported that Tutut still enjoys a lot of support at the regency/municipal branches and that Akbar is wrong if he thinks he can win.

Yusril put forward the idea that the PKPB should go ahead and publicly state that Akbar and his followers “switched sides” at the MPR General Session to ensure the President’s re-election and that the quid pro quo was that the President would support Akbar’s candidacy for the chairmanship of the PKPB. Yusril said that this would ensure more support for Tutut as they approach the Extraordinary National Congress.

Hartono and Prabowo disagreed with this. Not so much because they disagree that there was a deal but because “things could turn nasty”. Prabowo explained that if the PKPB went public with a statement saying that Akbar had switched sides, the government’s counter would simply be to point out that the PKPB had successfully gotten elements of the ABRI Delegation to vote against the President and that this would make things awkward.

Very awkward.

“In any case, there’s probably no need for us to go public with anything”, said Prabowo “Right now, the wrong move for the President would be to openly support Akbar because that has a high risk of backfiring and causing even more internal support to flock the Chairwoman’s way and delivering victory to her. Akbar knows this. Whatever deal he has with the President, it’ll be for nothing if he loses.”

Can't deny that he's a good strategist.

23rd June 2003:
The President’s first meeting of the morning was with Attorney General Muchtar Arifin. The two chatted about various issues related to Muchtar’s area of work but then Muchtar became quiet and the President asked Muchtar to speak.

“Mr. President, if I may”, he began “I have in my possession a collection of information which the Attorney General’s Office has recently compiled and verified. The reason that I have come here today to ask for your time is to ask for your approval because of the potentially political nature of it.”

“How is it potentially political, Mr. Attorney General?” asked the President.

Muchtar produced a large thick folder from his briefcase and handed it across the table for the President to skim through. There was silence in the room as the President studied it.

“This is all new?” asked the President “I mean, we did not have any signs of this before?

“Yes, Mr. President”, replied Muchtar “Any of the information found in there was gathered in the last 3 months, I did not inherit it from my predecessor even though he himself had compiled a lot of material.”

The President flicked through the pages.

“Are there grounds for…?” the President asked, his voice trailing off as he continued to flick through the pages.

“Yes, Mr. President, Law no. 3 of 1971 regarding the Criminal Act of Corruption”, Muchtar said “But as I have said before, I would require your approval for prosecution considering the potentially political nature of it.”

“Let me give it some thought, Mr. Attorney General”, said the President.

When Muchtar left the room, the President continued to study the documents on his desk.

If I was to openly declare support for Akbar, that might mean victory for Tutut because the PKPB would rally around their chairwoman and defeat Akbar the “Try lackey”.

But what if rather than openly declare support for Akbar, I take Tutut out of the race instead…

…after all, it’s not enough that Akbar wins, Tutut has to lose as well…

.... It's about that report from Transparency International?

---
And that’s BLBI settled, ladies and gentlemen. Something that unfortunately is still not settled in OTL.

Lol yeah

China was declared SARS-free on 25th June in OTL https://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/25/world/china-has-quelled-sars-world-health-agency-says.html

Hmm, so not that far then, but still, Luo Gan has everything to lose if he did not act as tough as Try's Indonesia.

 

[GSD310]

TFTC! I'm sooo looking forward to seeing Tutut and, in extension, Cendana Family as a whole pay for their massive corruptions.

Also, slightly unrelated to the "current" events but, Timor crashed and burned because Tommy was imprisoned, right? I wonder if or when another national car brand would emerge (mayhap sponsored by Try?).

Haven't thought as far as another national car yet. Right now Timor is still around but without the National Car status.

I thought he's already a member of PKPB.....

He's been offered but hasn't accepted. Try's just said "Terserahlah mau masuk PKPB atau enggak".

Speaking of historians, Benedict Anderson and Ruth McVey are still banned from entering Indonesia, right?

Yes. Benedict Anderson's probably banned until Try steps down for calling Try "Diet Soeharto".

It's about that report from Transparency International?

Guess again.

Can i say that Edi to Try is like... uhm, Leimena (he isn't from the military, but he's a personal friend) to Sukarno?

I saved this question till last because it's going to be a long answer.

Very much so. I think watching and reading about them in OTL, the signs are there that they have a longstanding friendship and relationship: and have gone through a lot together
-When Try was Army Chief of Staff, Edi was the Deputy Army Chief of Staff.

-When Try became Commander of ABRI, Edi was Army Chief of Staff and they were the top two faces in ABRI at a time when ABRI's relationship with Soeharto wasn't good.

-When Try became VP and then sidelined, Edi was Minister of Defense and Security and was similarly sidelined. You can say that at some point during its history, the Minister of Defense and Security's position was one position that can be said to be toothless. It was powerful between 1968-1983 because it was combined with the Commander of ABRI's position but after 1983 when the two positions were separated, it was clear that a lot of the power lies in the Commander of ABRI's position. So Edi was walking into a position where he wasn't going to be powerful when Soeharto appointed him to this position.

-Then when Soeharto fell from power in 1998, Try and Edi worked together and tried to challenge Habibie's position at the Golkar Extraordinary National Congress in 1998. Habibie backed Akbar Tandjung for Chairman of Golkar while Try backed Edi. Edi lost because the other backer of his candidacy for chairman was Soeharto and Try blundered by emphasizing this fact a little too much at a time when it was not good to be seen to be close to Soeharto.

-They left Golkar and then formed the OTL PKPI together.

-And then of course, Try was there at the end for Edi:

Not gonna lie, but I've gotten teary-eyed thinking about what's going to happen a little bit further on ITTL. Where's @Fialnir when you need him? He dreads this moment too.

 

[GSD310]

24th June 2003:
Arriving at the DPR building for work and being crowded around by the press, Chairman of the DPR Matori Abdul Djalil said that the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress was a matter for the the PKPB to resolve. From the DPR’s point of view, however, Matori hopes that the situation will be resolved soon because it is causing disruption to the DPR’s agenda and that the DPR is practically not in session because its PKPB members are out of Jakarta campaigning for whoever they are supporting at the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress.

At the Presidential Palace, President Try Sutrisno met with Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo. Ari spoke about his recent trip out of Jakarta which took him to Aceh, Irian Jaya, and East Timor over the last few weeks. He spoke of the “eerie silence” as far as any traces of the GAM, OPM, and FRETILIN in those three provinces were concerned. No acts of terror against local security apparatus or against the general community, no weapons being stolen in raids, no unofficial taxes being imposed on local populace, even the known FRETILIN presence in East Timor has been dormant and not attempted to do anything since the Singapore Settlement in 1999.

“It’s silence inside the country but it’s clear from what we know that something is being prepared from outside of the country”, the President said “Something doesn’t add up.”

25th June 2003:
Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo, Head of the BKPM Mari Pangestu and Junior Minister of Finance Darmin Nasution held a joint press conference after they emerged out of the meeting with the President. Siswono said that the government had received a letter from South Korea’s KIA Motors informing the government of its intention to terminate its partnership with car manufacturers PT. Timor Putra Nasional and to invest in Indonesia on its own accord rather than as part of a partnership with. Timor. Mari said that while the termination of the partnership between Kita Motors and Timor was a matter for the companies in question, the President has instructed that KIA Motors be accommodated accordingly so they can invest in Indonesia as a single actor rather than as part of a partnership.

When asked about what will happen to Timor, Siswono said that this was a matter for Timor to decide as a private enterprise but added that the only thing that is for certain is that the arrangement between KIA Motors and Timor is coming to an end.

Darmin added that another thing that is certain is that Timor still has outstanding debt to the state in the form of duties and taxes. Darmin pointed to the fact that in the period that Timor enjoyed National Car status, it had imported 40,000 units of cars from South Korea without having had to pay import duties, import VATs, and luxury goods VATs. While Timor has paid its obligations after it had lost its National Car status, it has not paid its obligations for the cars it imported while it had National Car status. Darmin said that the amount still owed to the state is Rp. 3,99 trillion.

