21st May 2002:
With his pinky dipped in ink, President Try Sutrisno, accompanied by Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas and Chairman of the KPUL HBL Mantiri, visited some of the polling stations in Central Jakarta. The President’s final stop was polling station in Menteng where he watched Vice President JB Sumarlin and Second Lady Sudarmi Sumarlin cast their votes.
Not far from where Sumarlin was voting, Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto accompanied by her husband Indra Rukmana, all of her siblings except for Tommy Soeharto who is in prison, all of her siblings’ spouses most notably Chairman of the PKPB National Campaign Prabowo Subianto, as well as other Soeharto family members converged on the Cendana Street Polling Station. Keeping his distance from all this as he waited for his turn to vote was none other than Wismoyo Arismunandar who half-jokingly said he will be voting differently to the rest of the family.
At Kebagusan in Jakarta’s southern suburbs, Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri also cast her votes. Unlike Tutut, she kept her entourage small, just her husband Taufiq Kiemas. Once she was done, she was quick to head back home to cook nasi goreng for supporters wanting to wish her well and the media crews alike.
The nations’ eyes were everywhere it seemed to look at various officials and prominent figures cast their vote. In Central Java, cameras were on hand in Solo to witness Chairman of the DPR/MPR Harmoko cast his votes as well as in Salatiga to watch Chairman of the PPP Matori Abdul Djalil cast his. Harmoko and Matori would bump into each other at Solo’s Adisoemarno Airport as they got ready to fly to Jakarta. They chatted warmly and posed together for pictures, flashing their ink-dipped pinky fingers. Then things became awkward when someone from the press asked which among them will be the Chairman of the DPR/MPR after 1st October.
All of the nation’s television channels featured continuing coverage of the Election featuring different officials, members of political parties, public figures, and observers in their studios to provide a commentary of the events on hand. Probably one of the more memorable exchanges of the day came from Chairman of Muhammadiyah Amien Rais and PNI DPR Candidate Heri Akhmadi who appeared on Indosiar saying that the nation was entering a crucial period lasting between today until the culmination of the 2003 MPR General Session.
“I once presented the idea that it was important for Indonesia to undergo leadership succession in 1998 for its own sake and leadership succession did occur in 1997 due to circumstances beyond our control”, said Amien “But such is the current political situation in Indonesia that this leadership succession has not only not been completed but is at risk of being reversed; Tutut Soeharto and her supporter are victorious both today and at the 2003 MPR General Session, there will be another leadership succession that from President Try to a President Tutut. But what is in fact happening is that the leadership succession would have been reversed because under a President Tutut we will be reverting to the old habits which we are now trying to shake off under President Try. Though the man himself will not be coming back, President Soeharto’s ideas and ways of doing things will be coming back.”
Heri Akhmadi disagreed saying that people should stop speaking as though the current government is a departure from the previous government because it’s not.
“In some ways it’s even worse than the previous government. Under Soeharto there was a pretense that governors, regents, and mayors were elected by the DPRD, under Try, we’ve gone back to a system where the pesident directly appoints the governors while the minister of home affairs appoints the rgents and mayors. Under Soeharto there was a National Commission of Human Rights but this commission was dissolved under Try”, argued Heri “If you want a departure from Soeharto, you have to cast your ballot for real change. You don’t get healthy by switching Coke to Diet Coke, you get healthy by cutting soft drink altogether.”
Others shared their thoughts with their closest associates only rather than the nation. After casting his vote, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita went to meet with his mentor, former Vice President Sudharmono.
“So it begins”, said Sudharmono gesturing at the images of people casting their votes on television “Keep your head down and wait, the time will come soon when they will come to you.”
“Do you believe it will come to that?” asked Ginandjar.
“The age of presidents being unanimously elected has passed and so is the age of parties holding absolute majorities in the DPR/MPR” explained Sudharmono “Believe me, they will need help getting across the line, President Try only just got in by 6 votes in 1998.”
