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

[GSD310]

11th March 2003:
There were reluctant applause, respectful applause and fanatical applause but the President could see that the MPR Delegates recognized the significance of what he had done as he stepped inside the MPR Building. From having to step into the power vacuum left behind by Soeharto’s death, to barely surviving against those considered more prominent in Soeharto’s regime at the previous MPR General Session, and now being re-elected on the basis of his own record.

The President nodded in acknowledgement of the applause. He walked alongside Chairman of the MPR Matori Abdul Djalil. Behind them JB Sumarlin walked flanked by Vice Chairmen of the MPR Hartono, Basofi Sudirman, Nyoman Suwisma, Alex Litaay, Mario Carrascalao, and Edwin Soeryadjaya.

Once the President and Vice President as well as the Chairman and Vice Chairmen of the MPR had taken the positions, the national anthem played and then everyone sat down. Matori opened the MPR Session and acknowledged the presence of Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra, President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada, President of Laos Choummaly Sayasone, President of Vietnam Tran Duc Luong, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Mekere Morauta and President of the Cambodian National Assembly Norodom Ranariddh; the President leading the applause for his foreign guests.

Matori then spoke of the session’s sole agenda: the inauguration of the President of the Republic of Indonesia before moving on to the reading of the MPR Resolution regarding the Appointment of the President of the Republic of Indonesia. It was when the resolution was read that the big moment came.

“Would you all now please stand as the President takes the oath of office”, Matori asked before continuing once everyone had stood up “I invite you now, Mr. President, to take the oath of office.”

The President stood up as his two aides-de-camp scrambled to assist him. On one side, Col. Budiman handed him his reading glasses while Col. (Navy) Marsetio handed him a booklet with text to read. Behind the President, a religious official stood and got ready to lift the Quran above the President’s head.

The President looked around the MPR Building to take in the sight for a few seconds. At the VIP seats, he could see First Lady Tuti Setiawati looking on with pride. In the row behind her, all of the President’s children and childrens-in-law had gathered. The President was most happy to see that his sons Maj. (Police) Firman Santyabudi and Capt. Kunto Arief Wibowo, both stationed outside of Jakarta, had managed to get leave from their superior officers so that they could attend the inauguration.

From where the President stood he could see Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto. She looked very well-dressed and the President wondered for a second whether that what she intended to wear had she been elected. Tutut looked expressionless while elsewhere among the MPR Delegates, Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri was studiously avoiding to look at the President.


“Bismillahirohmanirohim.

As the President-elect, based on The Fourth MPR Resolution of 2003 Regarding The Appointment of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, in accordance with Article 9 of the Constitution, before assuming the office of President, I shall conduct my constitutional duty of reciting the Presidential Oath of Office in accordance to the Islamic faith which I hold, which reads as follows:

‘In the name of God, I swear that I will fulfill the responsibilities of the President of the Republic of Indonesia as best and as justly as I can; Holding true to the Constitution and executing its laws and regulations as purely as I can and being of service to the Nation”.

There was silence in the MPR Building as the President handed back his text and his glasses to his aides-de-camp.

A table was set up in front of the chairman and vice chairmen of the MPR’s table and now the President was invited to stand on one side of it while Matori and the other vice chairmen stood on the other; more housekeeping being done. Matori handed the President folders containing the MPR Resolutions on the GBHN, the Appointment of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, and the 2007 Legislative Elections and the 2008 MPR General Session. The President and Matori then both signed a Minutes of the Ceremony which certified that the President has taken his oath. This document was then handed to the President who in turn handed it to his aides-de-camp much as he did with the MPR Resolutions.

“Is there anything else, Mr. Chairman?” asked the President.

“That’ll be all, Mr. President”, Matori replied with a smile “And now I’d like to congratulate you on your re-election and inauguration…”

The President shook hands with Matori and the other vice chairmen of the MPR to applause and cheers from the MPR Delegates. Hartono forced a smile while Alex Litaay’s expression was stony when the President shook their hands.

The President and the chairman and vice chairmen of the MPR returned to their seats as Matori took to the microphone again.

“Honorable MPR Delegates, Honorable Guests, and People of Indonesia”, he began “It is my honor to present to you Gen. (Ret.) Try Sutrisno, the President of the Republic of Indonesia.”

There was another round of applause as the PKPI stood up, the PPP stood up and then the other delegations, with varying enthusiasm, and those present joined in a standing ovation. The President stood up from his seat and bowed in various directions.

---
Tripoli, Libya…

The magic of satellite television is that it could broadcast images from all around the world including, in this instance, Indonesia. Brotherly Leader Muammar Gaddafi watched as Indonesia’s Try Sutrisno bowed in acknowledgment of the cheers thrown his way. But Gaddafi was more interested in the reaction of the person watching the television with him.

“Well, Brother Hasan, you have your opponent”, Gaddafi said.

Hasan Di Tiro looked at Try’s smile.

“Not just my opponent…ours…the GAM, the OPM, and the FRETILIN”, Hasan said “And it will be to him first and foremost that we together will show that Indonesia is the nation that never was.”

---
This was one giant chapter but I broke it into two. The last day of the MPR General Session is usually busy enough without all the politicking because there’s the inauguration of the president, the VP Election, and the inauguration of the VP to get through.

And once again I present to you Inauguration Day, Indonesian style.

This will be Try’s 3rd term overall but will be his 2nd full one. His 1st term was just the 100 something days left in Soeharto’s 1993-1998 term.

Hasan Di Tiro’s quote is based on https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/26058/PS002.pdf p.21 of the pdf file/p.7 of the book.

 

[GSD310]

11th March 2003:
“Five years is a timeframe that is just the right amount. It is not long enough for this government and this nation so solve all of its problems and yet it is not short enough that progress is impossible. Five years ago, we were facing an economic and financial crisis that threatened to undo the development and growth we have undertaken for three decades. In the past five years, not only did we manage to overcome this crisis, we have managed to reach a point where are we deemed to be one of the world’s foremost emerging economies.

I speak of this timeframe to highlight what is possible for this nation if it is willing to believe in itself, put in the effort and hard work and be willing to part ways with bad habits. For if in five years we are able to go from a nation in an economic and financial crisis to one of the world’s foremost emerging economies, imagine where we can be five years from now when our starting point is not one of economic crisis.”

In his inaugural address, President Try Sutrisno went on to thank the MPR for entrusting him with another term of government and promised to use his new mandate well; ending his speech by calling on the nation to “get back to work and get on with the work” just as he himself will get back to work and get on with the work.

When the MPR Delegates and those present had finished applauding and the President had returned to his seat, it was up to Chairman of the MPR Matori Abdul Djalil to bring the ceremony to a close and declare the MPR to be in recess until that afternoon when it will be electing the vice president.

At the MPR’s VIP Room, the President huddled with Vice President JB Sumarlin, Matori, Vice Chairman of the MPR Basofi Sudirman, Chairman of the PKPI’s MPR Delegation Harsudiono Hartas, and Chairman of the PPP’s MPR Delegation Zarkasih Nur.

“Ginandjar’s candidacy is just a ploy for the Chairwoman of the PKPB to have influence in the current term of government”, the President declared “She’s failed to be elected president so she’s now resorting for the next best thing: having a vice president that she has help to elect. If for whatever reason Ginandjar gets elected vice president, I might as well invite Tutut to come and sit at cabinet meetings.”

Harsudiono that as of that moment they have 421 votes for Sumarlin (All 215 votes from the PKPI, all 113 from ABRI and 93 votes from the PPP). The vote count from the Regional Delegates will need to be revised because even though the strong pro-Try supporters there are also voting for Sumarlin there are a lot of “We promised only to vote for Try but not Sumarlin” whether for religious or other reasons. The same goes with the vote count from the Group Delegates where the story from their hotel is that Ginandjar is trying to portray himself as a non-partisan.

“I think right now the priority in those two delegations is make sure that we're able to hold the strong Try-Sumarlin and those inclined towards Try-Sumarlin” Sumarlin said “The rest we just have to scrap and scrounge for because there isn’t much time left.”

The President had an impressed smile; deep in his heart, Sumarlin still wants the job.

“You may do as the Vice President has asked”, the President said to the others huddled around him.