The question everyone was keen to hear an answer for was what is the political significance of this decision and at this Siswono became thoughtful.

“Last week we saw matters related to the BLBI being officially settled and now this, I think it’s safe to say that something significant is going on”, Siswono replied “And that something is that the old way of doing things are fading away.”

26th June 2003:
Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto was in full flow at a PKPB event in Pademawu, Madura, East Java, the hometown of Vice Chairman of the DPR Hartono. Calling on all PKPB members to refuse to be beaten into submission, Tutut said that “all those” claiming credit for today’s economic growth and for today’s prosperity better remember that they stand on the shoulders of President Soeharto and that without Soeharto’s successes, the nation would not be where it is at today. She refused to take questions from the press about KIA’s request to terminate its partnership with Timor.

Heading out to depart from his office for an event, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti was asked about the previous day’s United States Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts which has brought interest rates down to historic lows in that country. Dorodjatun said that the Federal Reserves are seeking to push the American economy into full recovery after the 2001 downturn and adds that the government is most definitely monitoring to see what effect this has on the Indonesian economy.

27th June 2003:
The Presidential Palace today played host to a ceremony attended by the top officials of the Department of Defense and Security and the top brass of ABRI. The President stood and watched proudly as he acted as witness to two signing ceremonies:

The first ceremony involved Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto and German Minister of Defense Peter Struck who had come from Germany to conclude what had been unfinished some weeks ago at the G-8 Summit. The deal which Wiranto and Struck signed off meant that the following will now be heading in Indonesia’s direction:

*94 Leopard 2 MBTs
*50 Marder IFVs
*12 MiG-29s aircrafts
*18 RM-70 rocket launchers
*3 Gepard-class fast attack craft

Then it was the turn of Junior Minister of Defense and Security Adwin Suryohadiprodjo, who signed an agreement with Texmaco’s Marimutu Sinivasan which would see the latter produce 300 Perkasa Trucks for ABRI to transport personnel and equipment.

The President in his speech said that the deals signed represented the effort Indonesia is making at strengthening its military capability by both procuring weapons from abroad as well as domestically by supporting the local defense industry. The speech started off routine though it featured comments that embassies in Jakarta took to be a shot at Malaysia, China, and Australia.

“Around a month ago, a lot was made about certain procurements of weapons by a neighboring country and my response is the same now as it was then: I take note accordingly. And I say that because it would be exhausting if we were to worry about every single weapons procurement being made in the region and around the world. Rather than worry, I would much rather ask certain others to respect what is going on here. I have not made a fuss about what has been procured from where and with the encouragement of whom so I hope no fuss will be made about what ABRI has procured for itself here and throughout the course of my presidency.”

28th June 2003:
It was in the afternoon when the President begged leave from First Lady Tuti Setiawati and his family to have a meeting at a private corner of the Presidential Palace. Arriving on time and almost to the second as he promised to meet with the President was none other than State Secretary Edi Sudrajat.

“Well, how did it go?” asked the President when he was done with small talk.

“I met with Akbar Tandjung last night at Medan in the midst of his campaigning for support there, Mr. President” Edi reported “And we discussed many things.”

“How does he see his chances of winning now?” asked the President.

“He feels that he has better odds after this week, Mr. President”, Edi said “The completion of BLBI repayments, the sight of KIA requesting to end its partnership with Timor and a Soeharto crony like Marimutu signing a government contract with us has caused sentiment to begin to change in the PKPB. Within even the ranks of Tutut supporters, there’s a sense that maybe, just maybe, the Chairwoman’s time is finished and that time has run out for Soehartoism. For Akbar and his supporters, this has made them even more certain that they are doing the right thing.”

The President nodded his head as he processed what he had just heard.

“What about what I have proposed to him to solve the dilemma of not being able to support him openly?” asked the President.

“He has said that it will be more than sufficient, Mr. President”, Edi said “If you’re able to successfully use the means that you have at your disposal on Tutut, he will be more than happy to ensure the PKPB’s support for the Anti-Terror Bill. He also pledges to have a more constructive relationship with the government in the event of his election as Chairman of the PKPB though having said that, he hopes you will excuse him if the PKPB disagrees with the government from time to time and when the PKPB takes up the fight to the PKPI at the next election.”

“We’ll see about that”, the President said about the last part “But other than that it’s all good.”

“One more thing, Mr. President”, Edi said “He also said that because it will not be possible for you to support him openly, he begs leave to look for political support from other elements which may help him gain election to the chairmanship.”

“Other elements?” repeated the President “What or who do you suppose he means by that?”

“I would not know”, Edi said “But I have said on your behalf that given that you cannot support him openly, it’s not your place to stop him from gaining alternative sources of political support.”

“You speak with my voice and what you say is correct”, the President assured Edi even as he wondered whose support Akbar will be looking for.

“Thank you, Mr. President”, Edi said as he studied the President’s expression “And now the only question that remains to be answered is whether or not you are ready to do what you intend to do to Tutut.”

“You leave that to me”, the President said.

30th June 2003:
The President had his breakfast meeting with Vice President JB Sumarlin. Sumarlin reported that in the days after the Federal Reserve’s rate cut, the Rupiah had gotten stronger and has now reached $1= Rp. 3,983. But Sumarlin saw the serious expression on the President’s face and asked if he wanted to talk about something else. The President replied by pulling out the folder of documents which Attorney General Muchtar Arifin had given to him the week prior. Bemused, Sumarlin began opening the folder when the President pushed it across the table to him.

Sumarlin read only the executive summary before he felt that this was enough, closed the folder, and pushed the folder back to the President.

“Whatever you choose to do with this, I’m behind you every step of the way, Mr. President”, Sumarlin said “But for my own sake, I would like to know, Mr. President, what is your intention towards Tutut Soeharto?”

“I overcame her at the 2003 MPR General Session and now she is barely holding on, Mr. Vice President”, the President said “My intention now is to finish the job, make sure that she has no chance at political recovery and make sure that this is her political demise.”

“I understand, Mr. President”, Sumarlin said “It’s just that…”

The President watched as Sumarlin took off his glasses and reach for the tissues on the table to wipe away the tears streaming down his face.

“It’s just that without President Soeharto, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now”, Sumarlin said, slightly sobbing.

The President sat back and his mind wandered a few decades to the past.

---
Nearly three decades prior...
“Try, what’s this I hear about your son?” asked President Soeharto.

“I apologize, Mr. President”, Presidential Aide-de-Camp Try Sutrisno replied “It’s just that I don’t want such things to distract from my duties.”

“Your son can’t see because firecrackers blew up in his eyes, you’re already distracted, that much I can guarantee”, said the President.

“Sir, Yes Sir”, Try replied, looking down at the floor.

“There’s a hospital in Boston, United States that’s been recommended to me”, the President said “You need to take your son and get his eyes treated.”

“But the costs for the treatment…for everything”, stammered Try.

“I’ve got the costs covered, Try, you just focus on getting him treated”, the President said.

---
The President’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rustling as Sumarlin pushed the tissue box across the table to him. Without realizing it, the President had also wept at the thought of his predecessor.

Tutut was at Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi to attend an event held to show support for her re-election as chairwoman and she was at the airport when a call came in on her mobile phone. It was her brother Bambang Trihatmodjo.

“Mbakyu, I have been summoned by Mas Try to the Palace”, said Bambang “I just wanted to let you know.”

“You’re not getting arrested right?” joked Tutut as she shared a laugh with Bambang before becoming serious “Well, your Head of State summons you…go to him.”

Tutut caught the flight back to Jakarta and it was evening when she arrived; riding in her car back to Cendana Street. When she walked inside, Bambang was already waiting for her and looking a bit pale.

“Mbakyu, please be honest with me” Bambang said without bothering with the small talk “Those Scorpion Tanks that were purchased in Bapak’s last few years, did you or did you not take a commission from that?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” asked Tutut “What did you talk about with Mas Try?”

