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

[Snowflake]

This dude is one of the biggest winner of this timeline lol

Hassanudin for president!!!😂

 

[GSD310]

This dude is one of the biggest winner of this timeline lol

I knew someone would pick up on this eventually. I wanted to show that there were ways of doing things that Try learned from Soeharto. One of them is the idea of advancing aide-de-camps to high military office. I looked up who Try's aide-de-camp was when he was VP and TB Hasanuddin's name came up.

 

[wahyubison]

Brimob for counter attack operation for liberating territories????
This is truly strong message for aggressive movement
Last time we use Brimob for active military operation against foreign nation only on Dwikora and Trikora

 

[GSD310]

30th November 2002:
In their own way, the daughters of the two previous presidents marked the fifth anniversary of President Try Sutrisno’s assumption of office. Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri penned an op-ed for Jakarta Post. In addition to repeating the claim that there was no difference between “the previous and the current regimes”, Megawati proposed using the extra funds from the moratorium on the repayment of debt to immediately fund a national health insurance system. “This would be better use of the funds available to us at the present time rather than deciding which weapons should be purchased next.”

Meanwhile, Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto and the PKPB were distributing basic commodities to villagers in Central Java when asked for comments about the fifth year anniversary of the President’s assumption of office.

“When people look at the history of the New Order and look at these five years, they will see that these five years as an aberration” Tutut declared “The New Order will resume again after the MPR General Session.”

2nd December 2002:
Vice President JB Sumarlin emerged out of a meeting with the President. To the press, Sumarlin said he reported to the President of his attendance at the ASEAN Deputy Heads of State/Heads of Government Unofficial Summit in Bangkok. Sumarlin said that the other ASEAN members agreed with Indonesia’s stance on developments in Yugoslavia and have formulated a joint statement saying that the economic development of each ASEAN nation and the successful resumption and implementation of AFTA will depend on a peaceful international environment and that ASEAN calls on “all parties” to resolve the matter peacefully.

Sumarlin also reported that he and Junior Minister of Arts and Culture Subrata attended a watch party held by Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra. They were watching Indonesian television series Si Doel Anak Sekolahan which has now been dubbed into Thai.

Sumarlin laughed when asked if he and the President also discussed “his future”. Sumarlin only said that “it must be getting real close to the MPR General Session”.

3rd December 2002:
The President traveled to Lembang, West Java by road. There, accompanied by Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and Governor of West Java Muzani Syukur, the President inaugurated the expansion of the Lembang Artificial Insemination Office. In his speech, the President said that it is important to increase not only the capacity of what Indonesia can produce in the field but also what it can produce in farms and points to increased meat consumption over the last few years.

As the President toured the improved facilities and had a look at the existing stud cows with Sarwono explaining that Wagyu Bulls and Hanwoo Bulls are arriving from Japan and South Korea next year. Sarwono explained that beef production in Indonesia will cross the 400,000 tonne mark in 2002 but that this still needs to be supplemented by beef imports from elsewhere. The President agreed with this, saying that until beef production could be maximized, there should be a diversity of sources of beef because he did not want to be too overly reliant on one source.

As the Presidential entourage departed from Lembang to Bandung, the President spent time inspecting various hotels, restaurants, and shops. By this time, he was accompanied by Minister of Tourism Soeyono and he was very happy to find new shops and restaurants. Soeyono said that Bandung will be expecting another big Ramadan and end-of-year holidays combo, with Semarang and Central Java also due for a big year because it is now possible to travel to Semarang with a toll road.

4th December 2002:
Coming out of a meeting with the President, Governor of BI Boediono and Head of the BKPM Mari Pangestu said that the President had authorized them to form a joint business verification task force. Boediono and Mari explained that in the wake of the government’s policy in January 2002 which gave lenient credit conditions to certain sectors, there have been investors who have set up companies and obtained the necessary licenses, only to use the credit they have been given for other purposes entirely instead of running their businesses.

Chairman of Muhammadiyah Amien Rais was seen hosting Megawati Soekarnoputri at his private residence for fast breaking. Speaking to the press, Megawati said that she was returning Amien’s visit from earlier in Ramadan. Amien on the other hand, gave his prediction about how the MPR General Session will progress.

“The President and the Chairwoman of the PKPB will fight it out and wear themselves out and then Mbak Mega here will cruise to the finish line”, said Amien.

5th December 2002:
One of the many final fast-breaking events being held that day was at the Vice Presidential Palace. Sumarlin played host to the PKPI’s DPR members who arrived with Vice Chairman of the DPR Basofi Sudirman and the Leader of the PKPI Sofyan Lubis at their head. There was laughter when Sofyan said that while it was obvious that the President will be and is willing to be nominated again another term, the Party and has yet to find out whether Sumarlin will be and is willing to be nominated for the vice presidency. When Sumarlin found himself later in the event sitting with Basofi and the Secretary of the PKPI Joyokusumo, the question of his nomination was not merely dinnertime banter.

“The Party is willing to nominate you for a second term on the following basis, Mr. Vice President”, explained Basofi “Your compatibility with the President, your role in bringing Indonesia out of the Asian Financial Crisis and continuing role in strengthening Indonesia’s economy, and your acceptability among the different groupings within the PKPI.”

“I thank the PKPI for the support I continue to retain, though I know there is probably one or two interested in my position, but my compatibility with the President and my role in the government, that’s all due to the President's leadership and not to anything of my doing”, said Sumarlin.

Sumarlin said that there were two things that weighed heavily on his mind on the issue of his re-election. The first was age with Sumarlin saying that he would turn 70 in two days’ time and 75 at the completion of the term.

“The second is of course my faith”, continued Sumarlin “I got here because there was an economic emergency in 1998, no such emergency exists now and while the PKPI might want to support me, would the PPP do the same uncategorically?”

Basofi and Joyokusumo explained that support for Matori Abdul Djalil’s nomination as chairman of the DPR/MPR is conditional on the PPP supporting whoever the President’s choice will be for the vice presidency. But nevertheless, Basofi promised to take up Sumarlin’s concerns with the President.

6th December 2002:
At Istiqlal Mosque this morning, the President was seen attending Eid prayers and sitting next to Chairman of the DPR Matori Abdul Djalil. He later held an open house at the Presidential Palace where Sumarlin and Second Lady Theresia Justina Sudarmi Sumarlin was the first in the line of guests wanting to wish the President and First Lady Tuti Setiawati a happy Eid.

Tutut Soeharto was not in Jakarta, spending Eid instead at the Soehartos’ Ndalem Kalitan Residence in Solo, Central Java with a steady stream of guests proceeding through the doors of the residence. It was dinner time when Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita arrived, at which point all those present, who were Tutut and/or PKPB, supporters gave a loud cheer and applauded his arrival. Ginandjar had been at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta to wish the President a happy Eid but it would be his arrival at Ndalem Kalitan which got the most attention.

Ginandjar would be seen through the night sitting next to Tutut and in conversation with her. On occasions he was seen with Prabowo Subianto being introduced to the people who were gathered there with Treasurer of the PKPB Akbar Tandjung looking on glumly in the background.