---
The first stop for the President after his inauguration was Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to see off his guests Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra, President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada, President of Laos Choummaly Sayasone, President of Vietnam Tran Duc Luong, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Mekere Morauta and President of the Cambodian National Assembly Norodom Ranariddh as they headed out.

There was a photo-op and a joint press conference. When asked what he thought about Try’s re-election and inauguration, Estrada said that the next few years will be interesting as far as the way ASEAN navigates itself in the multipolar world was concerned. Not to be outdone, Thaksin said that ASEAN is already going to have a big year pointing to the ASEAN Summit which will be held in Indonesia and the APEC Summit which will be held in Thailand, both summits being held in October.

After the last aircraft had took off, the President disappeared into the Presidential Car with First Lady Tuti Setiawati and departed back for the Presidential Palace to help secure his vice president’s re-election.

---
While the President went to Halim, Sumarlin and an entourage drove from the MPR Building to the Jakarta Stock Exchange Building near the Artha Graha Shopping Center There, with stockbrockers applauding him when he arrived, Sumarlin inspected the goings-on at the stock market.

Sumarlin’s entourage consisted of Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Finance Mar’ie Muhammad, Governor of BI Boediono, Junior Minister of Finance Bambang Subianto, and Head of the Stock Market Supervisory Agency (BAPEPAM) Noor Fuad.

But it would be Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo and Minister of Trade Anthony Salim that got the most attention. The two already got laughs from the press following them when they asked for the data regarding the stock prices of publicly listed companies owned by Aburizal Bakrie, businessman and Ginandjar Kartasasmita’s main supporter from the Group Delegates, and then commenting loudly “His stock prices are higher than 5 years ago, he’s doing all right, what’s his grievance against the Government?”

As Sumarlin continued his walkabout, Siswono and Anthony got serious when they were asked about Ginandjar’s candidacy for vice presidency. Siswono spoke first.

“I don’t have any doubts about Pak Ginandjar’s competence” said Siswono “But my doubts are with the main supporters of his candidacy. How do I know this is not just some scheme by those whose candidate was not elected to the presidency yesterday to try to have a stake in the government over the next 5 years by having a candidate elected to the vice presidency? We’re trying to do something different in the way business is done and it’s not perfect and there’s still a long way to go but the solution is not to go back to the old way of doing business. President Try said in his inaugural address we have to let go of bad habits if we want to move forward, I’d say this is one of those bad habits.”

“Suppose that business owners had close ties with political leaders and this helps their business along, and I’ll be the first to admit that my father was guilty of this”, Anthony began “For me, my thinking is what’s done is done but that at the same time, we have to consider such practices to be the past. We need to think innovatively and be more market-oriented. And if we want what’s in the past to remain the past, I think the right step is to make sure that it’s not just our President that’s re-elected but the Vice President as well.”

“Are you guys running for vice president or something?” asked Sumarlin, tapping Siswono and Anthony on their shoulders as he walked past behind them.

---
The Group Delegates’ Ginandjar Kartasasmita and Amien Rais had lunch with Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri and Taufiq Kiemas. Ginandjar was really focusing on the fact that his father had been a member of the old PNI in his bid to appeal for Megawati’s support.

For all their effort to convince Megawati to throw the PNI’s support behind Ginandjar’s candidacy as vice president, Megawati was polite but did not commit to doing anything. Then having frustrated Ginandjar and Amien Rais with her non-commitment, Megawati would proceed to confuse the PNI Delegation by telling them that she “no longer has heart to tell them to abstain” but that she herself was going home to watch the end of the MPR General Session on television.

---
There was indeed not much time to lobby and count for votes. Ginandjar and Amien Rais only had time to return to their hotel when they already had to hop on their bus and head to the MPR Building.

With 998 MPR Delegates now gathered (other than Megawati, Amirul Isnaeni from the ABRI Delegation was still in hospital and had not forced himself out of bed to vote as in the Presidential Elections), Matori opened the MPR Session. He then very briskly and efficiently announced the two vice presidential candidates’ and, having determined that there were no further candidates, instructed for the voting to go ahead.

As the voting got underway, Harsudiono and Edi Sudrajat looked around at the various delegations as though trying to count with their eyes which MPR Delegate might be voting for which candidate. After a while they gave up and sat down.

“It’s all about how many will vote for Sumarlin after they have voted for Try now”, Harsudiono said.

Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto watched proceedings. She looked a lot calmer than when her name was on the ballot but nevertheless looked on with interest at what was going on.

---
As the count began, the President paced about nervously at the Presidential Palace. He was still in his suit and tie just at First Lady Tuti Setiawati was still in her kebaya and was having her make up retouched. They still had an event to attend later that night; the inauguration of the vice president.

---
Former Vice President Sudharmono was expressionless as the count proceeded. After attending the President’s inauguration earlier in the day, he was back again to see if his protégé would be able to rise to the vice presidency the way he did.

The room was breathless. Unlike the Presidential Elections, where there was a gap in the votes gained by the President, Tutut and the abstentions, the Vice Presidential Elections was a tight race. When Ginandjar’s votes gathered momentum, Sumarlin’s would catch up. When Sumarlin’s votes gathered momentum, Ginandjar’s would give a good chase.

Ginandjar was fidgeting. He had been Head of the BKPM, Junior Minister of Increasing Consumption of Domestically Produced Goods, Minister of Mining and Energy, Minister of National Development Planning, Minister of Information, Post, and Telecommunications, and Minister of Foreign Affairs…the time had come for the next step.

Next to Ginandjar, Aburizal Bakrie was keeping a tally and noting how many votes Ginandjar had gotten.

“Will you look at that”, Aburizal said impressed “402 votes and counting, you just got more votes than Tutut Soeharto's best performance in the Presidential Elections.”

But Sumarlin’s votes began to break away again and this time, Ginandjar’s votes began to struggle to keep up. And just as Ginandjar got a nice streak of votes going…

“The count is over!” declared the counter.

---
At the Vice Presidential Palace, Sumarlin had also kept a tally, carefully noting how many votes he had gotten after a batch of 5, 10, 15 and so on. When the vote counting was finished, Sumarlin was quick to note down how many votes he got. After a deep breath, he handed his tally over to Second Lady Sudarmi Sumarlin who looked at it briefly and then gave her husband a big hug.

---
The votes were brought up to Matori and he studied it as he waited for the MPR Delegates to silent themselves.

“The votes have been counted, tallied and confirmed to be correct by the scrutineers”, Matori announced “The results are as follows…”

A smile appeared on Matori’s face.

“First and foremost, I’m happy to announce that there are no abstentions”, he said.

At which point the room broke into universal applause and cheers after the abstentions in the Presidential Elections. The PNI delegations looked abashed as people from the PKPI and the PKPB delegations walked over to shake their hands. Matori waited until the room was quiet again.

“And now for the results”, Matori said “With 456 votes, Ir. Mshl. (Ret.) Ginandjar Kartasasmita.”

There was a collective gasp by the MPR at the amount of votes Ginandjar had gotten before it broke into an impressed applause. Chairman of the PKPB’s MPR Delegation Prabowo Subianto wondered whether the PKPB should have nominated Ginandjar instead. Ginandjar himself stood in his seat and bowed in the direction of the applause.

Sudharmono’s disappointment for his protégé was somewhat cushioned when hearing the amount of votes he got. He was certain that this would not be Ginandjar’s end...

“With 542 votes, Prof. Drs. JB Sumarlin M.A., Ph.D,”, declared Matori to more applause this time led by the PKPI delegation “As such Prof. Drs. JB Sumarlin M.A., Ph.D has gained a majority of the votes in the MPR.”

Now comes the big moment.

“And now, in accordance with the duties entrusted to the MPR in our Constitution”, Matori began “I hereby declare Prof. Drs. JB Sumarlin M.A., Ph.D elected Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia for the term 2003-2008!”

The MPR moved quickly to pass the Sixth MPR Resolution of 2003 Regarding The Appointment of the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia which formally acknowledges the Vice President’s re-election and stipulates that his term will begin that very day.