“It absolutely has everything to do with anything, Mbakyu”, Bambang said “The Attorney General’s Office, they’ve found a lot of material on you and the tanks and…”

“Whatever it is he thinks he’s found on me, he’s just playing a political game and trying to score political points, you know that right?” Tutut asked angrily though something in her voice hinted at panic.

“I don’t know and could care less about political games right now”, Bambang countered “The only thing I know for certain is that he thinks he's found dirt on you, enough dirt that he thinks you might be interested in what he has to offer you."

Tutut kept a poker face but her heart was beating fast.

"What does he want to offer me?" asked Tutut.

“He’s offering to turn a blind eye to whatever it is that the Attorney General’s Office has found on you and the Scorpion Tanks but that in exchange, you would have to fulfill three specific conditions.” Bambang said.

“And what are those conditions?” asked Tutut.

“First, that you withdraw your candidacy as Chairwoman of the PKPB at the Extraordinary National Congress and not back any other candidates for chairman at the Extraordinary National Congress”, Bambang replied “Second, that you and any others related to you will retire from politics and political activity at the conclusion of the Extraordinary National Congress.”

“And the third condition?” demanded Tutut.

“That you publicly declare and acknowledge that he is not only the President of the Republic of Indonesia but that he is also our father’s one true constitutional successor”, said Bambang.

Tutut scoffed slightly at this last condition.

“And if I don’t fulfill these conditions?” she asked.

“Then whether you win, lose, draw or whatever at the Extraordinary National Congress will not matter because it is his intention to make sure you are prosecuted should you choose to ignore his conditions”, Bambang replied.

---
This was going to be a giant chapter but I decided to split it into two, the previous chapter and this one.

In OTL, KIA Motors’ proposal was to restructure Timor Putra Nasional and continue cooperation, provided that Tommy is no longer involved https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timor_(mobil)#Pasca_sengketa_WTO

In a way Timor does better ITTL because even without the National Car status, Indonesia has survived the Asian Financial Crisis and is growing strongly so there’ll be more of a market for it. But this is KIA’s ITTL way of saying that they don’t want to be associated with Tommy anymore.

The amount of Rp. 3,99 trillion is based on OTL though I’m not sure whether or not this has been successfully collected. https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...1&dq=ppn+bm+timor&pg=PA29&printsec=frontcover

If anybody’s wondering, the division of labor between Wiranto and Adwin is that the latter is mostly concerned with equipment that’s produced in Indonesia. Adwin is unofficially the minister of defense industries. In OTL, Adwin was close to Habibie and was the CEO of PT. PAL though it’s unclear when his tenure ended.

Texmaco claims that because it did not own a bank, it has not received BLBI. In practice, it did borrow a lot of money from banks during the Asian Financial Crisis and the collection of the debt is often related to the BLBI. As of 2022, this debt has not been settled yet (https://kumparan.com/ryanghiff23/menteri-keuangan-texmaco-harus-bayar-utang-1xcteDNHZq4). We can say here that because everything related is BLBI is settled, Texmaco has also settled its debts. Basically, Try waited until everything was settled before it approves of the Perkasa Trucks.

The other significance is that according to Laksamana Sukardi, Texmaco was close to Soeharto and was able to get the loans that it got because Soeharto facilitated it (https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/marke...-dengan-soeharto-gus-dur-hingga-terlilit-blbi), so we have here a Soeharto crony “switching sides” to Try.

Sumarlin getting teary-eyed about Soeharto is a reflection of his OTL self crying when he was first appointed as a minister by Soeharto https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/1304436/air-mata-jb-sumarlin-ketika-ditunjuk-soeharto-jadi-menteri

For the OTL story of Try’s son nearly going blind because of firecrackers and Soeharto ordering for treatment and paying for the bills, check out https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...ufik+dwi+cahyono&pg=PA117&printsec=frontcover

 

[Kosaki_MacTavish]

24th June 2003:
Arriving at the DPR building for work and being crowded around by the press, Chairman of the DPR Matori Abdul Djalil said that the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress was a matter for the the PKPB to resolve. From the DPR’s point of view, however, Matori hopes that the situation will be resolved soon because it is causing disruption to the DPR’s agenda and that the DPR is practically not in session because its PKPB members are out of Jakarta campaigning for whoever they are supporting at the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress.

IIRC they got around 36 percent on the 2002 Election. Certainly more than enough to prevent a 66% quorum to be met so that the DPR can have their sessions in-between. Well, also a TIL moment for me since i thought the New Order-era quorum is around 50%.

At the Presidential Palace, President Try Sutrisno met with Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo. Ari spoke about his recent trip out of Jakarta which took him to Aceh, Irian Jaya, and East Timor over the last few weeks. He spoke of the “eerie silence” as far as any traces of the GAM, OPM, and FRETILIN in those three provinces were concerned. No acts of terror against local security apparatus or against the general community, no weapons being stolen in raids, no unofficial taxes being imposed on local populace, even the known FRETILIN presence in East Timor has been dormant and not attempted to do anything since the Singapore Settlement in 1999.

“It’s silence inside the country but it’s clear from what we know that something is being prepared from outside of the country”, the President said “Something doesn’t add up.”

So Falintil has finally stopped doing back-channel communications with TNI, right? I wonder about the remaining Garda Paksi holdouts....

25th June 2003:
Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo, Head of the BKPM Mari Pangestu and Junior Minister of Finance Darmin Nasution held a joint press conference after they emerged out of the meeting with the President. Siswono said that the government had received a letter from South Korea’s KIA Motors informing the government of its intention to terminate its partnership with car manufacturers PT. Timor Putra Nasional and to invest in Indonesia on its own accord rather than as part of a partnership with. Timor. Mari said that while the termination of the partnership between KIA Motors and Timor was a matter for the companies in question, the President has instructed that KIA Motors be accommodated accordingly so they can invest in Indonesia as a single actor rather than as part of a partnership.

When asked about what will happen to Timor, Siswono said that this was a matter for Timor to decide as a private enterprise but added that the only thing that is for certain is that the arrangement between KIA Motors and Timor is coming to an end.

Darmin added that another thing that is certain is that Timor still has outstanding debt to the state in the form of duties and taxes. Darmin pointed to the fact that in the period that Timor enjoyed National Car status, it had imported 40,000 units of cars from South Korea without having had to pay import duties, import VATs, and luxury goods VATs. While Timor has paid its obligations after it had lost its National Car status, it has not paid its obligations for the cars it imported while it had National Car status. Darmin said that the amount still owed to the state is Rp. 3,99 trillion.

The question everyone was keen to hear an answer for was what is the political significance of this decision and at this Siswono became thoughtful.

“Last week we saw matters related to the BLBI being officially settled and now this, I think it’s safe to say that something significant is going on”, Siswono replied “And that something is that the old way of doing things are fading away.”

Ceetainly, Pak Sis.... And Tommy got screwed again lol

26th June 2003:
Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto was in full flow at a PKPB event in Pademawu, Madura, East Java, the hometown of Vice Chairman of the DPR Hartono. Calling on all PKPB members to refuse to be beaten into submission, Tutut said that “all those” claiming credit for today’s economic growth and for today’s prosperity better remember that they stand on the shoulders of President Soeharto and that without Soeharto’s successes, the nation would not be where it is at today. She refused to take questions from the press about KIA’s request to terminate its partnership with Timor.

Well, on one hand Soeharto listened to Berkeley Mafia during the "bad times" to going stronger, but relented since he listened more to his cronies and family during the "good times". Better to keep going stronger, eh?

There are Trans-Islands tolls to be built, villages to get 24-hour electricity, the peace to be maintained, and especially a prosperous Indonesia to be made after 10 REPELITAs. I'd say it's still a "bad time" until we got into the 11th one, hehe.