“Of course it’s a big deal that he came here, he’s the best thing about this government”, exclaimed Vice Chairman of the DPR Hartono “We welcome him with open arms.”

7th December 2002:
The President sent a large flower bouquet and a cake on the occasion of Sumarlin’s 70th Birthday while he himself remained in the Presidential Palace with his family. Politics would intervene in the shape of Minister of Tourism Soeyono. In addition to reporting about which tourist destinations are expecting a big crowd, Soeyono tried to awkwardly steer the conversation to the matter of the vice presidency.

Seeing in Soeyono a fellow former Soeharto aide-de-camp and that he was struggling, the President decided that they both should lay their cards on the table instead of having an awkward conversation.

“This is my card: I want the Vice President to stay on for a second term, I have softly indicated this to him and made an informal approach to him not two days ago through the Chairman of the PKPI but I am still waiting for a definite answer”, the President said “Now let’s see your card.”

“Our wing of the PKPI has no problem with supporting the Vice President for a second term, Mr. President”, said Soeyono “But in the event that he does not intend to run for a second term and if there’s no other candidate in the PKPI that enjoys broad support, we want to nominate the Minister of Defense and Security for the vice presidency.”

The President nodded to acknowledge the point.

“He’s President Soeharto’s brother-in-law and it means a lot to have him in my corner”, said the President “Had we not been in the middle of a crisis, I would have picked him for vice president because I wanted to show continuity with President Soeharto’s government. But who I need now is someone who complements me.

I spend a lot of time focusing on defense and foreign affairs, I probably need someone to occasionally remind me that it’s successful economic policies that pays for those weapons and that there’s matters at home that need my attention. The final decision is mine, of course, but having these reminders doesn’t hurt.

Having an extra pair of eyes with an interest in those two areas is a bit redundant and I don’t have any intention of delegating when it comes to those two areas. So it’s not going to be the Minister of Defense and Security but it’s not going to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs either…”

“Well, if the rumors are true and that warm welcome yesterday is any indication, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is being offered up as a possible vice presidential candidate for the Chairwoman of the PKPB”, said Soeyono.

Soeyono saw the President’s eyes narrow dangerously and decided it wasn’t wise to continue along this path.

“Is there anything I can do to help secure your choice for the vice presidency, Mr. President?” asked Soeyono.

“I’d be grateful if the Minister of Defense and Security unconditionally buries whatever ambition he might have for the vice presidency and for this to be communicated to the Vice President”, said the President “Perhaps it would both ease and make up his mind if he knew that there is no one else from the party wanting to gain the vice presidency.”

Not long thereafter, Soeyono left and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat stepped in. The President told Edi about the conversation he just had.

“I’ll try and help with Wismoyo, he was my Deputy Army Chief of Staff for a short while”, said Edi “And as far as Ginandjar is concerned, promise me that you’ll keep focus on working together with him and leave me with the job of figuring out what he is or isn’t going to do, especially because you two are going to have a visitor soon.”

“Where from?” asked the President.

“Belgrade”, replied Edi “It’s an emergency trip around the world trying to get support and we’re on the list.”

---
RI-2 refers to the Indonesian VP’s car number plate but for this chapter it also refers to Sumarlin thinking about his future and Try being anxious that he will nominate for the VP position for a second term.

Sumarlin is of the Roman Catholic faith. The closest a Catholic got to becoming VP of Indonesia in OTL Indonesia is Benny Moerdani being speculated of being interested in the position. It took me quite a while to figure out that Sumarlin was going to be VP. When I first thought of this TL, for the longest time it was either Wismoyo or Moerdiono who was going to be the VP. I only just figured out that it was going to be Sumarlin as I was writing his first interaction with Try in the TL (27th December 1997 for those who are curious).

For comparison's sake, beef production in OTL 2002 was 330,000 tonnes https://www.bps.go.id/indicator/24/480/7/produksi-daging-sapi-menurut-provinsi.html

 

[GSD310]

Brimob for counter attack operation for liberating territories????
This is truly strong message for aggressive movement
Last time we use Brimob for active military operation against foreign nation only on Dwikora and Trikora

Just an exercise and just having all four branches of ABRI involved.

 

[wahyubison]

Just an exercise and just having all four branches of ABRI involved.

Yeah i understand but this kind retaking territories exercise to include Brimob will truly bring some aggressive diplomatic message. I don't think China will take it seriously but other neighbour like Australia and Malaysia they will have different kind of thinking.

 

[Pio2013]

“Belgrade”, replied Edi “It’s an emergency trip around the world trying to get support and we’re on the list.”

Oh oh... Tutut and Mega will wait an official statement to attack.

 

[GSD310]

9th December 2002:
President Try Sutrisno had a meeting over morning coffee with Commander of ABRI Wiranto and Deputy Commander of ABRI Chappy Hakim this morning. Wiranto and Chappy Hakim reported that all ABRI personnel involved with the joint military exercise are departing for their assembly points. The military exercise is scheduled to start on 15th December, the anniversary of the Battle of Ambarawa.

Wiranto said that all of the military attaches from the various embassies are invited including, he said half-jokingly, the Chinese, Malaysian, and Australian attaches to avoid a misunderstanding.

10th December 2002:
It was a small informal welcome for an informal visit, just a handshake in front of the two nations’ flags for President Try Sutrisno and Prime Minister of Yugoslavia Momir Bulatovic. They then disappeared behind closed door for their talks. Try accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat, Bulatovic accompanied by Yugoslavian Minister of Foreign Affairs Zivadin Jovanovic. Try welcomed Bulatovic to Indonesia and after some introductory remarks, invited him to speak.

Bulatovic began by conveying the greetings of President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic to Try before explaining that he had been sent by Milosevic around the world to appeal for support from “old friends” in the face of the United States and its allies’ posturing. Such old friends, continued Bulatovic, include Indonesia who with Yugoslavia established the Non-Aligned Movement some 40 years ago. Try said he was honored that Indonesia was on the list.

Jovanovic went on saying that Yugoslavia is seeking diplomatic support for its position. This will involve acknowledgment of Bulatovic’s election as President of Montenegro and non-support for the United States’ intentions to unseat Milosevic. Try thought this through as Ginandjar picked the brains of their guests, confirming that France and Germany had spoken out against the United States’ intent and that whatever the United States and its coalition allies was going to do would not receive NATO’s approval.

Edi piped in asking whether China has committed to supporting Yugoslavia the way Russia has. Bulatovic and Jovanovic said no, saying that they have been to Beijing before Jakarta and that the response was ambiguous. The two tried to explain that it was because China was in an “odd transition phase” where the president was still Jiang Zemin but the party leadership was held by Luo Gan and came across like hoping for Chinese support but still unsure whether they were going to get it.

It was then that Try spoke. Though expressing his sympathies with Yugoslavia’s predicament, Try said that he had to be mindful of Indonesia’s interests and that in this situation, Indonesia will keep to its present stance of keeping watch of developments and not commit to anything. Speaking in response, Bulatovic said that what Try had said was “disappointing” for Yugoslavia but that he had to accept Indonesia’s stance.

