Indonesia Update Conference 2006
Democracy and the Promise of Good Governance
22–23 September 2006
About the speakers
M. Chatib Basri
Institute for Economic and Social Research, Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia (LPEM-FEUI)
Dr M. Chatib Basri is Director of the Institute for Economic and Social Research in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia, and adviser to the Indonesian government. He is also a Research Associate with the Indonesia Project in the Economics Department, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia in 1992, and went on to obtain a Master of Economic Development degree and a PhD in Economics from ANU, in 1996 and 2001, respectively. Dr Basri is the author of number of papers, including: 'Ideas, Interests and Oil Prices: The Political Economy of Trade Reform During Soeharto's Indonesia' (with Hal Hill), and co-editor (with Pierre van der Eng) of the book from the 2003 Indonesia Update conference: Business in Indonesia: New Challenges, Old Problems. He also writes for various newspapers and magazines in Indonesia.
Arianto Patunru
Institute for Economic and Social Research, Faculty of Economics, University of Indonesia (LPEM-FEUI)
Dr Arianto A. Patunru holds a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is now Deputy Director of the Institute for Economic and Social Research in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Indonesia, where he heads the Macroeconomics and Policy Research Department. He also teaches Microeconomics at the University of Indonesia's School of Economics, at undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr Patunru's areas of interest also include globalisation, development, and environmental economics.
Economic Update
Indonesia's growth remained modest in the second quarter of 2006, but the economy has performed better than expected. Macroeconomic progress continued: inflationary pressure has been reduced significantly, the rupiah has stabilised, and stock prices have been surging since early 2003. With macroeconomic stabilisation and high commodity prices in international markets, a sense of optimism is becoming apparent in some economic sectors, particularly in relation to portfolio investment and primary products. However, the economy continues to depend on government consumption and high commodity prices for exports. Investment spending remains low, and a package of investment policy reforms is necessary to improve Indonesia's competitiveness and to induce high economic growth. Without this the economy can do little more than muddle through. While the road to economic recovery is still winding and bumpy, however, it is not unpromising.
Della Temenggung
Economics Department, RSPAS, ANU
Della Y.A. Temenggung is a PhD candidate in the Department of Economics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU, and is writing her dissertation on Foreign Direct Investment and Technology Spillovers in Indonesia. Della has been a lecturer in the Industrial Engineering Department at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) since 1998, and is a member of the Expert Group on Industrial Systems and Techno-economy in the Faculty of Industrial Technology at ITB. She has worked as a consultant and trainer for firms, industry associations, government and international agencies in Indonesia. Her main interests are industry, trade, and development economics, efficiency and productivity studies, and optimisation techniques. She holds a Master Degree in Industrial Management and Engineering from ITB (2001) and a bachelor degree in Industrial Engineering from the same university (1998). She is a recipient of the National Best Student Award from the President of the Republic of Indonesia and the Graduation Award (cum laude) from the Chancellor of ITB. Della is currently President of the Indonesian Students Association of Australia (PPIA).
Rodd McGibbon
Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU
Dr Rodd McGibbon received his Ph.D. in political science and international relations from the ANU, and is currently a visiting fellow at the University's Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. Prior to taking up this position he spent eight years in Indonesia working on issues related to the political transition, with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). His recent publications include Plural Society in Peril: Migration, Economic Change and the Papua Conflict and Secessionist Conflicts in Aceh and Papua: Is Special Autonomy the Solution?, both published in 2004 by the East-West Center, Washington. His latest research monograph, Pitfalls of Papua, will be published by the Lowy Institute for International Policy in October 2006.
Politics Update
Indonesia experienced relative political stability in the second year of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's term in office. This was primarily due to the vice-president's ability to forge stable legislature-executive relations, the growing authority of the president over the armed forces, and the government's record in avoiding scandals. Some significant breakthroughs have been recorded, including notable successes in countering terrorism and corruption, successful implementation of direct elections for local government executives, and the enactment of the Law on Governing Aceh.
Notwithstanding such gains, however, 2006 has been a year of reckoning for the government. Demands grew for it to do more to address poverty and unemployment, and to improve government services, but such efforts were hampered by a sluggish economy that demanded painful and unpopular adjustments. Changes of this kind would not only take time to translate into economic revival, but also provoked popular opposition from organised interests and party factions, including from within the cabinet.