The MPR broke up again for just one final recess and its delegates arrived back at their hotels just in time for Maghrib Prayer followed by dinner and departure back for the MPR Building for Sumarlin’s inauguration. By the time they had arrived back at the MPR Building, a sense of relief was dawning on the MPR Delegates because the MPR General Session was coming to an end, regardless of who they had supported in the Presidential Elections. Setting time aside for a short television interview, Vice Chairman of the MPR Hartono said that it had been “a hectic 11 days” for everybody.

It was primetime television time when the President once again made his entrance into the MPR Building. Much as his own inauguration this morning, Matori walked alongside him. The attention and the applause, however, was directed behind them. There were Basofi, Hartono and the other Vice Chairmen of the MPR Nyoman Suwisma, Alex Litaay, Mario Carrascalao, and Edwin Soeryadjaya and walking in the middle of them was Sumarlin nodding and waving at the applause coming his way.

---
When the President arrived back at the Presidential Palace, the Palace’s television screens were still playing news coverage of Sumarlin’s inauguration, the moment he took his oath of office for the second time as vice president, highlights from his inaugural address, and the moment Matori brought the 2003 MPR General Session to a close with the bang of a gavel.

“Is he already here?” the President asked when he saw Military Secretary Saurip Kadi.

“He is, Mr. President”, replied Saurip.

The President went to a room in the Presidential Palace where his guest was waiting. When he appeared at the door, his guest, for all his elderly infirmities, rose up and gave a salute.

“I congratulate you and the Vice President on your respective re-elections and wish the best for the both of you in the next 5 years”, said Former Commander of ABRI Benny Moerdani.

“Pak Benny, please have a seat…you don’t have to stand up to greet me”, the President said.

The two talked about each other’s health before getting to the point of the matter. Benny said that while the President attended Sumarlin’s inauguration, Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo had kept him company to brief him about the President’s “concerns” when it comes to strategical matters.

“What do you think, Pak Benny?” asked the President.

“Your summary of Indonesia’s strategic dilemma is correct, Mr. President” Benny said “China is the main concern here; its goal of increasing its influence in Southeast Asia clashes with our desire to be more assertive and take a more obvious leadership role in the region. And yet at the same time, you feel unsafe turning your back on Australia given your run-ins with them recently.”

“I don’t have a problem with the Aussies”, the President “I just don’t know what else I can do to convince them that we’re not a threat.”

“Well, Mr. President, you’re buying weapons left and right from to the point that the next 2-3 years are looking like weapons harvest”, Benny said “Would you consider suspending your weapons procurement?”

The President was silent.

“I thought so” Benny said “What we can do in addition of thinking how we can convince people we’re not a threat is also consider how they can be threat to us. The Aussies and the Chinese have figured out they need each other economically. Australia needs a market for its coal, China’s an emerging economy with a big energy demand. When they figure out they have certain common geopolitical interests with each other, who you think’s going to suffer from that?”

“You’re saying “when” not “if””, the President replied.

“Our economy’s going to get bigger, we’re going to strengthen ABRI, we’re going to be more assertive”, Benny explained “That means we’ll be a bigger pain in the ass for China and Australia gets more anxious. How much longer before they realize that the thing that needs to get out of the way if China wants to increase in influence in Southeast Asia and the thing on Australia’s doorstep that’s continually strengthening its military are one and the same?”

The President nodded in agreement at this.

“Did the Chief of BAKIN also talk about…” the President began and then trailed off.

“That the OPM and GAM are on the move again? Yes, he did”, Benny replied.

“What do you make of that?” asked the President.

“That the OPM are hiding somewhere in the vastness of Oceania and raising funds…that the GAM are being trained by the Libyans again…” Benny said almost thinking to himself “But I am surprised you don’t have much on the FRETILIN’s activities.”

“Not much indeed, that’s part of the reason why I wanted diplomatic relations with Portugal, so we can set up an embassy in Lisbon and start having surveillance of their activities in Portugal and in Lusophonic Africa”, said the President “They still have a presence in East Timor of course. They have been dormant and have not done anything out of the ordinary but they haven’t come down from the mountains yet to surrender and I guess I’ve just let things…be.”

“I would keep an extra eye on FRETILIN, Mr. President. While you are aware of their presence here in Indonesia, pay close attention to them, perhaps their movements will tell you something.” ” said Benny “They’re dormant here in this archipelago but not out there, I can assure you. Jose Ramos Horta runs a government-in-exile in New Zealand and you’ve exiled Xanana Gusmao to South Africa in 1999 but he now roams around freely at the behest of Nelson Mandela."

The President looked at the floor in front of him.

“What must I do to handle China and Australia?” asked the President “And how much longer will the separatist movements be dormant given that the intelligence that they are moving and preparing something?”

Benny looked at the President.

“Such are the riddles which you must solve, Mr. President, but the very least you are asking the right questions” Benny said “As they say, uneasy is the head that wears a crown."

---
And that’s it for the MPR General Session for another 5 years, ladies and gents. It took about 3-4 months to cover these 11 days but the next chapters should begin flow faster again.

We have Siswono and Anthony Salim acting as Sumarlin’s “bodyguards” here. In a way they symbolize the presence of “Indigenous Indonesian” and “Chinese Indonesian” businessmen in Try’s government.

Anthony Salim being someone who prefers to establish competitive businesses instead of using close relationships with those in power for business survival like his father is actually based on OTL (https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...suharto+children&pg=PA114&printsec=frontcover check out the final line of p.113 and the first paragraph of p.114)

I wanted to have Ginandjar to have his moment by performing competitively against Sumarlin. He’s definitely one guy that I’m surprised has not taken the next step to the presidency or VP’s position based on his extensive experience.

I considered a lot of potential VPs for Try so much so that I begin to wonder if this is what presidential candidates feel like when choosing their VP candidate. Other than Sumarlin, I considered Ginandjar, Wismoyo, Harmoko, Edi Sudrajat, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, Siswono Yudohusodo, Matori Abdul Djalil, and Meutia Hatta before returning to Sumarlin.

And that's my last chapter for the year, ladies and gents.

 

[GSD310]

12th March 2003:
In a special session led by Chairman of the DPR Matori Abdul Djalil, the DPR passed the 2003/2004 Budget into law. The law had been ready for passing before the MPR General Session but had been delayed until after it to accommodate the possibility of a new president being elected and wanting to revise the budget.

In a joint press conference at the Presidential Palace, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat and Cabinet Secretary Hayono Isman announced that President Try Sutrisno has issued instructions for all ministers to be ready to conduct a handover. When asked when the new cabinet would be announced, Edi only said that the timing will be the President’s call.

13th March 2003:
Though it was a public holiday to replace the Islamic New Year Holiday which occurred during the MPR General Session, the President called a meeting with Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs/Minister of Legal Affairs Marzuki Darusman, Minister of Defense and Security Wismoyo Arismunandar, Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo, and Edi Sudrajat.

The meeting discussed the United States and its Coalition’ “humanitarian intervention” against Yugoslavia which had begun with air strikes to be followed by ground invasion. The President asked the meeting for their thoughts of about the impact of this conflict on Indonesia.

Ari Sudewo said that this means the United States is now officially taking on a “second war” in addition to the War on Terror/War in Afghanistan. The concern here is that for Asia, its focus will be elsewhere and that, with China having limited its involvement in providing aid to Yugoslavia, China will be freer to pursue its agenda in Asia.

Marzuki added that General Secretary of the Communist Party Luo Gan will assume the presidency in a few days’ time. The information from the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing is that Luo’s likely priorities in foreign policy will be continuing to make the world even more multipolar and trying to persuade more nations to switch from diplomatic relations with Taiwan to diplomatic relations with China. This, however, does not mean that Luo and China will have no interests outside of these two priorities, including its interests in Southeast Asia.

The President agreed with the notion that China will be freer to pursue its agenda in Asia, including Southeast Asia.

“Paradoxically, it will be to our advantage for China being more free to pursue its agenda”, the President said “They will see that our concerns about China are legitimate instead of being a ploy to fulfill our “hegemonic aspirations”, as our Malaysian friends like to call it.”

The concern coming from Wismoyo was Australia. The United States and its Coalition are going into Yugoslavia without the United Kingdom after the House of Commons failed to give its approval to the government. Now, the United States are turning to other members of the coalition to fill in the gap left behind by the United Kingdom. Australia, Wismoyo said, is the one looking to send the most personnel to Yugoslavia.