And just like that the meeting was over. But Edi and Ginandjar would agree later that it was as they stood up to get ready for the joint press conference that the real interesting part of the meeting happened. Speaking to Jovanovic, Bulatovic muttered about Milosevic saying that Yugoslavia’s case being obvious from the Indonesian perspective. Try was looking in Bulatovic’s direction as Ginandjar and Edi huddled over what to say and heard Bulatovic’s comment.

“How would it have been obvious, Mr. Prime Minister?” asked Try as Bulatovic turned around and showed he did not mind his comment being overheard.

“Well, we are aware that you support Colombia against FARC, support Senegal against the Casamance separatist, support King Birendra of Nepal against Maoist rebels”, said Bulatovic “We just thought that Dukanovic claiming an election victory in Montenegro and then wanting to hold a referendum to break away from Yugoslavia would be a simple matter to you.”

“It’s not an obvious matter, Prime Minister of Bulatovic, not when a superpower is involved in the equation”, said Ginandjar.

“Well, quite apart from the fact that it would be beneficial to us to have another nation’s sympathy for us, there’s something in it for you too”, replied Bulatovic “What’s happening to us could happen to you too, you know?”

11th December 2002:
Bulatovic stayed overnight and paid a visit to the residence of Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri. There he found a more sympathetic response and at their joint press conference, Megawati called on the government to be more decisive and to stand with Yugoslavia. After the press conference, Bulatovic departed for his next destination.

At the Presidential Palace, the President discussed his meeting with the Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo. Ari Sudewo laughed to himself at Bulatovic’s statement that what’s happening to them could happen to Indonesia. The President asked if this was true.

“Let’s look at this hypothetical scenario, Mr. President”, said Ari “Someone proclaims himself the governor of a province against the wishes of the central government and then declare that they have the mandate to declare secession from Indonesia. What would you do then?”

“Send in troops to get rid of this rebel and restore the rightful provincial government”, replied the President.

“Wouldn’t expect any other answer myself”, continued Ari “But then other nations call us out on it, says it’s human rights violations blablabla…and before you know it, they’re launching a military operation against us to defend this secessionist province and call it a humanitarian intervention. What then?”

“I don’t know what’s worst”, replied the President “People who get in our way as we go after separatists or the fact that we can’t afford to get into a fight if a military intervention happens.”

“Isn’t it?” asked Ari “That’s what the Yugoslavians think is happening to them and that’s why they’re surprised that you’re speaking the Department of Foreign Affairs’ bureaucratic language at them.”

The President looked at the window. The sky in Jakarta was blue, not everyone was back from their Eid out-of-town holidays yet.

“We’ve had intel about the OPM and the GAM over the last few months”, said the President “How likely is it that their preparations amount to anything?”

“They’re not going to be making their preparations forever, they’re not going to be far away forever, eventually they will come here, they will do something and it won’t just be of the ‘Yay, we hit an Indonesian platoon on patrol’ variety" warned Ari “And when we rise up to strike them down, we need to be sure that the world’s reaction will not be to bomb us from the air or try to conduct a land invasion under the guise of a humanitarian effort. What was it that Portugal said? If something were to happen in East Timor, they would side with them?”

The President massaged his head.

“So what am I supposed to do, side with Yugoslavia?” asked the President.

“Getting on the wrong side of the United States is foolish but this is where I have to defer to you and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ collective diplomacy, Mr. President”, replied Ari “The only thing that’s clear to me is that it won’t do to just say that we are monitoring developments.”

12th December 2002:
In the first official working day back of the government, the President met with Vice President JB Sumarlin, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, and Chairman of the Interdepartemental Team for the Preparation and Implementation of AFTA Komara Djaja. In their joint press conference afterwards, Dorodjatun and Komara said that there will be a policy package announced next month designed to prepare the Indonesian economy for the resumption of AFTA in 2004.

Chairman of ICMI and Leader of the MPR’s Group Delegation Nurcholish Madjid held a dinner attended by members of the MPR’s Group Delegation. In his speech, Nurcholish that this time it’s “Politics Yes!, Partiality No!” because the best politics is the one that benefits the entire nation as opposed to just one grouping. Nurcholish concluded by saying that he believes the MPR’s Group Delegation will play a decisive factor at the upcoming MPR General Session.

13th December 2002:
The President presided over a ceremony at the Presidential Palace where he swore in the following:

*Prof. Dr. Ir. Fachri Achmad M.Sc as Governor of West Sumatra
*Prof. Dr. Laode Masihu Kamaluddin MSc. MEng. As Governor of Southeast Sulawesi

Among those attending the ceremony was State Minister of Youth and Sports Hajriyanto Thohari. He made a comment saying that Chairman of Muhammadiyah Amien Rais has only been representing himself instead of Muhammadiyah in his comments about the MPR General Session. Hajriyanto said that while there were diverse opinions within Muhammadiyah, he remains steadfast in his support for the President.

15th December 2002:
The President exercised that day by walking around the grounds of the Presidential Palace, accompanied by the Commander of the Presidential Bodyguard Nono Sampono. Only the dark clouds, and the rain that came down with it, forced the President inside. When he got under shelter, Military Secretary Saurip Kadi arrived and reported that the ABRI Joint Military Exercise had begun. When the President asked Saurip what the weather was like in Kalimantan, Saurip said that it was raining heavily.

The President chuckled and was optimistic that his men would be up to the challenge.

16th December 2002:
For the fifth year in a row, trucks arrived at Bank Indonesia’s building bringing in BLBI Repayments though not as much as the previous year. Watching this scene Governor of BI Boediono and Head of IBRA Herdiwiyatmo said that this was because there are banks which have completed their BLBI Repayments.

The television coverage of the arrival of the BLBI repayments in Indosiar featured an exchange of opinion in the studio between PKPB DPR Member Fuad Bawazier and Secretary of the PKPI in the DPR Slamet Effendy Yusuf. When Fuad said that people in the banking sector are cooperative and should not be subjected to undue pressure, Slamet asked if “someone else” was president, whether they could have collected the repayment of the BLBI or got the forest concessionaires to comply. The debate got heated and had to be stopped.

17th December 2002:
At the Hague in the Netherlands, the ICJ ruled that in the dispute between Indonesia and Malaysia over the Sipadan and Ligitan Islands, sovereignty over the two islands belongs to Malaysia.

Speaking at a press conference in the Indonesian Embassy, Ginandjar said that he had conveyed the ruling to the President and that he is now announcing it to Indonesians. A member of the press asked whether it was possible to appeal the decision.

“It is possible to appeal but that is a matter for the President to decide”, said Ginandjar.

---
Double chapter because it’s a long weekend this weekend.

Credit for @Pio2013 for predicting it a few weeks back, but yes, Indonesia should be concerned with what’s happening in Yugoslavia on the basis of “Hey, they’re getting the US and its coalition heading in their direction for cracking down on secessionists, is that going to happen to us too if we crack down on separatists?”

The support for nations fighting rebels and separatists are starting to spill from the "round the world" trips to the main TL. The massacre in Nepal doesn't happen in Birendra continues to reign.