One of the defining questions of 2006, therefore, is whether, in a mid-term year between elections, the government is prepared to take hard decisions, with the risk of alienating important constituencies and powerful interests in order to improve the chance of economic revival by the time of the 2009 presidential elections. In many important respects - such as over the labour law and continuing high energy subsidies - the government opted for the safer option of giving in to populist forces and organised interests. The government's ambivalent efforts to revive the economy represent a missed opportunity to make difficult adjustments that may ultimately damage its re-election chances. But there are few credible rivals to Yudhoyono at present, and the economy is sluggish rather than in crisis.
Ideological debates have also sparked in 2006 with renewed vigour, shaped by growing concerns that a proposed bill on pornography and the introduction of controversial regional bylaws were covert attempts to introduce Islamic law. Secular nationalists have accused advocates of Islamic-inspired laws of violating the constitution and eroding the pluralist foundations of the state. For their part, Islamicist leaders accused opponents of Islam phobia. Such debates have exposed the enduring nature of ideological Departments within Indonesian society, and the continuing lack of consensus over the founding principles of the state. But while the cultural wars were viewed with alarm in some quarters, notable victories have been achieved by those advocating the maintenance of Indonesia's secular nationalist traditions. These included a sweeping revision of the anti-pornography bill to remove its offending provisions before it was put to the parliament again for review, as well as a spirited defence, including by the President, of Indonesia's previously discredited state ideology of Pancasila.
Anies Baswedan
Partnership for Governance Reform, Indonesia
Dr Anies Baswedan is a National Advisor on Decentralisation and Regional Autonomy at the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia and Research Director at the Indonesian Institute. He was the 2005 Gerald Maryanov Fellow at the Department of Political Science, Northern Illinois University, where he completed his dissertation on Regional Autonomy and Patterns of Democracy in Indonesia. During his student years at Gadjah Mada University, he was involved in the student movement and was President of the Student Senate. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for his Masters at the University of Maryland, College Park (on International Economic and Security Policy). He has published numerous articles on decentralisation, democracy, and political Islam in Indonesia. His latest journal article, entitled 'Political Islam: Present and Future Trajectory', appeared in the journal Asian Survey, published by the University of California at Berkeley. His academic background is a combination of two distinct but related fields of economics and political science.
Andrew Ellis
International IDEA
Andrew Ellis is currently the Head of the Electoral Processes Team at International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) in Stockholm. He has wide experience as a technical adviser on electoral and institutional matters in democratic transitions. He acted as Senior Adviser for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Indonesia from 1999 to 2003, working with members of the Indonesian legislature dealing with constitutional amendment and reform of electoral and political laws, and with NGOs and political commentators. He is the co-author of Electoral System Design: The New International IDEA Handbook, the forthcoming Electoral Management Design Handbook and of numerous papers on institutional framework design issues.
His other recent assignments include acting as Chief Technical Adviser to the Palestinian Election Commission under the European Commission's support for all aspects of the preparation of the first Palestinian elections in 1996, and design and planning for the EC's electoral assistance programme in Cambodia for the 1998 elections.
He was formerly Vice Chair and subsequently Secretary General of the UK Liberal Party and Chief Executive of the UK Liberal Democrats, stood four times for the UK Parliament, and was an elected member of a major local authority.
National political institutions
This paper looks in depth at the political dynamics of the process of constitutional amendment in Indonesia from 1999 to 2002, and considers why only a limited range of options was realistically available. It assesses the preparations for and implementation of the 2004 elections, including elements of the electoral legislation such as the electoral system and the encouragement of the representation of women. The performance of key elements of the new institutional framework since 2004 is discussed, including executive/legislative relations, the DPD, the Constitutional Court and the judicial system, and initial comparisons made with existing writing on whether and how presidential democracies can succeed. Finally, it compares the broadly elite-driven negotiated constitution building process of Indonesia with other approaches to constitution building worldwide, noting that the lack of a widely participative process can have advantages as well as drawbacks.
Staffan Synnerstrom
Asian Development Bank
Staffan Synnerstrom has been the Asian Development Bank's Governance Advisor in Indonesia since 2001, and is currently assigned to the Commission for Eradication of Corruption (KPK). Before joining the ADB he was Senior Counsellor at OECD/SIGMA (Support for Improvement in Governance and Management) for nine years, in charge of SIGMA's activities to support civil service reform in 13 Central and Eastern European countries.