Heading out to depart from his office for an event, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti was asked about the previous day’s United States Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts which has brought interest rates down to historic lows in that country. Dorodjatun said that the Federal Reserves are seeking to push the American economy into full recovery after the 2001 downturn and adds that the government is most definitely monitoring to see what effect this has on the Indonesian economy.

Road to Rp3.500/USD let's gooooo!!!

27th June 2003:
The Presidential Palace today played host to a ceremony attended by the top officials of the Department of Defense and Security and the top brass of ABRI. The President stood and watched proudly as he acted as witness to two signing ceremonies:

The first ceremony involved Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto and German Minister of Defense Peter Struck who had come from Germany to conclude what had been unfinished some weeks ago at the G-8 Summit. The deal which Wiranto and Struck signed off meant that the following will now be heading in Indonesia’s direction:

*94 Leopard 2 MBTs
*50 Marder IFVs
*12 MiG-29s aircrafts
*18 RM-70 rocket launchers
*3 Gepard-class fast attack craft

Nice.

Then it was the turn of Junior Minister of Defense and Security Adwin Suryohadiprodjo, who signed an agreement with Texmaco’s Marimutu Sinivasan which would see the latter produce 300 Perkasa Trucks for ABRI to transport personnel and equipment.

Look who's back.

The President in his speech said that the deals signed represented the effort Indonesia is making at strengthening its military capability by both procuring weapons from abroad as well as domestically by supporting the local defense industry. The speech started off routine though it featured comments that embassies in Jakarta took to be a shot at Malaysia, China, and Australia.

“Around a month ago, a lot was made about certain procurements of weapons by a neighboring country and my response is the same now as it was then: I take note accordingly. And I say that because it would be exhausting if we were to worry about every single weapons procurement being made in the region and around the world. Rather than worry, I would much rather ask certain others to respect what is going on here. I have not made a fuss about what has been procured from where and with the encouragement of whom so I hope no fuss will be made about what ABRI has procured for itself here and throughout the course of my presidency.”

Ha, knowing Najib....

28th June 2003:
It was in the afternoon when the President begged leave from First Lady Tuti Setiawati and his family to have a meeting at a private corner of the Presidential Palace. Arriving on time and almost to the second as he promised to meet with the President was none other than State Secretary Edi Sudrajat.

“Well, how did it go?” asked the President when he was done with small talk.

“I met with Akbar Tandjung last night at Medan in the midst of his campaigning for support there, Mr. President” Edi reported “And we discussed many things.”

“How does he see his chances of winning now?” asked the President.

“He feels that he has better odds after this week, Mr. President”, Edi said “The completion of BLBI repayments, the sight of KIA requesting to end its partnership with Timor and a Soeharto crony like Marimutu signing a government contract with us has caused sentiment to begin to change in the PKPB. Within even the ranks of Tutut supporters, there’s a sense that maybe, just maybe, the Chairwoman’s time is finished and that time has run out for Soehartoism. For Akbar and his supporters, this has made them even more certain that they are doing the right thing.”

The President nodded his head as he processed what he had just heard.

Oh, nice.

“What about what I have proposed to him to solve the dilemma of not being able to support him openly?” asked the President.

“He has said that it will be more than sufficient, Mr. President”, Edi said “If you’re able to successfully use the means that you have at your disposal on Tutut, he will be more than happy to ensure the PKPB’s support for the Anti-Terror Bill. He also pledges to have a more constructive relationship with the government in the event of his election as Chairman of the PKPB though having said that, he hopes you will excuse him if the PKPB disagrees with the government from time to time and when the PKPB takes up the fight to the PKPI at the next election.”

“We’ll see about that”, the President said about the last part “But other than that it’s all good.”

Would be interesting to see how the PKPB-PKPI dynamic would play out. Perhaps PKPB would strengthened their image as "The Villagers' Party"?

“One more thing, Mr. President”, Edi said “He also said that because it will not be possible for you to support him openly, he begs leave to look for political support from other elements which may help him gain election to the chairmanship.”

“Other elements?” repeated the President “What or who do you suppose he means by that?”

“I would not know”, Edi said “But I have said on your behalf that given that you cannot support him openly, it’s not your place to stop him from gaining alternative sources of political support.”

“You speak with my voice and what you say is correct”, the President assured Edi even as he wondered whose support Akbar will be looking for.

Well, he was an activist. Surely he still has his connections from back then.

“Thank you, Mr. President”, Edi said as he studied the President’s expression “And now the only question that remains to be answered is whether or not you are ready to do what you intend to do to Tutut.”

“You leave that to me”, the President said.

So what is it? Timor? Cloves? The defense industry contracts Tutut took over from the officers back then?

30th June 2003:
The President had his breakfast meeting with Vice President JB Sumarlin. Sumarlin reported that in the days after the Federal Reserve’s rate cut, the Rupiah had gotten stronger and has now reached $1= Rp. 3,983.

Well, it begins.

But Sumarlin saw the serious expression on the President’s face and asked if he wanted to talk about something else. The President replied by pulling out the folder of documents which Attorney General Muchtar Arifin had given to him the week prior. Bemused, Sumarlin began opening the folder when the President pushed it across the table to him.

Sumarlin read only the executive summary before he felt that this was enough, closed the folder, and pushed the folder back to the President.

“Whatever you choose to do with this, I’m behind you every step of the way, Mr. President”, Sumarlin said “But for my own sake, I would like to know, Mr. President, what is your intention towards Tutut Soeharto?”

“I overcame her at the 2003 MPR General Session and now she is barely holding on, Mr. Vice President”, the President said “My intention now is to finish the job, make sure that she has no chance at political recovery and make sure that this is her political demise.”

“I understand, Mr. President”, Sumarlin said “It’s just that…”

The President watched as Sumarlin took off his glasses and reach for the tissues on the table to wipe away the tears streaming down his face.

“It’s just that without President Soeharto, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now”, Sumarlin said, slightly sobbing.

Man....

The President sat back and his mind wandered a few decades to the past.

---
Nearly three decades prior...
“Try, what’s this I hear about your son?” asked President Soeharto.

“I apologize, Mr. President”, Presidential Aide-de-Camp Try Sutrisno replied “It’s just that I don’t want such things to distract from my duties.”

“Your son can’t see because firecrackers blew up in his eyes, you’re already distracted, that much I can guarantee”, said the President.

“Sir, Yes Sir”, Try replied, looking down at the floor.

“There’s a hospital in Boston, United States that’s been recommended to me”, the President said “You need to take your son and get his eyes treated.”

“But the costs for the treatment…for everything”, stammered Try.

“I’ve got the costs covered, Try, you just focus on getting him treated”, the President said.

---
The President’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rustling as Sumarlin pushed the tissue box across the table to him. Without realizing it, the President had also wept at the thought of his predecessor.

The Big Man's influence is still there even after five years. But Tutut is not her father.

Tutut was at Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi to attend an event held to show support for her re-election as chairwoman and she was at the airport when a call came in on her mobile phone. It was her brother Bambang Trihatmodjo.

“Mbakyu, I have been summoned by Mas Try to the Palace”, said Bambang “I just wanted to let you know.”

“You’re not getting arrested right?” joked Tutut as she shared a laugh with Bambang before becoming serious “Well, your Head of State summons you…go to him.”

Tutut caught the flight back to Jakarta and it was evening when she arrived; riding in her car back to Cendana Street. When she walked inside, Bambang was already waiting for her and looking a bit pale.

“Mbakyu, please be honest with me” Bambang said without bothering with the small talk “Those Scorpion Tanks that were purchased in Bapak’s last few years, did you or did you not take a commission from that?”

Oh, that one....

“What does that have to do with anything?” asked Tutut “What did you talk about with Mas Try?”

“It absolutely has everything to do with anything, Mbakyu”, Bambang said “The Attorney General’s Office, they’ve found a lot of material on you and the tanks and…”

“Whatever it is he thinks he’s found on me, he’s just playing a political game and trying to score political points, you know that right?” Tutut asked angrily though something in her voice hinted at panic.