In the middle of all this, the President had lunch with Harmoko. Harmoko came out of the lunch all smiles, saying that he and the President discussed preparations for the “business end of the political cycle” namely the inauguration of the new DPR/MPR members and preparations for the holding of the 2003 MPR General Session. Harmoko said that he and the President agreed to a meeting after the election attended by the Vice President, the Vice Chairmen of the DPR/MPR, and senior ministers.
“No, we didn’t talk about President Try’s candidacy for president or who will be the Chairman of the DPR/MPR”, said Harmoko “We’re just talking strictly as the officials in charge of holding these events.”
But the day’s comings and goings were nothing compared to the news that everyone waited for: the results of the elections. Polls around the country closed at 1 PM local time in Indonesia’s three timezones. By mid-afternoon, counting had gotten underway and results as well as projections began to trickle in. All four political parties braced themselves for a roller-coaster ride and while they would not know for sure how many seats they were going to get, they were getting a clear idea of how they had fared and what it meant in the future.
PPP:
When the results began to come in from all around the country, the PPP National Headquarters became tense. They had fully expected to lose a lot of the “Islamic vote”, and by extension seats, to the PKPB. To a certain extent they did. In devout provinces like West Sumatra and West Nusa Tenggara, the PPP found itself trailing behind the PKPB as far as the “Islamic vote” was concerned.
By evening, however, it was clear that things were not as bad as the PPP expected. In Aceh, unless the other three parties massively catches up with it during the counting process, the PPP is looking at its first victory there since 1982. There were also some solid performances in West and Center Kalimantan; PKPB DPR Member Yusril Ihza Mahendra’s comments about the PPP entering into a coalition with the PKPI because it wants “toll roads in Kalimantan” backfiring massively. The numbers from East Java also looked promising as NU members mobilized without official instructions by Chairman of NU Abdurrahman Wahid.
The PPP’s Central Leadership Council gathered in a meeting. Receiving a report of the PPP’s performance that day, the meeting agreed to Chairman of the PPP National Campaign Hamzah Haz’s review that the PPP had a “stronger than expected” performance and that this was due to the unity in the party. Hamzah had said that the PPP’s seats would dip into the 60s but it is looking like it would get in the low-mid 70s, pending the counting of the results.
Then Hamzah changed his focus to the PKPI. Matori looked at him intently as Hamzah described the PKPI’s performance as “not as strong as it should”. There were murmurs of agreement as Hamzah said that with the PKPI doing not as well as it could, they would need the PPP more.
“The vice presidency, the chairmanship of the DPR/MPR, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the chairmanship of the BPK, the chairmanship of the DPA”, listed Hamzah as he looked at Matori “President Try has agreed that the PPP will get one of these positions in the Coalition Agreement but he never specified which one will it be, I think it is time, Mr. Chairman, that the President made specific which one of these positions will be given to the PPP.”
All in the meeting turned to look at Matori.
“I agree with you”, said Matori “But for the moment, let’s keep that intention to ourselves and focus on the seat counts.”
PNI:
The PNI’s top officials as well as DPR candidates and supporters gathered at or visited Megawati Soekarnoputri’s house. As promised, there was plenty of nasi goreng to go around. The PNI had no expectations. Out of the 4 political parties, the PNI expected to come fourth. But when there are no expectations, there are no such things as disappointments. Even getting a seat in a province looked was treated like a great victory. All those present agreed that the PNI should form a team to keep an eye on the counting process so that these hard-fought seats will not be lost.
“Look at how great we’re doing, Honey”, said Taufiq Kiemas excitedly “Our efforts during the last week in the campaign are paying off, in places where the PKPI are expected to win big, well they’re winning but not by as much as they should…that’s going to hurt them against the PKPB.”
PNI members and DPR candidates Kwik Kian Gie and Laksamana Sukardi looked at Megawati who was cooking in the kitchen. Secretary of the PNI Sutjipto who doubled as Chairman of the PNI’s National Campaign knew what she was thinking.
“These results are better than expected and you can be certain of more seats than we had easily estimated”, he said “But it will still be a long shot for you at the 2003 MPR General Session.”