“They’re the ones deciding to send more personnel to Yugoslavia and then they’ll be the ones to feel exposed in front of us because their personnel and equipment are all the way in Yugoslavia” the President muttered shaking his head “I'm sure there’ll be some mischief from the Aussies’ end.”

14th March 2003:
It was the day that cabinet speculation, which had slowly been building up since the end of the MPR General Session reached fever pitch with media outlets trying to dig up information about who’s staying put, who’s moving, and who will be the new faces in the cabinet.

There were plenty of clues as to who would no longer be in the cabinet. At a swearing in ceremony of Department of Public Works officials, Minister of Public Works Rachmat Witoelar burst into tears when he called on the Department of Public Works to go on and complete various infrastructure even though “I will no longer be there”.

It was not all tears. Minister of Finance Mar’ie Muhammad, inspecting a tax office where people were filing their tax returns, looked contented saying that after 10 years, he has had his fill of being minister. Minister of Religion Quraish Shihab was also cheerful when he said that he had requested not to be considered for a position in the next cabinet. He said he wants to complete his exegesis on the Qur’an and that he wants his daughter Najwa, a junior prosecutor, to shine on the basis of merit instead of on the basis of being a minister’s daughter.

At the Presidential Palace, Wismoyo Arismunandar came out of a meeting with the President. Wismoyo announced to the press that the Navy’s 4 Sigma Missile Corvettes has arrived. The press however, was more interested on whether Wismoyo was staying or not. Wismoyo only chuckled.

“Rotations in and out of various offices are positions are nothing new for a military man like me”, Wismoyo said “I just want to say that what the President and I have been working on in the previous term is just the beginning.”

At the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ginandjar Kartasasmita watched as his driver loaded boxes of items in his car. He was all smiles as he posed for pictures before getting in his car.

“You all have seen the last of me”, Ginandjar said “At least for now.”

15th March 2003:
At the Presidential Palace today, the President led a ceremony in which he swore in the following:

*Gen. TB Hasanuddin as Commander of ABRI
*Adm. Djoko Sumaryono as Deputy Commander of ABRI
*Lt. Gen. Srijanto as Army Chief of Staff with a promotion to the rank of general
*V. Adm. Djoko Agoes Hanoeng as Navy Chief of Staff with a promotion to the rank of admiral
*Mshl. Teddy Sumarno as Air Force Chief of Staff with a promotion to the rank of air chief marshal
*Lt. Gen. (Pol.) I Made Mangku Pastika as Chief of Police with a promotion to the rank of police general

The President’s close relationship with TB Hasanuddin was evident. When the President walked to shake TB’s hands at the conclusion of the ceremony, TB saluted and bowed his head while the President patted his shoulder.

“Well done and well deserved”, the President said.

Facing the press when all of the ceremony and handshaking was over, TB explained that he together with the Deputy Commander of ABRI, the Army, Navy, and Air Force Chief of Staffs, and the Chief of Police has been sworn in so that they can get on with the task of conducting ABRI’s command shuffle which will involve filling in positions for ABRI’s expanded organization now including the 3rd Naval Fleet, the 3rd Air Force Operational Command, the 3rd Marine Corps Troops, and the new Army Regional Military Commands.

16th March 2003:
“I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election as President of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission”, Try said into the telephone.

“And of course, I must congratulate you on your recent re-election as President of the Republic of Indonesia”, replied President of China Luo Gan’s over the phone.

Try was accompanied by Marzuki Darusman and Edi as he placed his call to Luo. The conversation was pleasant enough with both Try and Luo confirming to each other that they will be at Brazil in a few months’ time to meet with the other BRICI economies in an informal summit. Then Try cautiously began talking about the virus which had originated in China and had spread to other countries including Malaysia; calling on the Chinese government to take decisive action. To Try’s surprise, Luo responded positively and promised that his first priority will be to take action to stop the prevention of this virus and crack down on “party officials” trying to play down the virus and not providing the full picture to the central government.

“I will also clamp down on the travel of our tourists abroad including to Malaysia for the time being”, Luo said before adding “Though it will be for you to explain yourself to Malaysia why you view their tourism industry with such disdain.”

Try only smiled to himself. He did not expect the honeymoon to last long.

“Well, I guess we’ve said all that can be said to each other, Mr. President”, Luo said “I just want to end by saying that Comrade Jiang Zemin talked a bit about your last conversation with him.”

Try tried to keep a poker face, this was what he was waiting for.

“We have a law here in China called the Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone”, Luo said calmly “Your comments about the South China Sea not belonging to us regardless of the amount of dash lines notwithstanding, I just want to state uncategorically here and now that for me, the law I just mentioned means that China’s assertion of sovereignty in that region is not based on nationalist chest-thumping but based on the Chinese Government’s legal obligation to ensure that China’s national interests and security are well-served.”

There was silence in the room.

“And make no mistake, I will make sure that this law is upheld”, Luo continued.

The call ended not long after that with Try chuckling to himself and saying he expected nothing less, Marzuki commenting that Luo will be more assertive than Jiang on strategic matters, and Edi not being happy at Luo for speaking to Try like that.

When Marzuki left, Try’s next guest came in, it was Vice President JB Sumarlin.

“A lot of work to do this Sunday, Mr. President?” asked Sumarlin.

“One big phonecall, Mr. Vice President” said the President before producing a piece of paper with some names on it “And then of course, there’s finalizing that. Let me know if you have any questions about some of the names.”

Sumarlin took the piece of paper and looked at the names.

“I put myself at the disposal of your good judgment and have nothing to add, Mr. President”, Sumarlin said.

“Then it’s settled, we have a cabinet”, the President “All we have to do now is announce it.”

---
Happy New Year guys.

I wanted a bit of a farewell for some of the guys who won’t be coming back in the next cabinet.

And yes, readers, the Najwa being mentioned here is none other than Najwa Shihab. She is a prosecutor ITTL so the interviewing style we’re familiar with in OTL will get its outlet in court in ITTL.

Like last time, Try swears in the top officers in the 4 branches of ABRI as well and in this case the commander and deputy commander of ABRI. TB Hasanuddin as Commander of ABRI, who saw that coming?

And Try has his first encounter with Luo Gan. The law which Luo mentions can be found at https://www.un.org/depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/CHN_1992_Law.pdf. According to Strangio (2020), this law is at the basis of China’s claim on the South China Sea (https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...Territorial+Waters&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover)

There’s not a lot on Luo Gan and what he’s like (it seems communist regimes like to keep what their cadres are like under wraps). But the thing that can be gathered from his profile is that he is seen as a protégé of Li Peng (who advocated a hardline approach against the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests) and he has a law enforcement and security background (hence his spiel about China’s claim on South China Sea being a legal thing).

 

[GSD310]

17th March 2003:
At the Jepara Room of the Presidential Palace where all the swearing in ceremonies were conducted, a group of men and women well-dressed in suit, tie, and peci for the former and kebaya for latter, were standing in place chatting with each other waiting for a ceremony to start. All around the room, the spouses as well as other guests had crowded around in their allotted spots.

Voiceover: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen wherever you may be around Indonesia, to this special live TVRI Broadcast from the Presidential Palace where we are just moments away from the swearing-in ceremony of the Eighth Development Cabinet.

The camera cuts to Marzuki Darusman deep in discussion with Wiranto who was standing beside him. Next to them, Dahlan Iskan turned around and was speaking to Siswono Yudohusodo and Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.

Voiceover: The Eighth Development Cabinet was of course announced last night by the President and this morning, the appointment will be made official by this swearing-in ceremony and we can see varius ministers waiting for the ceremony to start and passing the time.

Elsewhere among those waiting in the ceremony, Juwono Sudarsono waited stoically next to Slamet Effendy Yusuf while Meutia Hatta and Azrul Azwar was seen chatting.

Voiceover: Old faces and new faces alike…

Camera cuts to PPP members Muhyiddin Arubusman, Rusnain Yahya, and Khofifah Indar Parawansa chatting happily with each other. Fade to Sintong Panjaitan chatting with Manuel Kaisiepo and Maria Fernanda Lay.

