Events

Jointly organized by Department of Southeast Asian Studies, and the Indonesia Study Group of Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.

On 21 May 1998, students who occupied the Parliament Building in Jakarta cheered with joy upon hearing the resignation of President Suharto. Some celebrated by soaking themselves in the water fountain of the Parliament complex. More than three decades of Suharto’s dictatorship have seen Indonesia’s economy growing through immersion in the global market, resource extraction, crony capitalism and developmentalist obsession, but not without repression of opposition, oppression of freedom of speech, forced occupation of resource-rich areas, controlled propaganda-filled national media and military domination amidst social and political inequalities across Indonesia. Social movements against the authoritarian regime had existed for more than a decade before the ‘Smiling General’’s eventual resignation, resulting in suppressions, political kidnapping, and disappearance of activists, but finally the 1997 economic crisis provided a window of opportunity for a bigger mobilization, leading to the historical Reformasi moment and era.

May 2018 marks two decades of Reformasi, through which Indonesia had had many changes. Presidents are now directly elected, and so are provincial governors, regents and city mayors. City governments currently have the autonomy to manage issues, to plan their budgets and to make decisions over local developments. Public universities are financially restructured through a series of government regulations. The Constitution was amended and now includes an expanded chapter on human rights and the establishment of the Constitutional Court. Civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations proliferated. However, not everything has changed since 1998. Human rights violations remain unresolved, repressive actions in the name of development continues, and some prominent political and economic actors from the Suharto era remain powerful. Moreover, new challenges arise as results of old problems with new constellations, among which are the spread of media access and hoax, segregations and politicized identities, and racketeering regimes in various scales.

This one-day symposium brings together Indonesia scholars from various disciplines to reflect on Indonesia’s Reformasi, two decades on. Discussions will address the following questions:

• What were the expectations of Reformasi?
• What have been the changes in Indonesia after Reformasi? How have the outcomes met/not meet the expectations?
• Why were some expectations fulfilled and some not?

Besides examining issues within their own research, this event also provides a platform for discussion about Indonesian studies after Reformasi, which will cover the current situation, challenges, and how to move forward.

REGISTRATION

Admission is free. Please register at https://mysurvey.nus.edu.sg/EFM/se/543BE5C24A975298.

CONTACT DETAILS

Convenors

Assoc Prof Itty Abraham
Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
E | seaai@nus.edu.sg

Dr Rita Padawangi
Singapore University of Social Sciences
E | ritapadawangi@suss.edu.sg