“I don’t know and could care less about political games right now”, Bambang countered “The only thing I know for certain is that he thinks he's found dirt on you, enough dirt that he thinks you might be interested in what he has to offer you."

Tutut kept a poker face but her heart was beating fast.

"What does he want to offer me?" asked Tutut.

“He’s offering to turn a blind eye to whatever it is that the Attorney General’s Office has found on you and the Scorpion Tanks but that in exchange, you would have to fulfill three specific conditions.” Bambang said.

“And what are those conditions?” asked Tutut.

“First, that you withdraw your candidacy as Chairwoman of the PKPB at the Extraordinary National Congress and not back any other candidates for chairman at the Extraordinary National Congress”, Bambang replied “Second, that you and any others related to you will retire from politics and political activity at the conclusion of the Extraordinary National Congress.”

“And the third condition?” demanded Tutut.

“That you publicly declare and acknowledge that he is not only the President of the Republic of Indonesia but that he is also our father’s one true constitutional successor”, said Bambang.

Tutut scoffed slightly at this last condition.

“And if I don’t fulfill these conditions?” she asked.

“Then whether you win, lose, draw or whatever at the Extraordinary National Congress will not matter because it is his intention to make sure you are prosecuted should you choose to ignore his conditions”, Bambang replied.

Ooooooffffff......

Well, this is a very bitter pill for Tutut to swallow. She still wanted the presidency and now it would took something huge to make that happened. Especially the third condition. It's so over.

And also, Yusril, the Jemaah Tarbiyah guys, and especially Prabowo would not go down easily just like that even if Tutut buckles (but Maulani and Hartono would probably followed Tutut still).

---
This was going to be a giant chapter but I decided to split it into two, the previous chapter and this one.

Nice. I think you did the right thing since the vibes for those two chapters are different enough that it warranted a split.

In OTL, KIA Motors’ proposal was to restructure Timor Putra Nasional and continue cooperation, provided that Tommy is no longer involved https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timor_(mobil)#Pasca_sengketa_WTO

In a way Timor does better ITTL because even without the National Car status, Indonesia has survived the Asian Financial Crisis and is growing strongly so there’ll be more of a market for it. But this is KIA’s ITTL way of saying that they don’t want to be associated with Tommy anymore.

The amount of Rp. 3,99 trillion is based on OTL though I’m not sure whether or not this has been successfully collected. https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...1&dq=ppn+bm+timor&pg=PA29&printsec=frontcover

Haha, suck that.

If anybody’s wondering, the division of labor between Wiranto and Adwin is that the latter is mostly concerned with equipment that’s produced in Indonesia. Adwin is unofficially the minister of defense industries. In OTL, Adwin was close to Habibie and was the CEO of PT. PAL though it’s unclear when his tenure ended.

TIL.

Texmaco claims that because it did not own a bank, it has not received BLBI. In practice, it did borrow a lot of money from banks during the Asian Financial Crisis and the collection of the debt is often related to the BLBI. As of 2022, this debt has not been settled yet (https://kumparan.com/ryanghiff23/menteri-keuangan-texmaco-harus-bayar-utang-1xcteDNHZq4). We can say here that because everything related is BLBI is settled, Texmaco has also settled its debts. Basically, Try waited until everything was settled before it approves of the Perkasa Trucks.

The other significance is that according to Laksamana Sukardi, Texmaco was close to Soeharto and was able to get the loans that it got because Soeharto facilitated it (https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/marke...-dengan-soeharto-gus-dur-hingga-terlilit-blbi), so we have here a Soeharto crony “switching sides” to Try.

One down.

Sumarlin getting teary-eyed about Soeharto is a reflection of his OTL self crying when he was first appointed as a minister by Soeharto https://bisnis.tempo.co/read/1304436/air-mata-jb-sumarlin-ketika-ditunjuk-soeharto-jadi-menteri

Huh, since early '70s? He's certainly part of the Berkeley Mafia, then, and certainly knows about the "bad times and good times" adage....

For the OTL story of Try’s son nearly going blind because of firecrackers and Soeharto ordering for treatment and paying for the bills, check out https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...ufik+dwi+cahyono&pg=PA117&printsec=frontcover

Still patting his head nowadays, Presiden Try?

 

[GSD310]

The Big Man's influence is still there even after five years. But Tutut is not her father.

Yeah, that's the thing I wanted to highlight. The reader is probably cheering that Try is brave enough to take on Soeharto family interests but it's not necessarily the case that Try himself enjoys it. It's more likely the case that he doesn't feel good about it because of his respect for Soeharto. I don't think I'm trying to add drama by making Try not enjoy and feel guilty about what he's doing because I think that would be the result of Try's background and his relationship to Soeharto. If Edi was the one to b president, he would not have the same struggle as Try because he's on the record of openly being critical of the New Order while being Army Chief of Staff (https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...father+knows+best&pg=PA88&printsec=frontcover)

That said, OTL suggests that Try is not ignorant about what's wrong with Soeharto and his rule. He's not confrontative about it but he's brave enough to talk about issues such as succession and Soeharto's children being involved in business with Soeharto himself though he gets brushed off. (https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...="Kau+salah,+Ben"&pg=PA84&printsec=frontcover)

Oh, that one....

Yeah, I wonder if those who read the previous chapter would think that it was the Scorpions. The idea at this point in the story is that Try has some dirt that's specific to Tutut. In OTL, Tutut was never prosecuted for it. The most that happened was that she got summoned to the DPR and questioned but that's about it.

Suap 16,5 Juta Poundsterling dalam Pembelian Tank Scorpion oleh Indonesia

The Guardian tulis tentang pembelian tank Scorpion dari Alvis oleh pemerintah Indonesia pada 1995. Siti Hardjanti Rukmana mendapat komisi 16,5 juta poundsterling.

nasional.tempo.co

Tutut Membantah Menerima Komisi Pembelian 50 Scorpion

Komisi I DPR memanggil Mbak Tutut, Wismoyo Arismunandar dan R. Hartono. Mbak Tutut membantah menerima uang pelicin untuk memuluskan pembelian tank Scorpion buatan Inggris pada 1995-1996.

www.liputan6.com

 

[Kosaki_MacTavish]

Yeah, that's the thing I wanted to highlight. The reader is probably cheering that Try is brave enough to take on Soeharto family interests but it's not necessarily the case that Try himself enjoys it. It's more likely the case that he doesn't feel good about it because of his respect for Soeharto. I don't think I'm trying to add drama by making Try not enjoy and feel guilty about what he's doing because I think that would be the result of Try's background and his relationship to Soeharto.

Well, one can say that by cleaning up the mess left by his children, Soeharto's image would be preserved and PNI would keep maintaining that Try is just as the same as Soeharto, lol

But then again, would Tutut care more about her father's image or her presidential chance.... And that's not counting her non-sibling inner circle.

Yeah, I wonder if those who read the previous chapter would think that it was the Scorpions.

Frankly, i got misdirected since i thought it was related to the Malaysian case instead of Tutut's, but i looked up again yesterday and it was Scorpene-class French submarines, not Scorpion tanks developed by the British.

 

[GSD310]

Well, one can say that by cleaning up the mess left by his children, Soeharto's image would be preserved and PNI would keep maintaining that Try is just as the same as Soeharto, lol

You can say that. ITTL, Soeharto's image is most definitely better than OTL. It's very much a "there's whispers about 1965 and his children but he's very much respected".

So Falintil has finally stopped doing back-channel communications with TNI, right? I wonder about the remaining Garda Paksi holdouts....

Heh...

 

[GSD310]

1st July 2003:
The PKPB National Headquarters was the scene of a lot of activity with cars arriving. The news was then announced that Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto was having a meeting with Vice Chairman of the DPR Hartono, Leader of the PKPB in the DPR Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani, Treasurer of the PKPB Fuad Bawazier, and Prabowo Subianto. ZA Maulani acted as the spokesperson after the meeting. Looking strained, Maulani said that Tutut remains focused on achieving re-election at the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress and that the next few days will be spent in “internal consolidation”.