In his earlier career in Sweden he became Under-secretary of State, responsible for civil service and public administration reform. During this period major reforms of the Swedish state administration were designed and implemented. At the end of his term, the number of state civil servants had been reduced from 400,000 to 230,000 as a consequence of major restructuring of government agencies, and of general, quota-defined cut-backs. He was instrumental in designing and implementing a new scheme for re-deployment that was introduced as a pre-requisite for the lay-offs. He was also actively involved in transforming the Swedish civil service pay scheme from a broad-banded general pay scheme into sector-specific schemes with pay determined individually and based on performance.
Staffan Synnerstrom is the co-author and editor of ADB's 2004 Indonesia Country Governance Assessment Report. He holds a Master of Law from Uppsala University.
The Civil Service: towards Efficiency, Effectiveness and Honesty
There are two key paths to improved civil service performance: increased transparency and strengthened accountability. In addition, successful reform has two fundamental prerequisites. First, the relevant authorities need to take command of the administration and of the reform process. In Indonesia's current fragmented civil service management context, nothing will happen unless certain measures are put in place to manage and to monitor reform. Second, there must be an appropriate budget system, such as that outlined in Indonesia's Law 17/2003 on State Finances. Implementation of the provisions of this law should be an urgent priority.
In addition to these two reform prerequisites, I discuss some seven objectives that need to be achieved if civil servants' performance is eventually to be improved. In relation to implementation, I argue for a two step approach with a few 'quick wins', in addition to pursuing this comprehensive reform agenda. Selectivity is important: institutions with reform-minded leadership should be chosen and should be given freedom to introduce improvements. Further, the leadership should agree on delivery and reform targets with such institutions. These agreements should be public, and progress should be monitored and regularly reported on the internet.
Finally, I argue that the use of showcases can be effective. Some regional governments have made serious and successful reform efforts, and could be used as showcases. Alternatively, a major construction project could be selected as a showcase for corruption free procurement. With good management and sufficient transparency, such a project could help change the prevailing corruption culture plaguing public procurement.
Ron Duncan
Crawford School of Economics and Government, ANU
Professor Ron Duncan is Foundation Executive Director, Pacific Institute of Advanced Studies in Development and Governance, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, and Professor Emeritus in the Crawford School of Economics and Government at ANU. He is Editor of the Asian-Pacific Economic Literature journal and Joint Editor of the Pacific Economic Bulletin.
Until September, 2002, Ron was Director of the Asia Pacific School of Economics and Management at ANU, and also Executive Director of the National Centre for Development Studies at ANU. From 1980 to 1993, Ron was employed by the World Bank. Prior to that, he worked in the Australian Government's Industries Assistance Commission and the New South Wales Department of Agriculture.
Ron's research and teaching interests are in the economics and governance of developing countries, agricultural and trade policy, competition policy, primary commodity markets, and management of natural resources. His primary developing country interests are in countries of the South Pacific and East Asia. He is a member of the Australian Foreign Minister's Aid Advisory Council.
In 2003, Ron was awarded a Centenary Medal for Services to Australian Society through Economics; and in 2006 he was made a Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society.
Ross McLeod
Indonesia Project, Economics Department, RSPAS, ANU
Dr Ross McLeod is Associate Professor in the Indonesia Project, Department of Economics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, at ANU. Since October 1998 he has been Editor of the Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies. He began his professional career as a civil engineer but soon switched to become an economist, and has been working in and on Indonesia in various capacities - postgraduate student, consultant and academic researcher - since 1978. His research interests include monetary and banking policy and, in particular, the causes of, and policy responses to, the financial crisis that struck Indonesia (and East Asia) in 1997-98. More recently he has also taken a keen interest in nature of the Soeharto regime, and the process of taking Indonesia from autocracy to democracy seen from an economics perspective. His journal publications include 'Soeharto's Indonesia: A Better Class of Corruption', Agenda (2000), and 'Private Sector Lessons for Public Sector Reform in Indonesia', Agenda (forthcoming 2006).
Ron Duncan and Ross McLeod
The State and the Market in Democratic Indonesia
This paper presents an economics perspective on delineating the appropriate scope of government activity. It asks simply: what do governments do, and what should they do? To a very large extent we are all able to look after our own interests, hiring out our labour services in order to earn the income from which we purchase the goods and services we wish to consume. We also face various problems that can be more effectively handled on a collective basis, however, such as the provision of external security and internal law and order. This provides the rationale for the existence of governments with the coercive power to constrain individuals' behaviour and to appropriate some of our income to finance the provision of certain services for the common good. But one of the key inherent weaknesses of democracy is the tyranny of the majority: the ability of the majority, or of large and politically powerful sections of society, to oppress minorities in various ways. We attempt here to distinguish between economic interventions that promote the interests of society as a whole, and those that promote the interests of some sections at the expense of others, often to the net detriment of society.