 

[Pio2013]

Indonesia has something under the sleeve.

The political solution that applied for Timor ITTL is proof that its possible to mantain a nation united and release concessions like autonomy, etc, ignoring the external cries for military intervention.

Liked the "round the world" spills, waiting for more!

 

[wahyubison]

Phewww safe from scrutiny of Malaysia and Australia
Honestly they should focus on China

 

[GSD310]

18th December 2002:
The emergency meeting was convened at the Presidential Palace attended by President Try Sutrisno, Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita (via telephone because he was still at The Hague), Minister of Legal Affairs Marzuki Darusman, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Tanto Kuswanto, State Minister of Rural Development Feisal Tamin, State Minister of Development of Eastern Indonesia and Special Economic Zones Rusnain Yahya, and Management of Borders National Agency (BNPP) Endriartono Sutarto.

The meeting easily came to an agreement that all of Indonesia’s existing territories must be developed and have visible signs of development to avoid the situation with Sipidan and Ligatan Islands with Endriartono being ordered to prioritize the border with Malaysia in Kalimantan over the border with Irian Jaya as far as development was concerned.

The argument had barely begun about whether or not Indonesia should appeal the ICJ’s decision than it descended into a bitter argument between Ginandjar and Marzuki. Ginandjar, urged the President to appeal the ICJ’s decision on grounds of national pride. But Marzuki countered by saying that it would not look good for the President’s foreign policy in region to appeal saying that it would look like he was going after the territory of a neighbour. Ginandjar said that he felt Marzuki was “intruding” on foreign policy while Marzuki fought back that Ginandjar intruded first by encouraging an appeal to the ICJ, which was a legal matter not a diplomatic matter. As the President thought the arguments through, Edi and Harsudiono played peacekeepers between the two ministers and calmed them down.

“We’re not appealing the decision, the reasons outlined by the Minister of Legal Affairs makes the most sense”, the President said.

“I believe you should reconsider, Mr. President, not appealing means acknowledging this loss of territory”, began Tanto, who promised to defend the Sipadan and Ligitan when he was Navy Chief of Staff “We should…”

“We still have plenty of territories that we must fight to hold on to and there is still other work for you to complete in the 3 months we have left”, interrupted the President “If you’re not happy about this decision, let’s be productive about it.”

The last thing the President said before the meeting was over was that he wants the announcement made the next day, saying that he wants to “figure out” what to say to the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

19th December 2002:
The President accompanied by Edi and Tanto (Ginandjar still being on his flight home) placed a call to Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak to inform him that Indonesia would not appeal the ICJ Ruling on Sipadan and Ligitan, Najib being accompanied by Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Rais Yatim who had already returned from the Netherlands. While Rais tried to sound magnanimous, Try could not shake the feeling that Najib was smugly smiling throughout the whole conversation even as he was thanking Try.

Making a request to Najib while he was feeling victorious, Try asked Najib for cooperation to help Indonesia curb timber smuggling along Indonesia’s border with Malaysia in Kalimantan. He said that Indonesia was seeking to establish a timber legality certification scheme and wanted Malaysia’s assistance by rejecting timber crossing the border which does not have the certification. Najib said that he will see what he could do to help but tersely added that it was up to Indonesia and its law enforcement to make sure that whatever timber crosses the border is legal.

Try also asked Najib if he could lift the moratorium on Indonesian migrant workers placed all the way back in 1999 arguing that the Malaysian economy had recovered from the Asian Financial Crisis. Najib was more receptive to this and said that he approved.

The meeting ended with Najib expressing his surprise that Indonesia would not appeal the ICJ ruling considering that it was a “territorial” issue, though it sounded like he wanted to try to peek inside Try’s mind.

“I’m merely honoring the commitment made by my predecessor that this dispute be put in front of the ICJ, the stance of this government is that it will defend and develop its territories so a dispute such as the one just settled will not happen again”, replied Try “And as far as territory goes, we have our territories, you have yours and it’s not each other that we should be worried about when it comes to territorial disputes.”

With Ginandjar still airborne, the task fell to Edi to announce the government’s decision not to dispute the ICJ Ruling on Sipadan and Ligitan and its commitment to ensure that Indonesia will continue to exercise sovereignty over existing territories. Edi highlighted that the decision to take the dispute over Sipadan and Ligitan was made by the “previous government” and that the current government was merely upholding that commitment.

20th December 2002:
The two presidential daughters led the charge in criticizing the government over its decision not to dispute the ICJ ruling over Sipadan and Ligitan. Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri led a sentence scarcely go by without the words “territorial loss” or “loss of territory” while Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto said that she hopes the President was not resorting to blaming the previous government for “present mismanagement”.

Ginandjar was now back in Jakarta and faced the press as he showed up for work at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Whilst expressing agreement to the government’s stance, Ginandjar refused to comment on the government’s comments that it was merely carrying out a commitment made by the previous government. He was even quieter when asked whether his presence and warm welcome at Tutut’s Eid gathering had made him reluctant to criticize the previous government.

But by the end of the day, Sipadan and Ligitan were out of everyone’s mind. Deputy Commander of ABRI Chappy Hakim and Air Force Chief of Staff Ali Munsiri Rappe was seen arriving at the Presidential Palace. They came out looking grim announcing that an A-4 Skyhawk had fallen into the South China Sea as it was taking part of the ABRI Joint Military Exercise. The pilot is safe but the Skyhawk was lost.

21st December 2002:
The day began with Detik.com publishing an exclusive story by their correspondents covering the ABRI Joint Military Exercise on their website. The exclusive story revealed that the personnel are struggling in the jungle warfare aspect of the exercise. Whole platoons are found to have been ordered to sit out the remainder of the exercise due to diarrhea outbreaks while the days where there have not been rain has brought with it sweltering heat, humidity, and dehydration for other personnel across the various units.

Not to be outdone, Republika TV aired a television story of their experience travelling with the 515th Mechanized Infantry Battalion. As impressive as the unit looked in their VABs, they managed to travel down a narrow, muddy, wrong road in a column leading to a dead end due to bad reconnaissance work. Republika TV aired grainy footage of the column reversing slowly in the middle of the rain.

Cable TV audiences, especially those with access to Malaysian Television, found themselves watch the Malaysian media almost celebrate “Try Sutrisno’s Double Disaster Week”. The double disaster being the ICJ ruling and the current “disaster” he’s going through with the ABRI Joint Military Exercise.

22nd December 2002:
ABRI not so much continued to struggle through the joint military exercise as it did continue to struggle under the glare of the spotlight. The news flowing out of the military exercise’s press room this morning was that the field hospitals and the medical units were beginning to report cases of dengue fever, all the while rain continue to pour down on the troops.

The government was stirred into action though it was a Sunday when Minister of Information, Post, and Telecommunication Oka Mahendra held a press conference after meeting with the President. Oka says that the military exercise has not been closed off to the press but calls on the Indonesian press to “use discretion” when reporting ABRI-related news urging media outlets not to go to the point where they start demoralizing the nation.