“Then we’d best continue brainstorming on the way to make this long shot hit the target”, said Megawati “The aim is not to win a legislative election, the aim is to win the presidency.”
PKPB:
At Cendana Street, a much more lavish version of the gathering at Megawati’s house was being held with a buffet and lots round tables where guests could sit down and consume their food. The mood was not tense at all here. During the morning, this might look like overconfidence. But as the day wore on and the results began to appear, this relaxed attitude was in keeping with the results that were coming in.
Chairman of the PKPB National Campaign Prabowo Subianto sat at a table close to a television screen as he monitored the results. He was in a cheerful mood for by the evening, the PKPB was the home to a lot of famous victories. The victory in South Sulawesi including in Ujung Pandang where the PKPI had hoped to get most of its votes from; the victory in South Kalimantan which was their only victory in Kalimantan but also their largest; the victories in West Java and Central Java which established a double stronghold on Indonesia’s most populous islands; the victory in West Sumatra where they genuinely believed that President Soeharto was great for the country. There was the official count to be made and finalized, to be sure, but the count so far looked great enough that one could be confident of projecting victory.
Treasurer of the PKPB Akbar Tandjung also watched the results. His placid face hid the horror that he was secretly feeling. The PKPB had allowed graduates of LIPIA, barely-disguised Islamists, and even outright supporters of the Jakarta Charter to run as DPR candidates and now these people are getting elected. If he wasn’t on the winning side, Akbar would have considered changing sides.
After dinner, Tutut Soeharto convened a meeting attended by Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani, Akbar Tandjung, Prabowo Subianto, and Leader of the PKPB in the DPR Hartono. The first item on the agenda was the PKPB’s current position in the election.
“We’re in the lead and our lead looks strong”, Tutut said “Our immediate task now must be to make sure that the government does not take advantage of the counting process to sneak a few seats the PKPI’s way.”
Prabowo said that he will create a team to scrutinize the KPU’s vote-counting process to which Tutut gave ready approval. Tutut however does not agree that Prabowo should oversee the scrutinizing process, delegating that particular duty to ZA Maulani.
“I already have a task that’s no less important for you”, said Tutut “Regardless of how many seats we get, we will still be far from a majority whether in the DPR or the MPR. I want you to begin making preparations for the 2003 MPR General Session in particular the Presidential Election which will occur there.”
“Very well”, replied Prabowo.
The final item on the agenda is that if the PKPB’s lead continues to hold and it is declared the winner of the election this will entitle them, from Tutut’s point of view, to the chairmanship of the DPR/MPR.
“When the count is complete, I will make the official announcement”, said Tutut “But I think there is no better candidate from the PKPB for the chairmanship of the DPR/MPR than
Mas Hartono who has been a steadfast supporter of the PKPB, a steadfast support of President Soeharto, and a steadfast supporter of me.”
Hartono nodded in gratefulness at Tutut’s comment. Everybody else made a mental note that when Tutut publicly announces Hartono’s candidacy she shouldn’t go overboard with praise because that would just fuel the unconfirmed but persistent rumors that Jakarta society has about them.
PKPI:
After the news that the evacuees had arrived and after the sense of optimism that had come from casting the ballot, it was all downhill from Try. At the Presidential Palace, he watched the television and monitored as the evacuees are being transported around the country to be placed in various settlements.
When Chairman of the PKPI Basofi Sudirman and Chairman of the PKPI National Campaign Hendropriyono arrived at the Presidential Palace, Try, accompanied by State Secretary Edi Sudrajat braced himself for the ride.
The PKPI did as well as a party relying on the President’s achievements could do. In Maluku, victory came from Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja’s efforts to mobilize sago plantation owners and workers to vote. While in Bali, Minister of Tourism Soeyono also ran a successful campaign to remind business owners and workers in the tourism industry to focus on increased living standards instead of appeals to the fact that Megawati has Balinese blood through her father. In East Timor, the PKPI also scored a large victory in what has been described as a referendum on whether Soeharto or Try was the better president for East Timor.