At the Presidential Palace, Minister of Information, Post, and Telecommunication Dahlan Iskan emerged out of a meeting with President Try Sutrisno. In his press conference, Dahlan said that the President had approved of Dahlan’s preparations to submit amendments of the Press Law. Dahlan explained that though this is an amendment to the existing Press Law instead of a new law, which the press quickly interpreted that it was still possible for the government to close down publications, it contains within it certain improvements. Two of the most notable improvements in the amended law was that the procedures to establish a publication will be simplified and that the Press Council will be made into an independent agency that will be chaired by someone from the press world rather than by the minister as has been the case.

Another notable addition will be the “electronic information” component of the proposed amended law. Dahlan said that this was leftover homework from his predecessor and that the internet needs to be regulated given that internet users in Indonesia has grown and will continue to grow especially that the Nusantara 21 project scheduled to be completed in 2005.

2nd July 2003:
The President chaired a cabinet meeting attended by Vice President JB Sumarlin and the Eighth Development Cabinet. The President opened proceedings by saying that even though Belgrade is about to fall, the meeting will not be discussing that aspect of United States policy but rather the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts the previous week which has brought interest rates at that country to levels last seen during the Eisenhower Administration. As result of that rate cut, people are seeking to put their money elsewhere, including in Indonesia and in the last week the Rupiah has strengthened, reaching $1= Rp. 3,967 as of that morning.

Inviting a discussion, it was clear there was a variety of views around the table though the ones who expressed approval spoke first. Governor of Bank Indonesia Bambang Subianto said that stronger currency helps feed a virtuous cycle that lowers inflation. Inflation is lower, Indonesia becomes more attractive to invest in, the currency become stronger, inflation is lower and it goes around and around. Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto said that given Indonesia still imports most of its weapon systems, a stronger currency is great and joked whether he should have waited another month and gotten more Leopards and MiGs causing laughter in the room.

Head of the BKPM Mari Pangestu was ambivalent, saying that whether or not a stronger currency was good thing will depend on who they talk to. Foreign investors will see Indonesia as becoming more expensive to invest in even as domestic investors feel that it is cheaper to set up factories and plants and import materials and inputs.

Minister of Trade Anthony Salim was less ambivalent. At the moment imports are cheap but Indonesia’s exports are and will become expensive. Indonesia’s FMCG markets in Africa, for example, are still comfortable with the Rupiah at Rp.4,000-4,100= $1 because the Department of Trade is encouraging them to buy wholesale from Indonesian FMCG producers and similarly to Indonesian FMCG producers to sell wholesale to help keep costs down. But if the Rupiah gets too strong, he worries there will come a point where Nigeria or Ethiopia or Tanzania will start to complain about the price.

Anthony said that of course, this is just FMCGs. When it comes to exports more broadly, Indonesia faces strong competition in the region and a stronger currency will, and probably already has, put Indonesian exports at a disadvantage.

The strongest voice expressing disapproval at the strong currency came from Minister of Tourism Sutiyoso. He reported that he was in Bali recently where the impression he got from the hotels was that that occupancy was not necessarily down but stagnant and that similar numbers to last year were expected. Inspecting airports, the foreign travellers there are saying that while Indonesia is still attractive to travel to, there are “certainly other countries more economic than Indonesia to travel this year” while the domestic tourists are saying that going overseas, especially to ASEAN nations where there are no longer exit taxes, is tempting because the strong currency “has made it cheaper”.

When the cabinet meeting was finished, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti was given the task of talking to the press. Dorodjatun conveyed the President’s message, namely that a strong currency brings with it its own challenges and that the cabinet has been instructed to prepare a policy package to address the challenges that comes with having a strong currency.

3rd July 2003:
The President landed in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. His first engagement was at the Department of Religion’s Palangkaraya offices where accompanied by Minister of Religion Slamet Effendy Yusuf and Governor of Central Kalimantan Zainuri Hasyim opened the 20th Qur’an Recitation Competion (MTQ).

From Palangkaraya, the President headed out to the Tumbang Nusa village where accompanied by Minister of Public Works Budi Soesilo Soepandji and once again by Zainuri he inaugurated the Tumbang Nusa Bridge, a bridge spanning 10 KM along the Palangkaraya-Banjarmasin Road with peat swamps either side. The President was inspecting the bridge when he realized that the Palace press corps which had come along with him to Palangkaraya was restless and fussing about something. Though he continued to politely listen about the construction process of the bridge, the President was sufficiently curious to send State Secretary Edi Sudrajat to ask what all the fuss was about. A few minutes later, Edi passed a handwritten note to the President.

“News from Jakarta: Akbar Tandjung and Ginandjar Kartasasmita about to hold a press conference together”.

When the event was over and the Presidential motorcade began to take him back to Palangkaraya, the President asked for the radio to be turned on to the RRI. By that time Akbar was having his press conference, talking about how he wanted the PKPB to play a constructive role in Indonesian politics.

“And constructive also means looking beyond the Extraordinary National Congress to what I believe the PKPB can do in the coming years as a political force”, Akbar said “To become an even stronger political force than we already are, we will once again be needing our existing members to band together. At the same time, we will need new members to strengthen our party and reinvigorate it. New members with the proven talent and experience, new members such as my former colleague for 10 years in cabinet, Ginandjar Kartasasmita!!”

The President only smiled enigmatically as he thought to himself that this was the “alternative source of support” Akbar had talked about. Meanwhile, Ginandjar spoke, saying how a PKPB membership had been offered to him but that he had not made up his mind.

“I see in Akbar Tandjung not merely someone wanting to play a constructive role”, said Ginandjar “But someone with the correct temperament and the correct mindset to lead this party into this future. This is why I am here today in front of all of you to inform you that conditional on Akbar Tandjung’s victory, I will be a member of the PKPB!”

When he arrived back at the Tjilik Riwut Airport, the President repeated once again to the press that who Ginandjar is supporting or not supporting or which party Ginandjar is joining or not joining is a matter for Ginandjar.

When the Presidential Airplane arrived back at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman was there to inform him of the latest news. Belgrade had fallen to the United States and its allies and President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic had evacuated the city with his followers; the United States and its allies having made it look as though they were about to march on Belgrade from the direction of Montenegro but launching a surprise attack from Vukovar, Croatia's direction when all of Yugoslavia’s attention was directed at Montenegro.

But there was more important news for the President than the United States’ 4th July eve victory. Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan was also there to greet him and to inform him that developments were happening quickly.

“Ginandjar’s associates and followers, PKPB member or not, are now mobilizing for Akbar with a small bloc of PKPB DPR members led by Tantyo Sudharmono leading the way, Mr. President”, Sintong said “The word on the street right now is that it’s all over for Tutut.”

4th July 2003:
Things were now happening quickly. The morning saw Tutut meet again with her inner circle though when the meeting broke up, she was nowhere to be seen and the men that came to meet him all looked pale.

At the Presidential Palace, the President held a ceremony in which he swore in the following:

*Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Syamsir Siregar as Governor of North Sumatra (second term)
*Armindo Soares Mariano as Governor of East Timor

As the President shook hands with the two governors, Edi rushed over and whispered something in his ear. The President followed Edi to a room where Bambang Trihatmodjo was waiting, having gone through the secret entrance of the Presidential Palace so as to avoid the cameras.

“My sister has sent me to tell you that what you have asked of her has implications not only for herself but also to the national political dynamic”, Bambang said “She has asked for your consideration on a few things before she agrees to anything.”

Edi scoffed that Tutut was still trying to act like she was in control.

“Bambang, your sister is aware what’s at stake here, right?” asked Edi impatiently “There’s the possibility of possible prosec…”

The President placed his hand on Edi’s shoulder and he kept his mouth shut.