Natasha Hamilton-Hart
National University of Singapore
Dr Natasha Hamilton-Hart is Assistant Professor in the Southeast Asian Studies Programme at the National University of Singapore. Her research interests lie in the fields of political economy and international relations in Southeast and East Asia. She is the author of Asian States, Asian Bankers: Central Banking in Southeast Asia (Cornell University Press, 2002), as well as recent articles on terrorism analysis, consultants in the Indonesian state, financial regionalism in Asia, and transnational business relations and capital flows in the region. Her current research examines Southeast Asian responses to American power. She received her PhD from Cornell University in 1999.
Government and Private Business: Rents, Representation and Collective Action
Problems in the business-government relationship in Indonesia have proved enduring despite major change to the political system since 1998. The democratic context has enhanced the organising capacity of formal business associations and provided incentives for them to play a more active role in the policy process. Business associations expressing the collective interests of their members are thus more vocal than they were in the past. The government is under some pressure to respond to their demands; but this pressure is very uneven. It is still the case that business players are most influential when representing narrow interests and when using informal and opaque channels. As such, the concessions they are most able to secure from the government are those that tend to favour a small group at the expense of broader measures of welfare.
There are a number of underlying reasons why government-business relations have more to do with rent distribution than productive collaboration. The nature of business and the type of state system that Indonesia has are partly to blame. Together, they have created patterns of accommodation between business and government that have become entrenched, taking the form of inefficient institutions and policies that are difficult to change. Further empowerment of business associations as vehicles for the collective, transparent representation of business interests might ameliorate some of the worst instances of government policy pandering to narrow interests. However, while Indonesian business groups sometimes call for changes that would enhance overall economic activity and productivity, they also demand particularistic benefits. The political mechanisms through which government is held accountable by the wider public are thus crucial to determining whether government responsiveness to business takes a malign or positive form.
Smita Notosusanto
Centre for Electoral Reform (CETRO), Jakarta / International Relations, University of Indonesia
Ms Smita Notosusanto is a graduate of Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she studied the democratisation process in Southeast Asia. She is now Senior Researcher for the Center for Electoral Reform (CETRO), a leading NGO that has been working continuously to create democratic institutions in Indonesia. Previously, as Executive Director of CETRO, she organised a movement for constitutional reform, campaigning for direct elections of the president and vice president, creation of a bicameral parliament, a Constitutional Court, and an independent Elections Commission. All of these institutions are now part of Indonesia's new political structure. She has continued to work for further institutional reform, focusing on local governments, the political party system, and campaign financing. Smita is also a lecturer in international affairs at the University of Indonesia.
Political Decentralisation through Direct Election of Local Heads of Government: Has it Delivered the Promise of Good Governance?
The 'big bang' decentralisation process under way in Indonesia since 1999 has been criticised as being too focused on economic decentralisation, granting vast authority to local governments without an adequate accountability mechanism and political authority to go along with it. As a result the process has created incentives for the creation of new local governments that have no real capacity to deliver goods and services, and resulted in the proliferation of corruption at the local level, together with excessive local taxation and levies that hinder investment and trade.
In 2004, the government of Megawati Soekarnoputri and the parliament initiated an effort to revamp the decentralisation process by introducing new political mechanisms to the Law on Regional Autonomy, requiring, for the first time, direct elections of heads of local governments. The new regulations are thought of as a follow-on from the adoption of direct elections of the president and vice-president at the national level by way of a constitutional amendment in 2001. Direct election of heads of local governments - governors and deputy governors, bupati (district heads) and mayors - is assumed to provide more effective checks and balances between the executive and the legislature at the local level, as well as greater accountability to the voting population. This new mechanism has not made any real contribution to local democracy and good governance, however. Rather, the regulations on local elections within the new Law on Regional Government have in fact contributed only instability and weak governments.
The paper will analyse the new Law on Regional Government as it pertains to local elections, and look at resulting problems in the conduct of some 200 local elections in 2005. Special attention will be paid to the new Law on Governing Aceh and the related regulation on local elections, which will provide the basis for one of the biggest local elections in a single province, with 19 districts and municipalities going to the polls on the same day.
