SETTING HISTORY STRAIGHT? INDONESIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE NEW ORDER A thesis presented to the faculty of the Center for International Studies of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Sony Karsono August 2005 This thesis entitled SETTING HISTORY STRAIGHT? INDONESIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE NEW ORDER by Sony Karsono has been approved for the Department of Southeast Asian Studies and the Center for International Studies by William H. Frederick Associate Professor of History Josep Rota Director of International Studies KARSONO, SONY. M.A. August 2005. International Studies Setting History Straight? Indonesian Historiography in the New Order (274 pp.) Director of Thesis: William H. Frederick This thesis discusses one central problem: What happened to Indonesian historiography in the New Order (1966-98)? To analyze the problem, the author studies the connections between the major themes in his intellectual autobiography and those in the metahistory of the regime. Proceeding in chronological and thematic manner, the thesis comes in three parts. Part One presents the author’s intellectual autobiography, which illustrates how, as a member of the generation of people who grew up in the New Order, he came into contact with history. Part Two examines the genealogy of and the major issues at stake in the post-New Order controversy over the rectification of history. Part Three ends with several concluding observations. First, the historiographical engineering that the New Order committed was not effective. Second, the regime created the tools for people to criticize itself, which shows that it misunderstood its own society. Third, Indonesian contemporary culture is such that people abhor the idea that there is no single truth. Approved: William H. Frederick Associate Professor of History For Nurchayati, Kartini, and Henky Sjarief Soeriadinata Acknowledgments Without the unstinting moral support of my mother Kartini and my wife Nurchayati, I would not have had the energies to complete this thesis. And it was my father, the late Henky Sjarief Soeriadinata, who, in 1987, awakened in me the desire to undertake a study overseas. It is to them that I dedicate this work. For the funding of my master’s study in the United States, 2003-2005, of which this thesis constituted the final part, I relied on three institutions. I am indebted to the Fulbright Exchange Program and Ohio University for their generous scholarships. And I wish to thank the University of Surabaya in Indonesia for allowing me to go on paid leave to undertake my study. I am grateful to many individuals in the United States and Indonesia who provided me with administrative assistance at critical stages of my study. I wish to thank Drew McDaniel, Karla Schneider, Joan Kraynanski, and Jill McKinney at Ohio University’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies. I also wish to thank Piet Hendrardjo at the AMINEF in Jakarta as well as Brenda Simmons and Christina Holdvogt at the IIE Midwest Regional Center in Chicago. The research I conducted from 2004 to 2005 for this work would not have been possible without the kind support from various individuals in the United States and Indonesia. While hunting for and amassing various sources for Part Two of this thesis, I received considerable help at Ohio University’s Southeast Asia Collection from Jeff Ferrier, Jeffrey Shane, Lucy Conn, Nurul Pratiwi, and Nurhaya Muchtar. And, while working on parts of the thesis which deal specifically with students’ encounters with history in the New Order and with the post-New controversy over Indonesian historiography, I was able to benefit from the kindness of many people in Indonesia who were willing to share with me their ideas and experiences: Asvi Warman Adam in Jakarta, Bambang Purwanto in Yogyakarta, Zunafi in Kediri, and Evilina Sutrisno and Ahmad Faishal in Surabaya. I wish to thank my thesis director, William H. Frederick, for his wisdom, encouragement, and illuminating criticism. To say this, however, is an understatement. For in him, more than in anybody else, I find a teacher who has shaped my fundamental understanding of Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and history as a discipline. I am also grateful to the other members of my thesis committee for their instructive and constructive suggestions: Elizabeth F. Collins and Peter J. Brobst. All these people contributed a great deal to the writing of my thesis. Yet, it is only I who am responsible for any errors and misinterpretations that remain in it. 7 Table of Contents Page Abstract....................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments....................................................................................................... 5 List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................. 9 Introduction.................................................................................................................11 Part One. Encounter with History in the New Order: Audience’s Point of View 15 1. Origins, Absence, and Forgetfulness ..............................................................15 2. My Family, My Roots.....................................................................................20 3. Books and Libraries ........................................................................................27 4. School Books versus “Cool” Books ...............................................................34 5. Documents and History...................................................................................39 6. Love and the Destruction of Personal Archives .............................................41 7. Museums: Official versus Unofficial ..............................................................42 8. Flag Raising Ceremony and National Memory ..............................................57 9. The National Monument and Others...............................................................65 10. The Treason of G30S/PKI: A New Order “Historical” Movie .......................78 11. Mohammad Husni Thamrin on Television.....................................................90 12. Cemetery, “History,” and Personal Monument ..............................................93 13. My History Teachers.......................................................................................96 14. My Interest in History: Its Origins and Development ..................................103 Part Two. On the Rectification of Indonesian History: Major Themes 120 15. The Structure of This Part.............................................................................120 16. The Elite’s Perspective: Debating Indonesia’s Genesis, 1946-1990s...........124 17. Education That Went Awry: Students’ and Teachers’ Experience with History in the New Order .............................................................................174 18. The Plight of the Academic Historian in the New Order..............................191 a. The Politics of Representation: Chaos, “Pornography,” and Purification .................................................................................................................191 b. The Economics of Historical Studies: Poor Facilities, Poor Human Resources ................................................................................................201 19. After the Collapse of the New Order: Questions..........................................207 20. On the Rectification of the History of 1965: Themes in a Controversy .......211 a. Asvi Warman Adam ...............................................................................211 b. Bambang Purwanto ................................................................................222 c. Taufik Abdullah......................................................................................229 8 d. Comparison, Contrast, Critique ..............................................................237 21. The Problems of History Teachers in the Post-New Order Era....................242 22. Students’ Problems with History in Post-New Order Indonesia ..................246 23. Afterthoughts ................................................................................................250 Part Three. Concluding Remarks 253 Bibliography .............................................................................................................265 9 List of Abbreviations ASEAN : Association of Southeast Asian Nations BPUPKI : Investigatory Body for Preparatory Works for Indonesia’s Independence (Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia) BTI : Indonesian Peasant Front (Barisan Tani Indonesia) FAO : Food and Agriculture Organization G30S/PKI : September 30 Movement/Indonesian Communist Party (Gerakan 30 September/Partai Komunis Indonesia) GDP : Gross Domestic Product Gerwani : Indonesian Women’s Movement (Gerakan Wanita Indonesia) Golkar : Functional Groups (Golongan Karya) GPA : Grade Point Average HAM : Human Rights (Hak Asasi Manusia) HIS : Dutch-language primary school for Indonesians (Hollandsch-Inlandsche School) HMI : Islamic Students Association (Himpunan Mahasiswa Islam) IKIP : Teachers Training College (Institut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan) IMF : International Monetary Fund KITLV : Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde) KNIL : Royal Netherlands Indies Army (Koninklijk Nederlandsch Indisch Leger) Leknas :