“Very well, Bambang”, the President said “If she has her negotiating team already prepared and ready to go, I will name my negotiating team.”

“Yes, Mr. President”, said Bambang.

“Just one more thing, Bambang so there’s no miscommunication here”, the President said “We’re on the same wavelength here about what’s going to be discussed and negotiated, right? Because otherwise we’re just wasting time and I might as well get the Attorney General to get ready.”

“I hope there will be no no need for that Mr. President, because I completely understand your point”, Bambang replied, trying to sound as humble as possible “We will be discussing my sister’s terms of surrender.”

---
The amended Press Law will also contain OTL UU ITE’s electronic information portion. You’ll have to wait for Anthony Salim to get to it for the electronic transaction portion to get some attention.

On the Fed cutting interest rates to Eisenhower-era lows https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Key-Rate-Set-to-Hit-Eisenhower-Era-Low-7189758.php

Yeah, who knew a stronger currency brings with it its own problems, right?

I do remember vaguely the Rupiah becoming strong, or looking stronger, during Megawati’s presidency but I don’t remember if this was the case during the entirety of Megawati’s presidency or just during this period.

There are parallels here between what’s happening to Tutut and what happened to her father in OTL in 1998. In OTL, Soeharto tried to avoid resigning and buy time by conducting a cabinet reshuffle. In response, Ginandjar, Akbar, and 12 other ministers, wrote a collective letter to Soeharto to say that if Soeharto was to do that, they would not want to sit in the reshuffled cabinet. Effectively, this meant that Ginandjar, Akbar and these 12 ministers were withdrawing support from Soeharto. Ginandjar, who was Coordinating Minister of Economics was very much seen as the person in charge of this “betrayal”. https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/...ubah-saat-14-menteri-ekonomi-mundur-berjamaah

To further the parallel, the letter which was sent to Soeharto was written by Akbar https://books.google.co.id/books?id...=frontcover#v=snippet&q=tulisan akbar&f=false

Interestingly, being part of negotiations about Soeharto and his family’s fate is not entirely out of character for Try. In OTL, as Soeharto lay dying in 2008, Try proposed that the government and the Soeharto family come to a settlement regarding Soeharto’s civil court case (alleged misappropriation of his foundations’ funds) and tried to mediate between the two.

Try’s efforts to achieve a settlement for Soeharto, and Tutut’s rejection of it can be seen at https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2008/01/18/07571214/try.akui.inisiatif.dari.dirinya. It’s probably the closest that OTL Try and OTL Tutut had come to conflict over anything.

The significance of Bambang Trihatmodjo being the messenger going back and forth between Try and Tutut is that in OTL, Bambang reportedly favored Try for a second term as VP in 1998. Check out the last paragraph of https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...djo+try+sutrisno&pg=PA121&printsec=frontcover

 

[Kosaki_MacTavish]

1st July 2003:
The PKPB National Headquarters was the scene of a lot of activity with cars arriving. The news was then announced that Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto was having a meeting with Vice Chairman of the DPR Hartono, Leader of the PKPB in the DPR Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani, Treasurer of the PKPB Fuad Bawazier, and Prabowo Subianto. ZA Maulani acted as the spokesperson after the meeting. Looking strained, Maulani said that Tutut remains focused on achieving re-election at the PKPB Extraordinary National Congress and that the next few days will be spent in “internal consolidation”.

Lots of tug-of-war, i bet.

At the Presidential Palace, Minister of Information, Post, and Telecommunication Dahlan Iskan emerged out of a meeting with President Try Sutrisno. In his press conference, Dahlan said that the President had approved of Dahlan’s preparations to submit amendments of the Press Law. Dahlan explained that though this is an amendment to the existing Press Law instead of a new law, which the press quickly interpreted that it was still possible for the government to close down publications, it contains within it certain improvements. Two of the most notable improvements in the amended law was that the procedures to establish a publication will be simplified and that the Press Council will be made into an independent agency that will be chaired by someone from the press world rather than by the minister as has been the case.

Another notable addition will be the “electronic information” component of the proposed amended law. Dahlan said that this was leftover homework from his predecessor and that the internet needs to be regulated given that internet users in Indonesia has grown and will continue to grow especially that the Nusantara 21 project scheduled to be completed in 2005.

A bit free on the press front, but controls tightened for the internet....

2nd July 2003:
The President chaired a cabinet meeting attended by Vice President JB Sumarlin and the Eighth Development Cabinet. The President opened proceedings by saying that even though Belgrade is about to fall, the meeting will not be discussing that aspect of United States policy but rather the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts the previous week which has brought interest rates at that country to levels last seen during the Eisenhower Administration. As result of that rate cut, people are seeking to put their money elsewhere, including in Indonesia and in the last week the Rupiah has strengthened, reaching $1= Rp. 3,967 as of that morning.

Inviting a discussion, it was clear there was a variety of views around the table though the ones who expressed approval spoke first. Governor of Bank Indonesia Bambang Subianto said that stronger currency helps feed a virtuous cycle that lowers inflation. Inflation is lower, Indonesia becomes more attractive to invest in, the currency become stronger, inflation is lower and it goes around and around. Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto said that given Indonesia still imports most of its weapon systems, a stronger currency is great and joked whether he should have waited another month and gotten more Leopards and MiGs causing laughter in the room.

Lol

Head of the BKPM Mari Pangestu was ambivalent, saying that whether or not a stronger currency was good thing will depend on who they talk to. Foreign investors will see Indonesia as becoming more expensive to invest in even as domestic investors feel that it is cheaper to set up factories and plants and import materials and inputs.

Minister of Trade Anthony Salim was less ambivalent. At the moment imports are cheap but Indonesia’s exports are and will become expensive. Indonesia’s FMCG markets in Africa, for example, are still comfortable with the Rupiah at Rp.4,000-4,100= $1 because the Department of Trade is encouraging them to buy wholesale from Indonesian FMCG producers and similarly to Indonesian FMCG producers to sell wholesale to help keep costs down. But if the Rupiah gets too strong, he worries there will come a point where Nigeria or Ethiopia or Tanzania will start to complain about the price.

Anthony said that of course, this is just FMCGs. When it comes to exports more broadly, Indonesia faces strong competition in the region and a stronger currency will, and probably already has, put Indonesian exports at a disadvantage.

The strongest voice expressing disapproval at the strong currency came from Minister of Tourism Sutiyoso. He reported that he was in Bali recently where the impression he got from the hotels was that that occupancy was not necessarily down but stagnant and that similar numbers to last year were expected. Inspecting airports, the foreign travellers there are saying that while Indonesia is still attractive to travel to, there are “certainly other countries more economic than Indonesia to travel this year” while the domestic tourists are saying that going overseas, especially to ASEAN nations where there are no longer exit taxes, is tempting because the strong currency “has made it cheaper”.

I mean, if it means helping Turkey and other nations that got slumped down by the ongoing crisis, for me it's all right. I bet Rupiah is also weaker against Euro and Pound, making the British and Europeans feels more willing to visit Indonesia, but also stronger against Lira, Ringgit, and a few others that make their country's citizens less willing, notwithstanding the Aussies of course.....

When the cabinet meeting was finished, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti was given the task of talking to the press. Dorodjatun conveyed the President’s message, namely that a strong currency brings with it its own challenges and that the cabinet has been instructed to prepare a policy package to address the challenges that comes with having a strong currency.

Well, called it.

3rd July 2003:
The President landed in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan. His first engagement was at the Department of Religion’s Palangkaraya offices where accompanied by Minister of Religion Slamet Effendy Yusuf and Governor of Central Kalimantan Zainuri Hasyim opened the 20th Qur’an Recitation Competion (MTQ).

From Palangkaraya, the President headed out to the Tumbang Nusa village where accompanied by Minister of Public Works Budi Soesilo Soepandji and once again by Zainuri he inaugurated the Tumbang Nusa Bridge, a bridge spanning 10 KM along the Palangkaraya-Banjarmasin Road with peat swamps either side.