I Ketut Putra Erawan
Universitas Gadja Mada
Dr I Ketut Putra Erawan obtained his Ph.D in Political Science from Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, USA, in 2003. The title of his dissertation was Why Do Regional Actors Comply? Subnational Structure and Collective Action in Indonesia, 1990-2001. He is now the Director of the Postgraduate Program of Political Science, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He is also a lecturer in the Department of Government and the Graduate Program of Local Politics and Regional Autonomy, Gadjah Mada University. His areas of expertise include decentralisation, political parties and electoral politics, institutional design, and corruption.
Fruits of Decentralisation: Process Tracing of Local Political Economic Dynamics
Since it was launched in 2001, decentralisation has become one of the most important state reform programs in Indonesia, and has changed the landscape of central-local political relationships. Recent studies of the impact of decentralisation reveal significant variation, however. Some highlight the consequences of local government capture and rampant corruption, whereas others focus on the deepening of democracy and emergence of effective government. Several important research efforts have produced findings of governance innovation ranging from best practice to worst case scenarios. What are the factors that result in such wide variation in decentralisation outcomes across regions and sectors? At this early stage, what conclusions can be drawn about gains and losses associated with decentralisation?
This paper investigates the process that drives decentralisation outcomes at the local government level. It reveals which actors gain and lose from decentralisation, and what factors shape those gains and losses. The main arguments developed here are: (1) decentralisation should be viewed as an ongoing process; (2) interaction among state and societal actors at local level, and the penetration of national and international actors, are salient factors; and (3) these interactions occur iteratively, and are shaped by the local political-economic context. I analyse the outcomes of decentralisation using the process tracing method in four districts: Bangka, Blitar, Jemberana and Mataram. These districts are chosen to maximise variations in terms of decentralisation sequences, the actors involved, and political-economic contexts in explaining variation among decentralisation trajectories in Indonesia.
Benjamin Reilly
Centre for Democratic Institutions, Crawford School for Economics and Government, ANU
Dr Benjamin Reilly is Director of the Centre for Democratic Institutions at the ANU. He was previously Democratic Governance Advisor at the United Nations Development Program in New York, and Senior Programme Officer at International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance) in Stockholm. He has advised many governments and international organisations on democratisation, political parties, electoral systems, and conflict management.
Ben's publications include Electoral System Design: the New International IDEA Handbook (International IDEA, 2005); Democracy in Divided Societies: Electoral Engineering for Conflict Management (Cambridge University Press, 2001); and The International IDEA Handbook of Electoral System Design (International IDEA, 1997). His latest book is Democracy and Diversity: Political Engineering in the Asia-Pacific (Oxford University Press, 2006).
Electoral and Political Party Reform
Political parties are a crucial part of democratic political systems. With democratisation, operational controls on Indonesia's political parties, and the ban on establishment of new political parties, were lifted. Subsequent electoral reform has been designed to reshape the party system by encouraging fewer, larger parties. This paper looks at this process from a comparative perspective, situating the Indonesian reforms in a broader Asian context. It also attempts to answer some basic questions about institutional reform: What are the trade-offs inherent in different electoral rules and party system configurations? Where does the Indonesian party system sit within the spectrum of party systems around the world? And how do trends in Indonesia's party system compare with those elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region?
Simon Butt
Asian Law Group
Simon is replacing Ben Reilly in the Saturday 11am session: Political parties, religion, natural resources & environment
Dr Simon Butt is an Associate Director of Asian Law Group Pty Ltd. He will complete his PhD on Indonesia's Constitutional Court at the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne in 2006. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (Hons) (Asian Studies - Indonesian) and LL.B., both from the ANU. He has studied law at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, and was awarded the ANU Medal for Asian Studies with Honours for his thesis on the Indonesian Supreme Court in 1996, and the Blackburn Medal for Research in Law in 2000 for his thesis on Indonesian intellectual property law. He has worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Australia; and has consulted to the private sector, the United Nations Development Programme in Jakarta, and the International Commission of Jurists on aspects of Indonesia's laws and legal system. He has published widely on areas of Indonesian law, including intellectual property, criminal law, Islamic law and Indonesian judicial affairs.