Voiceover: There are PPP members but there also of course members of the PKPI in addition to non-partisans such as retired military officers, economists, academics, bureaucrats, journalists and those from other backgrounds. But regardless of their background, these are the men and women the President has chosen to…all right we’re getting word that the President has almost arrived.

The master of the ceremonies asked all the ministers to stand in their appointed places and not long after, President Try Sutrisno walked into the Jepara Room and stood in front of the ministers. Behind him Vice President JB Sumarlin stood with all of the other guests, taking his place next to Chairman of the DPR Matori Abdul Djalil while First Lady Tuti Setiawati and Second Lady Sudarmi Sumarlin took their places with the spouses of the ministers.

The President looked solemn as the patriotic tones of the national anthem was played and then silence descended on the room when the anthem was finished for a few moments, followed by the master of ceremonies’ voice.

“The reading out of the Presidential Decision Regarding the Formation of the Eighth Development Cabinet by the Deputy State Secretary”, he announced.

The camera now focused on Deputy State Secretary Prijono Tjiptoherijanto.

Voiceover: The Deputy State Secretary will be reading the Presidential Decision because the State Secretary is at present standing with the other ministers ready to be sworn in.

“Decision of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Number 17 of 2003”, began Prijono “The President of the Republic of Indonesia,

Considering:
Whereas based on the Fourth MPR Resolution of 2003, the President of the Republic of Indonesia has been elected, appointed, and inaugurated.

Whereas to best conduct the duties and responsibilities of the President, there is a need to form the Eighth Development Cabinet.

Whereas those whose names are mentioned in this Presidential Decision are deemed qualified to be appointed as ministers and officials with ministerial rank.

With reference to Article 4 section 1 and Article 17 of the 1945 Constitution and the Fourth MPR Resolution of 2003,

The President hereby decides and resolves:

First, to form the Eighth Development Cabinet and as of their swearing-in, appoints the individuals whose names are mentioned below to the posts mentioned behind their names:

Ministers In Charge of Departments:
*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Sintong Panjaitan as Minister of Home Affairs

*Marzuki Darusman SH as Minister of Foreign Affairs

*Gen. (Ret.) Wiranto as Minister of Defense and Security

*Anak Agung Oka Mahendra SH as Minister of Legal Affairs

*Dahlan Iskan as Minister of Information, Post, and Telecommunications

*Prof. Drs. Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti MA, Ph.D as Minister of Economics and National Development Planning

*Prof. Dr. Boediono B.Sc, M.Sc., Ph.D as Minister of Finance

*Anthony Salim BA as Minister of Trade

*Ir. Siswono Yudohusodo as Minister of Industry

*Ir. Sarwono Kusumaatmadja as Minister of Agriculture

*Drs. Awang Faroek Ishak MM., M.Si, as Minister of Mining and Energy

*Dr. Sapta Nirwandar SE as Minister of Forestry

*Adm. (Ret.) Arief Koeshariadi as Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

*Prof. Dr. Ir. Budi Susilo Soepandji CES, DEA as Minister of Public Works

*Air Chief Marshal (Ret.) Chappy Hakim as Minister of Transportation

*Muhyiddin Arubusman as Minister of Manpower

*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Sutiyoso as Minister of Tourism

*Prof. Juwono Sudarsono SH., BA., M.S., M.A, Ph.D as Minister of Education

*Prof. Dr. dr. Azrul Azwar MPH as Minister of Health

*Drs. Slamet Effendy Yusuf as Minister of Religion

*Prof. Dr. Meutia Hatta Farida Swasono as Minister of Social Affairs

*GBPH Joyokusumo as Minister of Culture

*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Hendropriyono as Minister of Civil Service Reform

State Ministers with certain cross-departmental responsibilities:
*Ir. Erna Witoelar as State Minister of Environment

*Rusnain Yahya as State Minister of Transmigration

*Prof. Dr. Balthasar Kambuaya MBA., as State Minister of Small Medium Enterprises and Cooperatives

*Ir. Cacuk Sudarijanto as State Minister of State-Owned Enterprises

*Ir. Ridwan Hisjam as State Minister of Urban Development

*Ir. Cahyana Ahmadjayadi as State Minister of Rural Development

*Maria Fernanda Lay ST., as State Minister of the Development of Eastern Indonesia

*Prof. Dr. Ir. Indroyono Soesilo M.Sc, as State Minister of Research and Technology

*Bobby Suhardiman as State Minister of Housing

*Dr. Ir. Indra Djati Sidi M.Sc, as State Minister of Youth and Sports

*Nursyahbani Katjasungkana SH as State Minister of Female Empowerment and the Protection of Children

Junior Ministers in charge of special priorities:
*Ir. Adwin Haryanto Suryohadiprodjo MBA., as Junior Minister of Defense and Security with responsibility over coordinating military-related production by state-owned enterprises.

*Prof. Iwan Jaya Azis SE., M.Sc, Ph.D as Junior Minister of Economics and National Development Planning with responsibility over infrastructure planning.

*Dr. Darmin Nasution SE., M.A., as Junior Minister of Finance with responsibility over coordinating revenue raising.

*Prof. Dr. M. Amin Abdullah as Junior Minister of Religion with responsibility over coordinating Hajj, Zakat, and Waqf affairs.

Officials of Ministerial Rank:
*Gen. Tubagus Hasanuddin as the Commander of ABRI

*Dr. Ir. Bambang Subianto as the Governor of Bank Indonesia

*Muchtar Arifin SH as the Attorney General

*Prof. Mari Elka Pangestu M.Ec, Ph.D, as Head of the Investment Coordinating Agency (BKPM)

*Dra. Khofifah Indar Parawansa M.Si as Head of the National Family Planning Coordinating Agency (BKKBN)

*Ir. Indra Bambang Utoyo SE as Head of the National Land Agency (BPN)

*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Yusuf Kartanegara as Head of the Logistical Affairs Agency (Bulog)

*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Agus Widjojo Chairman of the Comprehension and Implementation of Pancasila Guideline Educational Guidance and Implementation Agency (BP-7).

*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ari Sudewo as Chief of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Bakin)

*Gen. (Ret.) Edi Sudrajat as the State Secretary

*Hayono Isman S.Ip as the Cabinet Secretary

*Dr. Komara Djaja as the Vice Presidential Secretary.

Second, this decision is effective from the date that it is enacted.

Enacted in Jakarta, 16th March 2003

Signed by Gen. (Ret.) Try Sutrisno, the President of Republic of Indonesia”

Prijono Tjiptoherijanto ended his reading of the Presidential Decision as officials representing the Islamic, Christian, Catholic, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths took their positions.

“The swearing in of the ministers of the Eighth Development Cabinet with the oath to be administered by the President of the Republic of Indonesia”, announced the Master of Ceremonies.

The President by now had in his hands a booklet containing the oath to be administered. He stepped up to the microphone.

“Are you all willing to be sworn in according to your respective religious faiths?” asked the President.

“WE ARE WILLING!”, replied the ministers.

The President then guided the ministers through the various religion-specific beginning of the oath before moving on to the oath proper.

“Now, would you please listen to my words and repeat after me:

That I…”
“BAHWA SAYA…”

“…in being appointed as a Minister or Official of Ministerial Rank,…”
“…UNTUK DIANGKAT MENJADI MENTERI ATAU PEJABAT SETINGKAT MENTERI…”

“…whether directly or indirectly, under any name or reason whatsoever,…”
“…LANGSUNG ATAUPUN TAK LANGSUNG, DENGAN NAMA ATAU DALIH APAPUN…”

“…has not promised or given or have any intention of procuring anything for anyone whatsoever.”
“…TIADA MENJANJIKAN ATAU MEMBERIKAN ATAUPUN AKAN MEMBERIKAN KEPADA SIAPAPUN JUGA.”

“I swear that I, in acting or not acting in my office…”
“SAYA BERSUMPAH, BAHWA SAYA, UNTUK MELAKUKAN ATAU TIDAK MELAKUKAN SESUATU DALAM JABATAN INI…

“….have not once received anything from anyone whatsoever whether directly or indirectly, whether a promise or a gift.”
“….TIADA SEKALI-KALI MENERIMA DARI SIAPAPUN JUGA, LANGSUNG ATAUPUN TAK LANGSUNG, SUATU JANJI ATAU PEMBERIAN.”