Asked by the press what the President is thinking about all this, Oka replied that the President receives regular updates about the joint military exercise from ABRI’s top brass which are headquartered in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan and that he will give his thoughts on the joint military exercise once the military exercise has been completed next week.

“Is it true that part of the reason why ABRI is struggling is because this too demanding for the ABRI personnel?” asked a member of the press as Oka got up to his feet.

23rd December 2002:
It was a quiet Monday morning, the nation having once again gone into holiday mode. But a group of military jeeps were seen rushing through the relatively empty traffic from Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase to the Presidential Palace. ABRI officers flocked out of the vehicles. In a meeting room at the Presidential Palace, the President, Minister of Defense and Security Wismoyo Arismunandar, and Edi Sudrajat waited for them. One by one they saluted and shook hands with the three men before sitting down.

Thus it was that Commander of ABRI Wiranto, Army Chief of Staff TB Hasanuddin, Navy Chief of Staff Djoko Sumaryono, Air Force Chief of Staff Ali Munsiri Rappe, and Chief of Police Ansyaad Mbai found themselves face to face with the President. ABRI Chief of General Staff Djaja Suparman, ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Affairs Staff Djamari Chaniago, Inspector General of ABRI Ryamizard Ryacudu, Chief of the ABRI Intelligence Agency Amirul Isnaeni, Commander of the ABRI Staff and Command College Albert Inkiriwang, Assistant of Operations at ABRI Headquarters Syarifuddin Tippe, and Assistant of Planning at ABRI Headquarters Romulo Simbolon also attended.

The conversation first discussed what had gone right with the exercise. Djoko Sumaryono and Ansyaad Mbai were beaming as they spoke about Navy, Marine Corps, and Brimob personnel’s performance during the exercise while Wiranto made note about the Myanmarian Light Infantry Battalion’s performance. But all knew that the backslapping was not going to last forever.

“Well, General Wiranto, General Hasanuddin, there are those who have not paid attention to your warning that the little things must be paid attention to in jungle warfare”, said Wismoyo to Wiranto and TB Hasanuddin before turning to all the officers “What are your thoughts on the troubles the military exercise is encountering.”

Djaja was the first to respond, saying that he had had a look at the units wiped out by diarrhea. Based on his observation, the rank-and-file felt that they had been pushed beyond their limits from their departure and that they ought be forgiven if, in the rush of things and sleep-deprived, the water they thought they had boiled for the platoon had turned out to have not been boiled at all and were then distributed to the rest of the unit. Djaja said that his main concern was morale regardless of the struggle that was being faced.

Ali Munsiri Rappe then piped in that this was not so say anything about how the Air Force felt about losing a Skyhawk in front of the press and other nations’ military attaches.

It was the two-star officers who spoke next and spoke forcefully: Syarifuddin Tippe and Romulo Simbolon. They reminded the meeting that the Director of the Joint Military Exercise Syaiful Rizal’s aim was to push the personnel to their limits. The aim is not just for the personnel to be mindful of the “little things” when it came to jungle warfare, it is also to be mindful of the little things whilst under pressure and whilst simulating, as close as possible, battle conditions.

Ryamizard muttered something about the two having spent not enough time leading troops and Djaja murmured something in agreement.

“No, no, Ryamizard…Djaja”, said the President breaking his silence “Consider this an exercise on whether or not the top brass can speak candidly during situations like these.”

Djamari cautiously asked whether the joint military exercise should perhaps be aborted asking what this is doing to Indonesia’s image domestically and internationally alike. Amirul countered that he does not mind if the “world” had a lesser view of Indonesia’s military capability saying that it could get Australia to stop worrying about Indonesia and it would be advantageous in a military encounter to be underestimated. All in the room noticed a slight smirk appear on the President’s face at this.

At this point, Wiranto disagreed with the views being outlined. He said that it does matter for Indonesia’s aspirations for leadership in ASEAN if there is a lesser view of its military capability in the region and that aborting the exercise would do even more damage to morale to ABRI personnel in general, not just those participating in the exercise.

There was silence in the room and then the President mumbled something in agreement and all attention turned to him.

“Well, Mr. Army Chief of Staff, what do you think?” asked the President.

Now all eyes turned to TB Hasanuddin and all the officers suddenly felt like they were sitting in on a final examination.

“Well, Mr. President, understand that some of the personnel will be demoralized by what they are going through but it is something that they as soldiers, sailors, airmen, and policemen alike should work to overcome, and we will help them with that, because the demands placed on them in the future will only increase”, said TB Hasanuddin “And while our assertiveness on the international stage is supported by our level of economic development, it should also be supported by our military capability which is not only reflected in what weapons we are acquiring but the quality of our personnel. I would recommend that that we see this exercise through to the end, conduct a review of this exercise at the conclusion and implement the recommendations of the exercise though I believe in the case of our downed Skyhawk, we should not wait long to be able to conclude a purchase of some new aircrafts.”

The President was satisfied, Wiranto looked at his command baton like he would not have long with it and to the letter, TB Hasanuddin’s advice was announced by the officers once they left the meeting and fronted a press conference.

24th December 2002:
The President and his entourage arrived at Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi in the morning where they were welcomed by Governor of South Sulawesi Zainal Basri Palaguna. The President and his entourage travelled to Pinrang where accompanied by Minister of Mining and Energy Djiteng Marsudi and Head of the BKPM Mari Pangestu, he inaugurated the Pare-Pare Oil Refinery which was an investment of the Pare-Pare Refining Corporation.

In his speech, the President praised the project and those who have invested in it as well as the refining capacity of the refinery. But seeing the cameras all around, the President decided to put his speech aside.

“There’s a set of numbers this month I’ve been sitting on. I had originally intended to announce this as I deliver the Draft Budget Speech but I thought it seems more appropriate to tell this now. These set of numbers are how much oil we produce and how much we import. And it’s been confirmed that as of November, the amount of oil we import has exceeded the amount of oil we produce. We have officially become an oil importer.

Now I’m telling you all this because there are people who want to add that piece of news to the decision about Sipadan and Ligitan as well as our Joint Military Exercise troubles and call that “Try Sutrisno’s Greatest Hits”.

Jokes aside, I don’t deny that we have become an oil importer, I don’t deny that two islands in the archipelago has been ruled to be Malaysian and I don’t deny that some of our military personnel are struggling to get through our joint exercise. There is never any guarantee that the road of national development will be smooth…never any guarantee. And all those who want to sit where I’m sitting but says otherwise are not telling the truth.

It is almost certain that we will face setbacks along the way such as those we have experienced in the last week alone.

But it’s not the setbacks we face that’s important but how we react to it, how we learn from it, how we recover from it.

Are we now going to start making real cuts to the bureaucratic red tape to interest investors to our oil industry’s upstream? Are we now going to make sure that development reaches the furthest corners of our archipelago so that others don’t start making a territorial claim on it? Are we now going to commit to strengthening our armed forces, not only in terms of weaponry but also in terms of the quality of our personnel?

Our work is not finished, my work is not finished, we have only just begun.”