Wew, TIL.

The President was inspecting the bridge when he realized that the Palace press corps which had come along with him to Palangkaraya was restless and fussing about something. Though he continued to politely listen about the construction process of the bridge, the President was sufficiently curious to send State Secretary Edi Sudrajat to ask what all the fuss was about. A few minutes later, Edi passed a handwritten note to the President.

“News from Jakarta: Akbar Tandjung and Ginandjar Kartasasmita about to hold a press conference together”.

OOOOOOOHHHHH, IT'S HAPPPENING???

When the event was over and the Presidential motorcade began to take him back to Palangkaraya, the President asked for the radio to be turned on to the RRI. By that time Akbar was having his press conference, talking about how he wanted the PKPB to play a constructive role in Indonesian politics.

“And constructive also means looking beyond the Extraordinary National Congress to what I believe the PKPB can do in the coming years as a political force”, Akbar said “To become an even stronger political force than we already are, we will once again be needing our existing members to band together. At the same time, we will need new members to strengthen our party and reinvigorate it. New members with the proven talent and experience, new members such as my former colleague for 10 years in cabinet, Ginandjar Kartasasmita!!”

The President only smiled enigmatically as he thought to himself that this was the “alternative source of support” Akbar had talked about. Meanwhile, Ginandjar spoke, saying how a PKPB membership had been offered to him but that he had not made up his mind.

“I see in Akbar Tandjung not merely someone wanting to play a constructive role”, said Ginandjar “But someone with the correct temperament and the correct mindset to lead this party into this future. This is why I am here today in front of all of you to inform you that conditional on Akbar Tandjung’s victory, I will be a member of the PKPB!”

*clapping sound Now that's a REAL constructive force!

When he arrived back at the Tjilik Riwut Airport, the President repeated once again to the press that who Ginandjar is supporting or not supporting or which party Ginandjar is joining or not joining is a matter for Ginandjar.

Tutut and Prabowo would be fuming awokawokawokawokawok

When the Presidential Airplane arrived back at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman was there to inform him of the latest news. Belgrade had fallen to the United States and its allies and President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic had evacuated the city with his followers; the United States and its allies having made it look as though they were about to march on Belgrade from the direction of Montenegro but launching a surprise attack from Vukovar, Croatia's direction when all of Yugoslavia’s attention was directed at Montenegro.

Goodbye, Milosevic, for the time being....

But there was more important news for the President than the United States’ 4th July eve victory. Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan was also there to greet him and to inform him that developments were happening quickly.

“Ginandjar’s associates and followers, PKPB member or not, are now mobilizing for Akbar with a small bloc of PKPB DPR members led by Tantyo Sudharmono leading the way, Mr. President”, Sintong said “The word on the street right now is that it’s all over for Tutut.”

It's Tutover.

4th July 2003:
Things were now happening quickly. The morning saw Tutut meet again with her inner circle though when the meeting broke up, she was nowhere to be seen and the men that came to meet him all looked pale.

It's Hartonover, it's Yusrover, it's Maulanover, and it's Bawazover too.... >inb4 Prabowo

At the Presidential Palace, the President held a ceremony in which he swore in the following:

*Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Syamsir Siregar as Governor of North Sumatra (second term)
*Armindo Soares Mariano as Governor of East Timor

As the President shook hands with the two governors, Edi rushed over and whispered something in his ear. The President followed Edi to a room where Bambang Trihatmodjo was waiting, having gone through the secret entrance of the Presidential Palace so as to avoid the cameras.

“My sister has sent me to tell you that what you have asked of her has implications not only for herself but also to the national political dynamic”, Bambang said “She has asked for your consideration on a few things before she agrees to anything.”

Edi scoffed that Tutut was still trying to act like she was in control.

“Bambang, your sister is aware what’s at stake here, right?” asked Edi impatiently “There’s the possibility of possible prosec…”

The President placed his hand on Edi’s shoulder and he kept his mouth shut.

“Very well, Bambang”, the President said “If she has her negotiating team already prepared and ready to go, I will name my negotiating team.”

“Yes, Mr. President”, said Bambang.

“Just one more thing, Bambang so there’s no miscommunication here”, the President said “We’re on the same wavelength here about what’s going to be discussed and negotiated, right? Because otherwise we’re just wasting time and I might as well get the Attorney General to get ready.”

“I hope there will be no no need for that Mr. President, because I completely understand your point”, Bambang replied, trying to sound as humble as possible “We will be discussing my sister’s terms of surrender.”

Huehuehuehue.....

---
The amended Press Law will also contain OTL UU ITE’s electronic information portion. You’ll have to wait for Anthony Salim to get to it for the electronic transaction portion to get some attention.

I bet while it's a bit less vague compared to the OTL UU ITE, it would be stricter.

On the Fed cutting interest rates to Eisenhower-era lows https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Key-Rate-Set-to-Hit-Eisenhower-Era-Low-7189758.php

Yeah, who knew a stronger currency brings with it its own problems, right?

I do remember vaguely the Rupiah becoming strong, or looking stronger, during Megawati’s presidency but I don’t remember if this was the case during the entirety of Megawati’s presidency or just during this period.

Well, for me, not everything revolves around the American Dollar in regards of international trade. Depending on which country we're mainly importing or having the hard currencies from, a weaker strength for that specific currency would benefits. Surely the members of Jakarta Bloc are using their own currencies for trading with each other, right? Because all of my enthusiasm about stronger Rupiah can be thrown away from the window if it's not....

There are parallels here between what’s happening to Tutut and what happened to her father in OTL in 1998. In OTL, Soeharto tried to avoid resigning and buy time by conducting a cabinet reshuffle. In response, Ginandjar, Akbar, and 12 other ministers, wrote a collective letter to Soeharto to say that if Soeharto was to do that, they would not want to sit in the reshuffled cabinet. Effectively, this meant that Ginandjar, Akbar and these 12 ministers were withdrawing support from Soeharto. Ginandjar, who was Coordinating Minister of Economics was very much seen as the person in charge of this “betrayal”. https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/...ubah-saat-14-menteri-ekonomi-mundur-berjamaah

To further the parallel, the letter which was sent to Soeharto was written by Akbar https://books.google.co.id/books?id=jirEoRUZpMoC&printsec=frontcover#v=snippet&q=tulisan akbar&f=false

Those two beating back the Soehartos would never be not funny.

Interestingly, being part of negotiations about Soeharto and his family’s fate is not entirely out of character for Try. In OTL, as Soeharto lay dying in 2008, Try proposed that the government and the Soeharto family come to a settlement regarding Soeharto’s civil court case (alleged misappropriation of his foundations’ funds) and tried to mediate between the two.

Try’s efforts to achieve a settlement for Soeharto, and Tutut’s rejection of it can be seen at https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2008/01/18/07571214/try.akui.inisiatif.dari.dirinya. It’s probably the closest that OTL Try and OTL Tutut had come to conflict over anything.

Good thing ITTL Try knows the truth earlier.... I'm sure as heck that your wonderings about how OTL Try would bristled from even thinking going against Soeharto and his children like his ITTL self did would be met by a resounding "Yes".

Meanwhile, ITTL Try seeing OTL Soeharto bowing down to IMF in February 1998 would make him glad in two ways, that he glad he gives Camdessus his just desserts ITTL, and ITTL Soeharto never get to do that, to put it frankly.

The significance of Bambang Trihatmodjo being the messenger going back and forth between Try and Tutut is that in OTL, Bambang reportedly favored Try for a second term as VP in 1998. Check out the last paragraph of https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...djo+try+sutrisno&pg=PA121&printsec=frontcover

Hey, a Van Dijk's book mentioned here. I'm currently researching about post-Cokroaminoto Sarekat Islam using his book about Kartosuwiryo.