Banishing Judicial Accountability? The Constitutional Court's Decision in the Dispute between the Supreme Court and the Judicial Commission
The Indonesian judicial system has been subject to significant reform over the past few years. In particular, responsibility for the administration, financial affairs and organisation of most of Indonesia's first instance and appeal judges has been transferred from government departments to the Supreme Court under the so-called satu atap (one roof) reforms, in an (apparently successful) attempt to increase judicial independence. A Constitutional Court has been established to adjudicate upon important matters of state, including to ensure that legislation complies with the newly-amended Constitution. Finally, a Judicial Commission has been established to perform two main functions: to assist the Supreme Court to appoint new judges to its bench, and to supervise the performance of judges. However, the Supreme Court has not cooperated with the Judicial Commission when the Commission has sought to investigate some of the Supreme Court's own judges. Further, in a recent Constitutional Court case, the Court declared that the supervisory function of the Judicial Commission contradicted the Constitution's guarantee of judicial independence and, therefore, held that the Judicial Commission lacked the power to supervise the Supreme Court or the Constitutional Court. The Indonesian judiciary might now be more independent, therefore, but are there adequate safeguards in place to ensure judicial accountability? That is, can judges who act improperly be effectively pursued?
Arskal Salim
Faculty of Syariah & Law, State Islamic Univ (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta
Dr Arskal Salim is Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Syariah and Law, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta. He received his PhD from the University of Melbourne in 2006, based on a dissertation entitled Islamizing Indonesian Laws? Legal and Political Dissonance in Indonesian Shari'a 1945-2005. His publications include: Sharia and Politics in Modern Indonesia (ISEAS, 2003); 'Shari'a From Below in Aceh 1930s-1960s: Islamic Identity and the Right to Self Determination with Comparative Reference to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)', in Indonesia and the Malay World 32 (2004); 'Perkembangan Awal Hukum Islam di Nusantara' [The Early Developments of Islamic Law in the Archipelago], Jurnal Hukum Republica 6 (2005); 'The Influential Legacy of Dutch Islamic Policy on the Formation of Zakat (Alms) Law in Modern Indonesia', Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal 15 (2006); and The Shift in Zakat Practice in Indonesia: From Piety to an Islamic Socio-Political-Economic System (Silkworm Books, forthcoming). In November 2006 he will take up a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Haale, Germany, under the project 'State Courts and Their Religious Alternatives'
Muslim Politics In Indonesia's Democratisation: Religious Majority and the Rights of the Minority in the Post New Order Era
Despite Islam constituting the religious majority in Indonesia, and the establishment of the Ministry of Religious Affairs to ensure corporate autonomy for the Muslim community, many Muslim leaders felt they were treated as 'minorities' during the regime of President Sukarno (1945-65) and the early decades of President Soeharto's period in office (1966-98). However, from the early 1990s, Muslims began to think and act as a 'majority'.
This paper focuses on the attempts of Muslim groups to reinforce their position as the dominant religious majority in the post-New Order era. It argues that 'Muslim politics' has been a primary motivation for strengthening the religious majority position of Islam in Indonesia. However, it will show that 'Muslim politics' is potentially threatening Indonesia's democratisation by infringing on the rights of religious minorities. Three case studies will be discussed: (1) regulation of the establishment of places of worship; (2) the anti-pornography bill; and (3) the enactment of bylaws that contain Islamic shari'a. Finally, the paper will argue that there has been a gradual decline, during the post-New Order era, in importance of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, matched by increases in that of both the Indonesian Ulamas Council and Islamic parties in the legislature, in reinforcing Muslims' position as the dominant religious majority.
Luca Tacconi
Crawford School of Economics and Government, ANU
Dr Luca Tacconi is an Associate Professor in the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the Australian National University. He has held positions with the Center for International Forestry Research (in Indonesia), the Australian Agency for International Development, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Queensland. He has worked on research and development activities funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research, the Australian Agency for International Development, the Department for International Development (UK), the European Commission, the Government of Japan, the South Pacific Regional Environmental Program, the United States Agency for International Development, and The World Bank. He has collaborated with government and non-government organisations such as the Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia, the Ministry of Forestry of Vanuatu, The Nature Conservancy, Transparency International, and the World Wide Fund for Nature. He is the author of scientific papers published in journals such as Ecological Economics, Development and Change, and World Development, as well as a book on ecological economics and biodiversity conservation. A new book on illegal logging will be published by Earthscan in 2007.
Governance, Natural Resources and the Environment
The paper discusses the concept of environmental governance. It highlights key principles of good environmental governance and explains why they are relevant to the case of Indonesia with examples relating to specific environmental problems and sectors. Principles of good environmental governance include accountability, transparency, rule of law, government effectiveness, and participation. Issues concerning property rights have been addressed by several disciplines, including scholars of environmental governance, and are therefore considered. The paper argues that good environmental governance does not necessarily result in sustainable environmental management, given that the latter is influenced to a considerable extent by economic incentives. Therefore, links between environmental governance principles and economic instruments are considered.