Scandal and Democracy

Scandal and Democracy Mary E. McCoy Scandal and Democracy Media Politics in Indonesia Southeast Asia Program Publications an imprint of Cornell University Press Ithaca and London Southeast Asia Program Publications Editorial Board Mahinder Kingra (ex o icio) Thak Chaloemtiarana Chiara Formichi Tamara Loos Kaja McGowan Copyright © 2019 by Cornell University The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. To use this book, or parts of this book, in any way not covered by the license, please contact Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu. First published 2019 by Cornell University Press Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: McCoy, Mary E., 1968– author. Title: Scandal and democracy : media politics in Indonesia / Mary E. McCoy. Description: Ithaca : Southeast Asia Program Publications, an imprint of Cornell University Press, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018029443 (print) | LCCN 2018032259 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501731051 (pdf) | ISBN 9781501731068 (epub/mobi) | ISBN 9781501731037 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781501731044 (pbk. : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Mass media—Political aspects—Indonesia. | Press and politics— Indonesia. | Press—Indonesia—Influence. | Democratization—Indonesia. | Political corruption—Indonesia. | Indonesia—Politics and government—1998– Classification: LCC P95.82.I5 (ebook) | LCC P95.82.I5 M43 2019 (print) | DDC 302.2309598—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018029443 Cover image by Hengki Irawan, illustrator for the Jogja Daily newspaper. To my mother, Kathryn E. Pixley, who raised me with a love of reading and writing and to my father, Edward E. Pixley, who taught me to venture into the unknown Contents Acknowledgments ix Note on Spelling and Personal Names xi Introduction: Understanding Democratic Consolidation 1 Chapter 1 Origins of Media Controls 15 Chapter 2 Delegitimating Authoritarianism 33 Chapter 3 Suharto’s Fall 53 Chapter 4 Reformasi 67 Chapter 5 Media in Retreat 85 Chapter 6 Baligate and All the Gates 107 Chapter 7 Scandal and Democratic Consolidation 121 Chapter 8 Media and Civil Society 139 Appendixes 161 Notes 167 Index 203 Acknowledgments The warmth and generosity of all of those who helped me in my research and writing continually amazed me, and I apologize to anyone I fail to mention here. In partic- ular, I would like to thank my advisers at Northwestern University—Jim Ettema, Tom Goodnight, Jim Schwoch, and Jeff Winters—for their encouragement, suggestions, and careful readings of diff erent drafts of this project. As the work continued, friends and colleagues—Gwen Walker, Erin Cantos, Denise Lamb, Duncan McCargo, Susan Zaeske, Rob Asen, Marty Medhurst, and Karen Rebholtz—gave helpful comments on my revised drafts. I am especially indebted to Eunsook Jung, who supported the project at critical moments and aided in the visual conceptualization of my argument, and Charlotte Frascona, who helped me think through various challenges at each stage. I owe special thanks to all who gave me their time and provided insights in inter- views and other conversations throughout my year of fieldwork in Jakarta and Manila. For sharing their files and allowing me an inside perspective on the workings of their organizations, I am grateful to Heru Hendratmoko, Lukas Luwarso, Ezki Suyanto, and Achmad Taufik of Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI); the staff of Ramako-FM; Haris Jauhari and Despen Ompusunggu of Ikatan Jurnalis Televisi Indonesia (IJTI); S. Leo Batubara, Asep Sunara Martadiredja, and H. M. Purnowo of Serikat Penerbit Suratkabar (SPS); Ignatius Haryanto and Rusdi Marpaung (Ucok) of Lembaga Studi Pers & Pembangunan (LSPP); Lin Neumann of the Committee to Protect Journal- ists (CPJ); Andreas Harsono of Institut Studi Arus Informasi (ISAI); Budiman S. Hartoyo of Persatuan Wartawan Indonesia Reformasi (PWI-Reformasi); Kukuh San- yoto of Masyarakat Pers dan Penyiaran Indonesia (MPPI); Hinca Pandjaitan of the Media Law Center; Ade Armando of the University of Indonesia; Magdalena Daluas of TVRI; Irawati Pratigno of AC Nielsen; Ilham Bintang of Persatuan Wartawan Indone- sia (PWI); Syamsul Ma’arif of Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI); and the members of the Jakarta Media Center. For their hospitality and insights while I was in Jakarta, many thanks to Alwi Dahlan, Aristides Katoppo, Atmakusumah Astraatmadja, Bambang Harymurti, Chus- nul Mar’iyah, Daniel Dhakidae, Dede Oetomo, Djafar Assegaff, Eka Sitorus, Gunarso Kusumodiningrat, Ishadi S.K., Joesoef Isak, John McBeth, K. Basrie, Kathleen Reen, Marsillam Simanjuntak, Miriam Nainggolan, M.S. Zulkarnaen, Parni