---
I always knew that ITTL Indonesia would lose Sipadan and Ligitan as its OTL counterpart. It was Soeharto that agreed that to take the dispute in front of the ICJ in 1997. Try’s attitude here is not because he’s any less patriotic or nationalist (he says he will defend and develop Indonesia’s territories coughAmbalatcough) but because he is interested in getting as much ASEAN countries as possible, including Malaysia, to realize that China’s the threat.

Regarding the ABRI Exercise, I knew it wasn’t going to go smoothly. The Skyhawks has better maintenance ITTL (more defense budget etc.) but it’s still going to be feeling its age. Other than that, we’ll be exploring this throughout the coming chapters and to say more is to go into spoiler territory.

There are a few things that is indirectly revealed about ITTL Indonesia is at this stage:

-Other than those with a political interest, the general populace does not see the ruling over Sipadan and Ligitan as a big deal. First because the ruling came close to the holiday season. Second, I would say that because it’s doing better, ITTL Indonesia is more secure in how it sees itself vis a vis Malaysia. It’s fair to say there’ll be less tendency to rush in with “Ganyang Malaysia” nationalist rhetoric.

-The press is free enough to show ABRI struggling but is still subject to the Minister of Information telling it to watch out how it covers news like this.

 

[focus9912]

18th December 2002:

, Try could not shake the feeling that Najib was smugly smiling throughout the whole conversation even as he was thanking Try.

20th December 2002:
Cable TV audiences, especially those with access to Malaysian UMNO Television, found themselves watch the Malaysian UMNO media almost celebrate “Try Sutrisno’s Double Disaster Week”. The double disaster being the ICJ ruling and the current “disaster” he’s going through with the ABRI Joint Military Exercise.

As usual, the update regarding Malaysia had to be done, which fill me to dread, especially considering recent murmurs.
Notes
1. Since we have an earlier Najib administration, the media would be put into a tight leash earlier, compared to IOTL Abdullah administration which does (weirdly) liberalize (just enough to be noticeable) the media (perhaps since UMNO being UMNO, they would like to generate money, and perhaps a more palatable media that generate profits for them would probably outweigh any negative coverage by the media [TV3's Aduan Rakyat were once broadcast during Pak Lah's time before being stopped just after Najib took over as PM for example]).
2. The thing about China - Malaysia relations under IOTL and possibly ITTL Najib administration are the fact that everybody from all sides calls it a bit too friendly. Which turned out to be due to the fact there were some rumours that the Chinese goverment really facilitates and encouraging the corruption of the administration, which allows it to be stuck in debt to China. The only way for Malaysia to view China as a threat is to seriously remove Najib from power.

 

[Dude...]

18th December 2002:
The emergency meeting was convened at the Presidential Palace attended by President Try Sutrisno, Minister of Home Affairs Harsudiono Hartas, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ginandjar Kartasasmita (via telephone because he was still at The Hague), Minister of Legal Affairs Marzuki Darusman, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Tanto Kuswanto, State Minister of Rural Development Feisal Tamin, State Minister of Development of Eastern Indonesia and Special Economic Zones Rusnain Yahya, and Management of Borders National Agency (BNPP) Endriartono Sutarto.

The meeting easily came to an agreement that all of Indonesia’s existing territories must be developed and have visible signs of development to avoid the situation with Sipidan and Ligatan Islands with Endriartono being ordered to prioritize the border with Malaysia in Kalimantan over the border with Irian Jaya as far as development was concerned.

The argument had barely begun about whether or not Indonesia should appeal the ICJ’s decision than it descended into a bitter argument between Ginandjar and Marzuki. Ginandjar, urged the President to appeal the ICJ’s decision on grounds of national pride. But Marzuki countered by saying that it would not look good for the President’s foreign policy in region to appeal saying that it would look like he was going after the territory of a neighbour. Ginandjar said that he felt Marzuki was “intruding” on foreign policy while Marzuki fought back that Ginandjar intruded first by encouraging an appeal to the ICJ, which was a legal matter not a diplomatic matter. As the President thought the arguments through, Edi and Harsudiono played peacekeepers between the two ministers and calmed them down.

“We’re not appealing the decision, the reasons outlined by the Minister of Legal Affairs makes the most sense”, the President said.

“I believe you should reconsider, Mr. President, not appealing means acknowledging this loss of territory”, began Tanto, who promised to defend the Sipadan and Ligitan when he was Navy Chief of Staff “We should…”

“We still have plenty of territories that we must fight to hold on to and there is still other work for you to complete in the 3 months we have left”, interrupted the President “If you’re not happy about this decision, let’s be productive about it.”

The last thing the President said before the meeting was over was that he wants the announcement made the next day, saying that he wants to “figure out” what to say to the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

19th December 2002:
The President accompanied by Edi and Tanto (Ginandjar still being on his flight home) placed a call to Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak to inform him that Indonesia would not appeal the ICJ Ruling on Sipadan and Ligitan, Najib being accompanied by Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Rais Yatim who had already returned from the Netherlands. While Rais tried to sound magnanimous, Try could not shake the feeling that Najib was smugly smiling throughout the whole conversation even as he was thanking Try.

Making a request to Najib while he was feeling victorious, Try asked Najib for cooperation to help Indonesia curb timber smuggling along Indonesia’s border with Malaysia in Kalimantan. He said that Indonesia was seeking to establish a timber legality certification scheme and wanted Malaysia’s assistance by rejecting timber crossing the border which does not have the certification. Najib said that he will see what he could do to help but tersely added that it was up to Indonesia and its law enforcement to make sure that whatever timber crosses the border is legal.

Try also asked Najib if he could lift the moratorium on Indonesian migrant workers placed all the way back in 1999 arguing that the Malaysian economy had recovered from the Asian Financial Crisis. Najib was more receptive to this and said that he approved.

The meeting ended with Najib expressing his surprise that Indonesia would not appeal the ICJ ruling considering that it was a “territorial” issue, though it sounded like he wanted to try to peek inside Try’s mind.

“I’m merely honoring the commitment made by my predecessor that this dispute be put in front of the ICJ, the stance of this government is that it will defend and develop its territories so a dispute such as the one just settled will not happen again”, replied Try “And as far as territory goes, we have our territories, you have yours and it’s not each other that we should be worried about when it comes to territorial disputes.”

With Ginandjar still airborne, the task fell to Edi to announce the government’s decision not to dispute the ICJ Ruling on Sipadan and Ligitan and its commitment to ensure that Indonesia will continue to exercise sovereignty over existing territories. Edi highlighted that the decision to take the dispute over Sipadan and Ligitan was made by the “previous government” and that the current government was merely upholding that commitment.

20th December 2002:
The two presidential daughters led the charge in criticizing the government over its decision not to dispute the ICJ ruling over Sipadan and Ligitan. Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri led a sentence scarcely go by without the words “territorial loss” or “loss of territory” while Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto said that she hopes the President was not resorting to blaming the previous government for “present mismanagement”.

Ginandjar was now back in Jakarta and faced the press as he showed up for work at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Whilst expressing agreement to the government’s stance, Ginandjar refused to comment on the government’s comments that it was merely carrying out a commitment made by the previous government. He was even quieter when asked whether his presence and warm welcome at Tutut’s Eid gathering had made him reluctant to criticize the previous government.