Harmoko’s energetic campaigning also paid off to the extent that the PKPI could not say that it had struggled with the rural vote. In fact, it was because Harmoko had been successful with rural voters that the PKPB had to turn their attention towards drawing votes from the PPP by strongly emphasizing the religion card. By and large, however, the PKPI confirmed the perception that its core constituents are affluent or newly affluent and politically-aware people living in cities. Its most decisive victory on a province-by-province basis came in Jakarta with great numbers also coming from Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Medan, Pekanbaru, Denpasar, Palembang, and Manado; in other words, cities which have benefitted greatly from the economic growth of recent years.
That said, the PKPI visibly leaked votes to the PNI. In North Sumatra, Jakarta, East Java, North Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara or in other words, provinces where the PKPI expected to win big, their victories were not as big as they expected while the PNI’s numbers were stronger than what was expected. The PNI had managed to convinced segments of the urban poor that the government did not look after welfare by not raising the minimum wage since 1999 and segments of the affluent urban people that Try was not any different from Soeharto.
“In other words, by focusing too much on Tutut, we forgot about Megawati”, said Try.
Another place where Try’s cause was hurt was in Irian Jaya, where it looked unpredictable who was going to win there. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Try wondered what would have happened if the deal on Freeport was announced.
It was 11.30 PM when Harsudiono Hartas arrived at the Presidential Palace. He handed Try the latest count and projections from the KPU.
“It’s now down to the vote-counting process to determine how many seats each party will get in the DPR and by extension, the MPR, Mr. President” reported Harsudiono “The “ranking” of the parties will most likely not change: the PNI bringing up the rear at fourth, the PPP at third, the PKPI a close second behind the PKPB who is leading the polls. It’s too far for the PNI to catch up to the PPP, too far for the PPP to catch up to the PKPI and as for the PKPI catching up to the PKPB…”
Everyone in the room looked up expectantly.
“The window is rapidly closing”, said Harsudiono “It is very likely the PKPB has this one in the bag.”
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Phew, finally got that done before I’m going to get busy again at work. But the Election Day sets up at least 3 storylines:
-Try, Tutut, and Megawati’s roads to the 2003 MPR Session
-The power struggle ahead being evenly-matched that there will be a need to recruit other political factions to help gain victory, something Ginandjar is being encouraged to position himself for.
-And acting as the warm-up to the contest for the presidency will be the contest for the chairmanship of the DPR/MPR.
Amien Rais' OTL Paper on Presidential Succession being compulsory in 1998:
https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...rais+suksesi+1998&pg=PA21&printsec=frontcover
I wanted show here with the "diet coke" comment another anti-Try POV that is floating around ITTL namely the POV that Try is not that much different from Soeharto
Because there is a moment between Tutut and Hartono in the update and because there’s some talk about rumored love affairs in recent posts, I will say that unless it is in the open and explicitly acknowledged as fact it’s not going to happen in the TL. After all the name on the website is Alternate History not Alternate Rumors or Alternate Conspiracy Theories.
I’ll be sure to keep telling you about how the MPR works but basically this is why the legislative elections are related and important to the composition of the MPR:
-The DPR consists of 500 seats of which 425 are on the line at the election because the remaining 75 are allocated to ABRI.
-All DPR members are automatically MPR delegates. So if you are a DPR member, you are at the same time an MPR delegate. This is why in Indonesia, the DPR and MPR are referred to as the DPR/MPR as though they are one body.
-Seat-wise, this means that if Party A gets 100 seats in the DPR, it has 100 seats in the MPR.
-Independent of the seats they’ve won in the DPR and which doubles as seats in the MPR, political parties are also allocated additional seats in the MPR based on how many seats they have won the DPR. The people who occupy these additional seats are exclusively MPR delegates, they don’t double as DPR members.
-The formula for the additional seat allocation is amount of seats in the DPR + 50%. So if Party A gets 100 seats in the DPR, it’s entitled to an extra 50 seats in the MPR. If the amount of seats is an odd number it’s (amount of seats in the DPR + 50%) + 1. So if a Party B gets 101 seats in the DPR, it’s entitled to 51 seats in the MPR.