Hadi, Riza Pri- madi, Rosihan Anwar, Sumita Tobing, Trimoelja Soerjadi, Wimar Witoelar, Xanana Gusmão, and Yuli Ismartono. Thanks also to Teri Caraway, Beth Drexler, and Bronwyn Curran for their valuable friendship during our year of living through the turmoil and revelry of post-Suharto Indonesia. In Manila, I also benefited greatly from the counsel of Sheila Coronel, Melinda Quintos de Jesus, and Helen Mendoza. Much love and gratitude to Jakarta friends Delfina Yuniara, Teguh Dewabrata, and Dameria Nainggolan, who taught me so much and helped me in more ways than I can begin to name here. Warm thanks also to my Jakarta research assistants, Sora, Eva, Hera, Sylvia, Yuli, Fenty, Yuni, Rully, and Joy, for all their work clipping, filing, and transcribing. x Acknowledgments As the project moved toward publication at Cornell University Press, I received two invaluable reports from anonymous reviewers that served as my roadmap to revi- sions. In this process, Sarah E. M. Grossman proved an ideal editor, both providing encouragement and pressing me toward completion. When the book went into production, Karen Hwa, senior production editor at the press, and the book’s copy editor, Florence Grant, were both assiduous and thoughtful. Finally, and most importantly, I owe an enormous debt to my parents, Kathryn and Edward Pixley; my husband, Alfred McCoy; my in-laws, Margarita Piel McCoy, Margarita Candace Ground, and Marcella Pixley; and my brother, Stephen Pixley, for being the audience that gave my writing meaning, and to my children, Meg and Cyrus, for coming into my life in the middle of this project and bringing me happiness on even the hardest days. Note on Spelling and Personal Names Names in this book, with certain exceptions, are spelled using the post-1972 system (Ejaan yang Disempurnakan). Exceptions include those that appear in quota- tions from other sources and names of authors in the notes who use the old spelling. With the new system, the name of Indonesia’s fi rst president, for example, is spelled “Sukarno” instead of “Soekarno,” “Soesanto Pudjomartono” becomes “Susanto Pujomartono,” and “Akbar Tandjung” becomes “Akbar Tanjung.” Also, as Western news sources frequently point out, many Indonesians, such as the former president Suharto, go by only one name. These cases are indicated in brackets [one name] in the fi rst reference to the person. For Indonesians with multiple names, there is no standard practice for short- ened references. Instead, use of the first, middle, or last part of their full names, or a nickname, varies by individual. For example, the former minister of information, Muhammad Yunus Yosfiah, is called “Pak [Mr.] Yunus,” while the former director general of press and graphics, H. Dailami, is called “Pak Dailami,” and the former head of Kompas , Jakob Oetama, is called “Pak Jakob.” For the sake of simplicity, after the first reference to an individual by his or her full name, subsequent references use the last component of the person’s name, which in the United States would be called the surname. For example, the Golkar leader Akbar Tanjung is commonly called “A k bar” or “Pak Akbar,” but in this book I refer to him as “Tanjung” after the first reference. Notable exceptions include the former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, who is referred to in short references as “Megawati” or “President Megawati.” Scandal and Democracy Introduction: Understanding Democratic Consolidation While democracy in the long run is the most stable form of government, in the short run, it is among the most fragile. —Madeleine Albright, speech delivered at the conference “Towards a Community of Democracies,” Warsaw, June 26, 2000 In May 1998, as the Indonesian capital of Jakarta smoldered from days of rioting, arson, and gunfire, the aging autocrat President Suharto resigned after more than three decades in power. With the nation slipping toward bankruptcy and separatist revolts simmering in remote provinces, his vice president, Bacharuddin Jusuf (B. J.) Habibie, took office, named a new cabinet, and promised democratic reforms. Less than two weeks later, sixty supporters of the once-outlawed Alliance of Independent Journalists (Aliansi Jurnalis Independen, AJI) gathered to discuss preventing a return of authoritarian media controls, a defining issue not only for these journalists but for the entire reform movement. In marked contrast to the secrecy once required to avoid police raids, organizers of this gathering invited television crews to film their proceedings, and a top official from the once-feared Ministry of Information served as a speaker. In another sign of a new era, when these journalists later marched from the

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