But by the end of the day, Sipadan and Ligitan were out of everyone’s mind. Deputy Commander of ABRI Chappy Hakim and Air Force Chief of Staff Ali Munsiri Rappe was seen arriving at the Presidential Palace. They came out looking grim announcing that an A-4 Skyhawk had fallen into the South China Sea as it was taking part of the ABRI Joint Military Exercise. The pilot is safe but the Skyhawk was lost.

21st December 2002:
The day began with Detik.com publishing an exclusive story by their correspondents covering the ABRI Joint Military Exercise on their website. The exclusive story revealed that the personnel are struggling in the jungle warfare aspect of the exercise. Whole platoons are found to have been ordered to sit out the remainder of the exercise due to diarrhea outbreaks while the days where there have not been rain has brought with it sweltering heat, humidity, and dehydration for other personnel across the various units.

Not to be outdone, Republika TV aired a television story of their experience travelling with the 515th Mechanized Infantry Battalion. As impressive as the unit looked in their VABs, they managed to travel down a narrow, muddy, wrong road in a column leading to a dead end due to bad reconnaissance work. Republika TV aired grainy footage of the column reversing slowly in the middle of the rain.

Cable TV audiences, especially those with access to Malaysian Television, found themselves watch the Malaysian media almost celebrate “Try Sutrisno’s Double Disaster Week”. The double disaster being the ICJ ruling and the current “disaster” he’s going through with the ABRI Joint Military Exercise.

22nd December 2002:
ABRI not so much continued to struggle through the joint military exercise as it did continue to struggle under the glare of the spotlight. The news flowing out of the military exercise’s press room this morning was that the field hospitals and the medical units were beginning to report cases of dengue fever, all the while rain continue to pour down on the troops.

The government was stirred into action though it was a Sunday when Minister of Information, Post, and Telecommunication Oka Mahendra held a press conference after meeting with the President. Oka says that the military exercise has not been closed off to the press but calls on the Indonesian press to “use discretion” when reporting ABRI-related news urging media outlets not to go to the point where they start demoralizing the nation.

Asked by the press what the President is thinking about all this, Oka replied that the President receives regular updates about the joint military exercise from ABRI’s top brass which are headquartered in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan and that he will give his thoughts on the joint military exercise once the military exercise has been completed next week.

“Is it true that part of the reason why ABRI is struggling is because this too demanding for the ABRI personnel?” asked a member of the press as Oka got up to his feet.

23rd December 2002:
It was a quiet Monday morning, the nation having once again gone into holiday mode. But a group of military jeeps were seen rushing through the relatively empty traffic from Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase to the Presidential Palace. ABRI officers flocked out of the vehicles. In a meeting room at the Presidential Palace, the President, Minister of Defense and Security Wismoyo Arismunandar, and Edi Sudrajat waited for them. One by one they saluted and shook hands with the three men before sitting down.

Thus it was that Commander of ABRI Wiranto, Army Chief of Staff TB Hasanuddin, Navy Chief of Staff Djoko Sumaryono, Air Force Chief of Staff Ali Munsiri Rappe, and Chief of Police Ansyaad Mbai found themselves face to face with the President. ABRI Chief of General Staff Djaja Suparman, ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Affairs Staff Djamari Chaniago, Inspector General of ABRI Ryamizard Ryacudu, Chief of the ABRI Intelligence Agency Amirul Isnaeni, Commander of the ABRI Staff and Command College Albert Inkiriwang, Assistant of Operations at ABRI Headquarters Syarifuddin Tippe, and Assistant of Planning at ABRI Headquarters Romulo Simbolon also attended.

The conversation first discussed what had gone right with the exercise. Djoko Sumaryono and Ansyaad Mbai were beaming as they spoke about Navy, Marine Corps, and Brimob personnel’s performance during the exercise while Wiranto made note about the Myanmarian Light Infantry Battalion’s performance. But all knew that the backslapping was not going to last forever.

“Well, General Wiranto, General Hasanuddin, there are those who have not paid attention to your warning that the little things must be paid attention to in jungle warfare”, said Wismoyo to Wiranto and TB Hasanuddin before turning to all the officers “What are your thoughts on the troubles the military exercise is encountering.”

Djaja was the first to respond, saying that he had had a look at the units wiped out by diarrhea. Based on his observation, the rank-and-file felt that they had been pushed beyond their limits from their departure and that they ought be forgiven if, in the rush of things and sleep-deprived, the water they thought they had boiled for the platoon had turned out to have not been boiled at all and were then distributed to the rest of the unit. Djaja said that his main concern was morale regardless of the struggle that was being faced.

Ali Munsiri Rappe then piped in that this was not so say anything about how the Air Force felt about losing a Skyhawk in front of the press and other nations’ military attaches.

It was the two-star officers who spoke next and spoke forcefully: Syarifuddin Tippe and Romulo Simbolon. They reminded the meeting that the Director of the Joint Military Exercise Syaiful Rizal’s aim was to push the personnel to their limits. The aim is not just for the personnel to be mindful of the “little things” when it came to jungle warfare, it is also to be mindful of the little things whilst under pressure and whilst simulating, as close as possible, battle conditions.

Ryamizard muttered something about the two having spent not enough time leading troops and Djaja murmured something in agreement.

“No, no, Ryamizard…Djaja”, said the President breaking his silence “Consider this an exercise on whether or not the top brass can speak candidly during situations like these.”

Djamari cautiously asked whether the joint military exercise should perhaps be aborted asking what this is doing to Indonesia’s image domestically and internationally alike. Amirul countered that he does not mind if the “world” had a lesser view of Indonesia’s military capability saying that it could get Australia to stop worrying about Indonesia and it would be advantageous in a military encounter to be underestimated. All in the room noticed a slight smirk appear on the President’s face at this.

At this point, Wiranto disagreed with the views being outlined. He said that it does matter for Indonesia’s aspirations for leadership in ASEAN if there is a lesser view of its military capability in the region and that aborting the exercise would do even more damage to morale to ABRI personnel in general, not just those participating in the exercise.

There was silence in the room and then the President mumbled something in agreement and all attention turned to him.

“Well, Mr. Army Chief of Staff, what do you think?” asked the President.

Now all eyes turned to TB Hasanuddin and all the officers suddenly felt like they were sitting in on a final examination.

“Well, Mr. President, understand that some of the personnel will be demoralized by what they are going through but it is something that they as soldiers, sailors, airmen, and policemen alike should work to overcome, and we will help them with that, because the demands placed on them in the future will only increase”, said TB Hasanuddin “And while our assertiveness on the international stage is supported by our level of economic development, it should also be supported by our military capability which is not only reflected in what weapons we are acquiring but the quality of our personnel. I would recommend that that we see this exercise through to the end, conduct a review of this exercise at the conclusion and implement the recommendations of the exercise though I believe in the case of our downed Skyhawk, we should not wait long to be able to conclude a purchase of some new aircrafts.”