“I swear to be loyal to the Constitution, that I will uphold all regulations prevailing in the Republic of Indonesia…”
“…SAYA BERSUMPAH SETIA KEPADA UNDANG-UNDANG DASAR, BAHWA SAYA AKAN MEMELIHARA SEGALA PERATURAN YANG BERLAKU BAGI REPUBLIK INDONESIA…”

“That I, with all of my strength, will strive for the welfare of the Republic of Indonesia…
“BAHWA SAYA DENGAN SEKUAT TENAGA AKAN MENGUSAHAKAN KESEJAHTERAAN REPUBLIK INDONESIA.”

“That I will be loyal to the Archipelago and to the Nation…”
“BAHWA SAYA AKAN SETIA KEPADA NUSA DAN BANGSA…”

“And that I will loyally fulfill all the duties that has been entrusted to me…”
“DAN BAHWA SAYA AKAN MEMENUHI DENGAN SETIA SEGALA KEWAJIBAN YANG DITANGGUNGKAN KEPADA SAYA…”

“…by the office of minister or official of ministerial rank.”
…OLEH JABATAN MENTERI ATAU PEJABAT SETINGKAT MENTERI.”

Having sworn in his ministers, the President stood solemnly as the national anthem played again marking the end of the ceremony. The camera showed the faces of the new ministers, now looking equally solemn after being sworn into their new offices as opposed to looking nervous prior to being sworn in.

The ministers were now joined by their spouses where they stood and after some silence, the tunes of Padamu Negeri were played as the President began shaking hands with the ministers and their spouses.

Voiceover: And so, the Eighth Development Cabinet have now been sworn in. Already informally known as the Golden Cabinet because it comprises of 50 members. We see there the President after shaking hands with Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan and his wife, moving on to Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman…Well we in the TVRI would like to congratulate all those who have been appointed to the Eighth Development Cabinet and place our hopes along with that of this nation’s on the shoulders of this cabinet and of course on the shoulders of our President and Vice President as they lead this nation over the next 5 years, whatever those 5 years may bring. Selamat Bertugas!

---
Selamat bertugas can be translated as “Good luck at your new job” or as “Good luck at your new appointment” but I feel that something is lost in the translation.

Yes, that’s how cabinets are sworn-in in Indonesia right down to the President congratulating those he has sworn in to the tunes of Padamu Negeri. I used this video as a point of reference

Yes, we in Indonesia are obsessed with titles both academic or otherwise. To the point where if you want to mention someone by their full name, you mention their titles as well and to the point where if you’re sending wedding invitations out to people you include the disclaimer “Apologies if we didn’t get your titles right.”

Just wanted to try something different than a short biographical profiles of the previous cabinet and cabinet reshuffle announcements.

There will be more on Dahlan Iskan’s health playing out differently ITTL when compared to OTL. His health issues began within the time period of the TL so I’m considering that butterflyable.

Indonesia’s never had a standalone Department of Culture. It always seems to be just tagging along with either the Department of Education or the Department of Tourism.

The VP’s Secretary sitting as a cabinet member is a fulfillment of the promise Try made to Sumarlin in Chapter 218. In OTL, the VP’s Secretary has always been subordinate to the State Secretary.

Was aiming for 45 people in the cabinet because that’s a sacred number in Indonesian numerology but 50 is not without its symbolism as well. Sukarno holds the record with 132 ministers (https://tirto.id/kabinet-dwikora-ii-kabinet-100-menteri-zaman-sukarno-ed23). Soeharto brought the cabinet down to an efficient and manageable size but it slowly grew throughout the course of his tenure.

 

[GSD310]

18th March 2003:
At the Presidential Palace today, President Try Sutrisno chaired a cabinet meeting attended by Vice President JB Sumarlin, the Eighth Development Cabinet, and all agency heads. At its conclusion, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Trade Anthony Salim, Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo, Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, State Minister of SME and Cooperatives Balthasar Kambuaya, Governor of Bank Indonesia Bambang Subianto, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat, Vice-Presidential Secretary Komara Djaja, and Head of the BSN Ardiansyah Parman emerged out of the meeting to hold a joint press conference.

Opening the press conference, Edi said that the President has used the first cabinet meeting to both welcome the ministers as well as to get back and get on with the work.

Speaking next, Dorodjatun said that the President has approved of a long overdue policy package to prepare the nation for the resumption of AFTA in January 2004. The policy package included the following measures:

*Train The Trainers” workshops for agricultural extension officers to convey additional knowledge to farmers how they can add value to what they are producing. This will begin on 1st April.

*SME Training Courses which will begin on 1st April this will cover such topics such as financial planning, marketing, how to be more competitive and how to take advantage of export opportunities.

*A “National Standardization Priority List” to be formulated annually in consultation with the relevant departments and agencies for goods which are still as yet to have a national standard. The goods identified on this list are prioritized when it comes to having national standard be established for it. The goal being for all goods exported out of Indonesia, for AFTA or otherwise, to have been certified with these national standards.

*Establish a National Export Financing Agency to replace the Export-Import Bank which was merged into Bank Mandiri during the Asian Financial Crisis.

Dorodjatun summed it up by saying that the government would not leave Indonesians “exposed” to AFTA without any preparations and will continue to guide Indonesians when AFTA had resumed.

When the ministers took questions from the press, the question that seemed to get them going the most was the question about whether or not Indonesia would be “flooded by imports” if AFTA was to resume. All agreed while at the same time putting their own spin on their agreement with what wasd being done.

Sarwono pointed to tariffs being lowered on fruits in June 1991 causing the prices of fruits to fall in the country and saying that food as a whole will be cheaper if tariffs on it are lowered. He acknowledged that there will be more competition, for example more fruits from Thailand will arrive in Indonesia, but that is why he wants to encourage farmers into adding value to their produce so that they can be more competitive (more corn chips and orange juice rather than just more corn and oranges).

Anthony tried to be more encouraging. On the export side, even though Indonesia’s currency is strong, Indonesian goods can become cheaper if it does not have tariffs put on them. On the import side, imports from around the region will become cheaper and goods produced with these imports will also be cheaper.

Siswono gave a twofold answer. Looking at things merely from industry’s perspective, it was time to get serious about strengthening the structure of the industry for example by establishing more automotive and electronics components plants before tariffs are totally phased out. From a macro perspective, Siswono said the alternative was either have tariffs be lowered on Indonesian products in return to gain market access for Indonesian exports or devaluation, forcibly making Indonesian exports more competitive but the consequence will be inflation because the Rupiah has lost value.

“The Government has preferred the currency to be stronger so it is cheaper to do such things as set up factories or buy weapons, so the option taken has got to be free trade”, argued Siswono.

Dorodjatun summed it up in terms of risks and opportunities. From conversations with counterparts, he gets the impression that gaining more access to the the 200 million plus Indonesian market plus the Indonesian economy’s strong growth are some of the attractions for AFTA for nations in the region.

“I think that there are risks but also opportunities here”, said Dorodjatun “We will be contributing to their economic growth and strengthening our position as leader in the region, at least in an economic sense.”

Dorodjatun also said that tariff reductions will be announced in due course by the government.

19th March 2003:
Minister of Health Azrul Azwar came out of a meeting with the President where they discussed the the situation regarding SARS, as the virus coming of China is now known. Azrul first announced that the President has placed him in charge of the nation’s effort to contain SARS which meant that departments and agencies were to defer to the Department of Health on SARS-related matters. The second announcement was that the President was pleased with the effort to contain SARS but has approved of taking the further step of issuing travel advisories to Macau, Taiwan, and Singapore in addition to the travel advisories to China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

A question came from the press asking for a reaction about Malaysia’s “indirect accusation” that Indonesia was in favor of China temporarily banning its tourists from coming to Malaysia or other Southeast Asian countries and that this will be to the detriment of Southeast Asia’s economies. Azrul only smiled at this.

“The President is wise and this is exactly why I’ve been put in overall charge of our campaign against SARS” Azrul replied “Because it’s a medical fact where this virus has originated and it has nothing to do with geopolitics. Any steps the Government has taken against it has been based primarily on medical considerations, I’ll leave the geopolitics for others.”