The President was satisfied, Wiranto looked at his command baton like he would not have long with it and to the letter, TB Hasanuddin’s advice was announced by the officers once they left the meeting and fronted a press conference.

24th December 2002:
The President and his entourage arrived at Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi in the morning where they were welcomed by Governor of South Sulawesi Zainal Basri Palaguna. The President and his entourage travelled to Pinrang where accompanied by Minister of Mining and Energy Djiteng Marsudi and Head of the BKPM Mari Pangestu, he inaugurated the Pare-Pare Oil Refinery which was an investment of the Pare-Pare Refining Corporation.

In his speech, the President praised the project and those who have invested in it as well as the refining capacity of the refinery. But seeing the cameras all around, the President decided to put his speech aside.

“There’s a set of numbers this month I’ve been sitting on. I had originally intended to announce this as I deliver the Draft Budget Speech but I thought it seems more appropriate to tell this now. These set of numbers are how much oil we produce and how much we import. And it’s been confirmed that as of November, the amount of oil we import has exceeded the amount of oil we produce. We have officially become an oil importer.

Now I’m telling you all this because there are people who want to add that piece of news to the decision about Sipadan and Ligitan as well as our Joint Military Exercise troubles and call that “Try Sutrisno’s Greatest Hits”.

Jokes aside, I don’t deny that we have become an oil importer, I don’t deny that two islands in the archipelago has been ruled to be Malaysian and I don’t deny that some of our military personnel are struggling to get through our joint exercise. There is never any guarantee that the road of national development will be smooth…never any guarantee. And all those who want to sit where I’m sitting but says otherwise are not telling the truth.

It is almost certain that we will face setbacks along the way such as those we have experienced in the last week alone.

But it’s not the setbacks we face that’s important but how we react to it, how we learn from it, how we recover from it.

Are we now going to start making real cuts to the bureaucratic red tape to interest investors to our oil industry’s upstream? Are we now going to make sure that development reaches the furthest corners of our archipelago so that others don’t start making a territorial claim on it? Are we now going to commit to strengthening our armed forces, not only in terms of weaponry but also in terms of the quality of our personnel?

Our work is not finished, my work is not finished, we have only just begun.”

---
I always knew that ITTL Indonesia would lose Sipadan and Ligitan as its OTL counterpart. It was Soeharto that agreed that to take the dispute in front of the ICJ in 1997. Try’s attitude here is not because he’s any less patriotic or nationalist (he says he will defend and develop Indonesia’s territories coughAmbalatcough) but because he is interested in getting as much ASEAN countries as possible, including Malaysia, to realize that China’s the threat.

Regarding the ABRI Exercise, I knew it wasn’t going to go smoothly. The Skyhawks has better maintenance ITTL (more defense budget etc.) but it’s still going to be feeling its age. Other than that, we’ll be exploring this throughout the coming chapters and to say more is to go into spoiler territory.

There are a few things that is indirectly revealed about ITTL Indonesia is at this stage:

-Other than those with a political interest, the general populace does not see the ruling over Sipadan and Ligitan as a big deal. First because the ruling came close to the holiday season. Second, I would say that because it’s doing better, ITTL Indonesia is more secure in how it sees itself vis a vis Malaysia. It’s fair to say there’ll be less tendency to rush in with “Ganyang Malaysia” nationalist rhetoric.

-The press is free enough to show ABRI struggling but is still subject to the Minister of Information telling it to watch out how it covers news like this.

The ABRI struggle is interesting because Wiranto is right about the image is still matter as Indonesia will start taking more leading role in SEA. But pushing ABRI to the limit (and receiving the faults or issues from it) should be seeing as an eye opening not a failure. I bet after the exercise ABRI will immediately push for modernization and/or reorganization (fun fact at 2003 ish I read somewhere the chinese is learning about how American fought in the 2003 Iraq Invasion and it stunned the Chinese a lot to the point whatever modernization and reorganization that happen since 2017 happen because of Iraq war. Just saying that our own military growth could just so happen at the same time happens when the Chinese also realizing that they needed to modernize also).
And as usual, overall great chapter. Its good to see Try is facing some setbacks that expected to happen cuz it happen in IRL anyway.

 

[wahyubison]

Joint military exercise need to get continue
The exercise important because we can see how prepared the military to respons against many threat from internal and external. Now we see how unprepared ABRI and Brimob on this joint exercise. Something can be done. Well replacement with Su-30 / Su-32 / Tu-160 / Tu-22M3

 

[MCPO-MagicalGeek]

I would say this is the time where ABRI would basically be saying to everyone: We need to modernized and reorganized.

It's a prefect time, if some of the foreign correspondent can play it as the US is deliberately making ARBI weak so we can't fight the Muslim Insurgents and Terrorist or even the small things that would be diplomatic insults it can work well on the diplomatic front.

 

[Unknown]

We're now a little over two years away from one of the worst disasters in Indonesian (and, indeed, Indian Ocean history): the Aceh earthquake-tsunami, which killed up to 170,000 people in Indonesia and 60,000 people elsewhere in the Indian Ocean.

If Try is still president, I wonder what his reaction will be to it...

Good updates, BTW...

 

[Snowflake]

How strong is Indonesian currency in this tl ?. Cause we all know Indonesian currency is one of the weakest currency in otl. Btw in the era of president Habibie in otl 1 Usd is 6.000 rupiah.

 

[GSD310]

How strong is Indonesian currency in this tl ?. Cause we all know Indonesian currency is one of the weakest currency in otl. Btw in the era of president Habibie in otl 1 Usd is 6.000 rupiah.

It has spent most of the TL in the 1$= Rp. 4,000-4,100 range. 4,800ish was as low as it got back in early 1998.

From a TL-writing standpoint, I picked November 1997 as the starting date because I already had in it in my mind that Indonesia was going to get out of the crisis a lot sooner than in OTL. The exchange rate was about 1$= Rp. 3,700 at the time. I think that was a sweet spot where Indonesia was definitely in a crisis but still nowhere near the social unrest and riots that was to come.

 

[Snowflake]

@GSD310 can you tell us about Indonesia GDP, GDP Per Capita, etc?.

 

[GSD310]

@GSD310 can you tell us about Indonesia GDP, GDP Per Capita, etc?.

Bear with me on this one. We're in the final 2.5 months of the current presidential term. So there'll be some looking back at how the economy has done over the last 5 years.

And just as a reminder, Try's term will end on 11th March 2003 exactly 5 years after his current term starts on 11th March 1998. The MPR General Session will meet from 1st-11th March 2003 which coincides with the final 11 days of the term and it will be here that there will be an election for offices the president and vice president. The inauguration of the president and vice president for the new governmental term will coincide with the closing day of the MPR General Session.

And if we're speaking about terms, Soeharto was inaugurated on 11th March 1993 for a 5 year term scheduled to last until 11th March 1998. ITTL he dies on 29th November 1997 and Try takes over for the remaining few months of the term. This short few months is Try's first term. On 11th March 1998, Try is sworn in for his first full 5 year term but his second term overall. ITTL no term limits have been placed on the presidency.