20th March 2003:
At the Presidential Palace, the President presided over a ceremony in which the following were sworn in:

*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Endriartono Sutarto as Governor of Jakarta
*V. Adm. (Ret.) Freddy Numberi as Governor of Irian Jaya
*Maj. Gen. Hadi Waluyo as Governor of East Kalimantan
*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Muzani Syukur as Governor of West Java

Speaking to the press at the conclusion of ceremony, Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan explained that the first three governors were sworn in so they could take the place of governors who had been appointed as ministers while the fourth governor is being sworn in for a second term.

21st March 2003:
At the Kalibata Heroes’ Cemetery, the President presided over the State Funeral of former Vice President Umar Wirahadikusumah who passed away this morning. In his eulogy, the President praised Umar’s integrity and low-profile style. Former Vice President Sudharmono also attended but he noticeably kept his distance from the President. When the funeral was over, the President joined some of the family members to pay their respects and pray at the tomb of Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Agus Wirahadikusumah, Umar's nephew who had pre-deceased him.

Also full of praise for Umar, though not in attendance at the funeral, was Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto. At Cendana Street, however, the press was more curious about how she was doing after the MPR General Session and what her next plan was. Tutut said that for the moment both she and the PKPB was going to do some soul searching.

“We intend to have a national congress before the year is out though the date will be announced later”, Tutut said “Remember, the PKPB holds the most seats in the DPR and that this means that we have a large stake in how things play out over the next 5 years”.

23rd March 2003:
The President accompanied by Edi Sudrajat conducted a surprise inspection of the BKPM’s office. Though a Sunday, the BKPM were filled with investor applicants both domestic and foreign alike. Head of BKPM Mari Pangestu immediately went downstairs from her office to meet the President when she heard that he was present. Mari said that in the weeks leading up to the MPR General Session, investment had slowed down not because Indonesia was no longer attractive but because investors were waiting and seeing what would happen at the MPR General Session. After the MPR General Session, however, the BKPM became so crowded with applicants and Mari has responded by having extended office hours on weekdays and opening on weekends as well until the end of March.

The President shook hands and talked with some of the investor applicants there asking them what were they investing in, wishing them luck in their venture, and encouraging them to give feedback so that the BKPM could improve even more. Applicants who were repeat investors said that the BKPM had improved leaps and bounds in the past 5 years and that they were only too glad to see the President back for another 5 years so that the BKPM could continue to improve.

24th March 2003:
At the Presidential Palace this morning, the President had a three-way breakfast with Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto and Commander of ABRI TB Hasanuddin. The two presented the President with a predicament. The 2002 ABRI Leadership Meeting had mandated expansion in the number of ABRI personnel over the next 10 years, both Wiranto and TB Hasanuddin however said that the recruitment of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and policemen would probably need to be slowed down over the next few years because “unforeseen circumstances” had caused more funds to be required. The President asked what these unforeseen circumstances were.

“Having Shwe Mann and his men arrived and then beginning the process of beginning to integrate them into ABRI, Mr. President”, replied Wiranto “They’ve graciously taken lower pay than our regular personnel, but we are also providing uniform, food, equipments, weapons, and housing. This means there’s less of everything available for new ABRI recruits.”

“If you’re recommending that personnel recruitment be slowed down, are you ready for some people to be angry at us?” asked the President “Knowing how our people work, I’m sure a lot of money’s been spent to improve chances at being recruited.”

“I’ll have to take that risk, Sir”, Wiranto said “The bulk of the Myanmarian personnel we have are light infantrymen and if they’re not at Kopassus-level capability, they’re at the very least on the same level as our Raider Battalions. Their sailors and airmen can help us with maintenance of our Navy and Air Force weaponry and if we happen to procure the same or similar weapons systems as Myanmar, we can cut on the training budget.”

“If the benefits are more evident than the drawbacks…” began the President before turning to TB “What do you think, Commander?”

“I would agree with the Minister of Defense and Security”, TB replied in his thick Sundanese accent “At the same time, I believe that it’s still necessary to expand our personnel.”

“Well, you heard what the Minister said, there’s less resources available to recruit new personnel” the President said.

“If I may, Mr. President, I’m talking about using personnel already available to us”, TB suggested.

“I don’t follow”, the President replied.

“In the Army, we’re creating new combat units whether they be infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineers or otherwise”, TB said “Rather than recruit new personnel, we can fill them up with existing personnel from the territorial commands. We retrain them so that they can fill up the new units.”

“But then what happens to the…” the President asked before trailing off and looking at both TB and Wiranto’s expressions.

TB had a look on his face that said “I am thinking exactly what you’re thinking” and Wiranto had an expression which said that the idea seemed outlandish when he first heard it but that he had begun to accept it.

“You’re thinking of abolishing the territorial commands”, the President concluded.

“If you approve, Mr. President, I intend to propose it at the ABRI Leadership Meeting next month” said TB.

The President thought it over.

“How far up the chain do you plan on making the cut?” asked the President.

“I envision that the NCOs in Villages, the Military Rayon Command, the Military District Command will eventually go, Mr. President”, TB replied “The Military Resort Command will remain.”

“I see…it’s just that I’m sure there will be a lot of bargaining involved with the officer corps”, the President said before turning to Wiranto “Any thoughts on this?”

“There’s certainly something Agus Wirahadikusumah-esque about what’s being proposed” Wiranto replied “But after some thought, at the current stage of ABRI’s development, what’s being proposed is worth exploring. At the very least, we will be expanding ABRI’s military capability by having manpower for expanded and or new units and as well as addressing the officer corps’ desire of wanting to contribute to ABRI’s defense and security functions rather than is social and political functions.”

The President thought it over for a few moments.

“All right then, refine it and get ready to officially propose it”, the President ordered to TB.

---
And we’re starting again with the “Government gets on with work” chapters after so many months of politicking chapters.

The ministers talking from the perspective of industry, agriculture, and trade about some of the reasons why Indonesia’s keen for the resumption of AFTA. But on the whole the ITTL government hear wants to prepare the economy and the people in it for free trade.

On Myanmar’s Light Infantry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar_Army#Light_Infantry_Divisions_(LID)

The Indonesian Army has what’s called the territorial commands, which still exists to this day, it comprises of units whose role is not combat but basically keeping an eye on the various levels of government. It’s not that calls have been made to reform or even abolish the territorial commands, but I think it’s so well-rooted that these are probably going to stick around for some time to come. What’s being proposed here is that the personnel in the territorial commands be retrained and converted into combat personnel rather than look for new recruits.

The mention of Agus Wirahadikusumah refers to an officer who by this time in both OTL and ITTL has become deceased. In OTL he was very aggressive and confrontative about abolishing the territorial commands that he became quiet unpopular among the TNI ranks. In ITTL, he became Chief of ABRI Socio-Political Affairs from August 2000 until his death and seems to have had a quite tenure in the position but I feel there will be more to say about him soon.

 

[GSD310]

25th March 2003:
ABRI Headquarters today announced the first command shuffle of the present term. It was an extensive shuffle, the highlights of which are as follows:

*Tedjo Edhy Purdjiatno is appointed ABRI Chief of General Staff, a naval aviator but who went on to get experience commanding ships as he went up the ranks.

*Saurip Kadi is promoted to lieutenant general and appointed ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Affairs Staff after spending 9 months as the Military Secretary. He will be assisted by V.Mshl. Iwan Sidi, the President’s former aide-de-camp when he was vice president, as Assistant of Socio-Political Affairs Staff.

*Syarifuddin Tippe is promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Commander of the ABRI Staff and Command College.

*Edy Harjoko from the Air Force is promoted to marshal and appointed Commander of the ABRI Academy.

*Albert Inkiriwang is confirmed in his position as Governor of the Lemhanas.

*All the deputy chiefs aside from the Army changed hands. Bambang Supeno is promoted to vice admiral and appointed Deputy Navy Chief of Staff, I Gusti Made Oka is promoted to marshal and appointed Deputy Air Force Chief of Staff, and Firman Gani is promoted to lieutenant general (Police) and appointed Deputy Chief of Police.

*Among the major combat units, Djoko Santoso is promoted to lieutenant general and appointed Commander of Kostrad, Soenarko is promoted to major general and appointed Commander of Kopassus, and Nono Sampono, who had been Commander of the Presidential Bodyguards for nearly 3 years, is appointed as Commander of the Marine Corps. The appointment of Djoko Santoso, an officer close to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono but had not joined him in not voting for the President, was seen as both an olive branch and a reassurance for those in the officer corps considering leaving the President that there would be no reprisals.

*Around the Palace, Maj. Gen. Junianto Haroen becomes Military Secretary with Maj. Gen. (Pol.) Gories Mere becoming Commander of the Presidential Bodyguards.

*The expansion from 10 Regional Military Commands to 15 in the Army, 2 Fleets to 3 in the Navy, 2 Air Commands to 3 in the Air Force, and 2 Marine Troops to 3 in the Marine Corps and its resultant appointments takes effect. The 15 Regional Military Commands are manned by majors general originating from Military Academy Classes of 1975 to 1978.

*Though no repercussions had befallen his brothers-in-law and his associates, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been left with no assignment.

26th March 2003:
President Try Sutrisno met with Vice President JB Sumarlin, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Finance Boediono, Governor of Bank Indonesia Bambang Subianto, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat, and Vice Presidential Secretary Komara Djaja today.

Dorodjatun confirmed the BKPM’s account to the President a few days ago by saying that there was a lot of “waiting and seeing” in January and February and then in March, after the end of the MPR General Session there’s been a lot of decisions to go ahead with new business ventures or expansion. Growth-wise, Dorodjatun said, the situation is cnducive for Indonesia to have another strong economic year and finish Repelita VII strong.

The President was happy with this though he remained concerned about Indonesia being an oil importer and the importance of securing sources of oil until new oil fields are up and running. He said that the Department of Mining and Energy has already been at work since the last few months of the previous term and are on the verge of concluding to another oil importing agreement. At the same time there needs to be more steps when it comes to making things more conducive for oil exploration in Indonesia.

Still related to mining, Boediono reported that PT Freeport Indonesia has divested 2% of its shares to the government a few days ahead of schedule. The new rates of royalties for copper, gold, and silver from Freeport, however, will start to apply on 1st April. Sumarlin said to make sure that every cent from the new rates of royalties are collected so that it can be utilized for other purposes.

Lastly, Bambang spoke of his conversations with those of the banking sector in the last few days. He said said that there are a lot of interest among those still as yet to settle their BLBI repayments not to wait until December to do so. The reason being that since they were getting “another 5 years of Try”, there was no point delaying or waiting for some kind of leniency that they hoped would come if someone else was elected president.

“We can do without the downer attitude”, the President said “But if they want to settle the BLBI repayments earlier, they’re more than welcome to.”

27th March 2003:
In the afternoon, the President chaired a cabinet meeting attended by Sumarlin and all the ministers and agency heads. It was late afternoon when Edi Sudrajat emerged out of the meeting accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman, Minister of Legal Affairs Oka Mahendra, Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaamatdja, Minister of Transportation Chappy Hakim, Minister of Manpower Muhyiddin Arubusman, and Minister of Health Azrul Azwar, Head of BARANTIN Ali Rahman and Head of the BNP2TKI Potsdam Hutasoit for a joint press conference.

Opening the press conference, Edi explained that the President had convened the cabinet meeting at short notice in the wake of Singapore’s decision the previous day to close down schools and issue quarantine orders to review the situation and ask for input from the ministers about whether there were any further steps that Indonesia can and should take.

Speaking next, Azrul said that Indonesia currently has 5 SARS cases and said that, while the steps put in place by the government to begin containing SARS in February are a bit premature when compared to other governments in the region, such steps are doing its job in containing SARS in Indonesia. Azrul also added that he is in constant coordination with other ministers of health in the region as well as the WHO.

That said, the President and the cabinet has agreed that developments in Singapore but also in such places as Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan and the steps taken by those respective governments as signifying “adverse developments”. Thus, the following measures have now put in place:

*Travel advisories to Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan have now been upgraded from “exercise caution” to “avoid non-essential travel”).
*All Indonesian migrant workers scheduled for departure to “travel-advised” countries will have their departure delayed for a month.
*All visa applications from the People’s Republic of China will not be accepted and those already received from the People’s Republic of China but not approved will not be processed.
*Contact tracing to be put in place for suspected cases that had been established.
*Those who are found to have been in contact with a SARS patient to be isolated and quarantined if they are still healthy enough not to be hospitalized.
*A ban on the import of “exotic animals” originating from the People’s Republic of China, in particular bats.

“Last but not least”, read out Edi “The Minister of Health, on the instruction of the President and invoking Law no. 4 of 1984 regarding Epidemic, has hereby declared Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome as a disease that may cause an epidemic.”

28th March 2003:
The President, accompanied by Azrul and Edi, was at the Sulianti Saroso Hospital for Infectious Diseases, North Jakarta today. Wearing facemasks, full personal protective equipment, rubber gloves, faceshield, and hair cover, the President met with with the patients currently being treated in the SARS. The President also talked with doctors and nurses at the SARS ward there.

There was a lot of press waiting when the President, Azrul, and Edi emerged of the hospital. There were a lot of questions about what the President thought about such developments, particularly that the patient contracted the disease in Malaysia.

“The concern right now is medical, not geopolitical; I’m not after anyone’s economy or after anyone’s prosperity, right now we just need to handle this. Singapore’s already shutting down schools, Hong Kong’s already shutting down schools”, the President explained as he disappeared inside his car “We can’t just say “that’s not going to happen to us”, we have to ake active steps to make sure that they don’t happen to us.”

Later in the day at Vice Presidential Palace, Sumarlin was interviewed by TVRI about the announcement made at the conclusion of the cabinet meeting today. He was in particular asked whether the steps taken are “excessive” considering that Indonesia has a lot less SARS cases when compared to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan or Singapore.

“I’m going to take the Asian Financial Crisis as an example and I know an epidemic and an economic crisis are two different things”, Sumarlin began “People always say to me that we got out of the Asian Financial Crisis because I was elected vice president and I’m able to offer him advice on the economy. I always tell them that they’re wrong. Our recovery began before I was vice president in that immediate period of 3 months after President Try assumes office when he was just throwing everything so that our currency stopped losing its value. If he hadn’t done that, I think we would have been in a lot of trouble.

I think the same principal applies here. The President is throwing as many things as he can at the epidemic now rather than later so that the there’s less risk of us reaching the point that Singapore has now reached. In this instance, being called “excessive” is but a small risk.”

29th March 2003:
At the Balai Sudirman function hall, the PKPI held a slametan gathering to celebrate the results of the 2003 MPR General Session. The highlight of the ceremony was when Chairman of the PKPI Basofi Sudirman cut the top of the tumpeng rice and gave it to the President to much applause. Elsewhere in the ceremony, Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto received his PKPI membership card now that he is no longer an active duty ABRI officer.

Meanwhile, Basofi announced that Soeyono, until recently minister of tourism, will now be the Day-to-Day Chairman of the PKPI. Basofi said that doubling up between being a Vice Chairman of the DPR and Chairman of the PKPI is tiring so he will be delegating some responsibilities to Soeyono.

31st March 2003:
The President arrived at Solo, Central Java by air this morning. From Solo’s Adisumarmo Airport, the President and his entourage travelled on a still empty Toll Road to the border of Central Java and East Java for today’s ceremony. There, accompanied by Minister of Public Works Budi Susilo Soepandji, Governor of Central Java M. Ma’ruf and Governor of East Java Haris Sudarno, the President inaugurated the Solo-Ngawi Toll Road. In his speech, the President said that normally he tries to inaugurate multiple things at once but that this particular project deserved its own inauguration.

“The Solo-Ngawi Toll Road is an important milestone in the Trans-Java Toll Road, it means the only stretches of toll roads that remains to be done if we are to complete the Trans-Java are in East Java”, the President announced to applause.

The President tested the toll road in his car and drove all the way to the next stretch of toll road, the Ngawi-Kertosono. Here the President got out of his car and walked around to get a closer look at the construction site. He chatted with the operators of the heavy equipment, motivating them by telling them that what they were doing was important. He then headed back to Solo before flying back to Jakarta.

1st April 2003:
The President met with Marzuki Darusman today; the latter coming to him to report of recent developments. Marzuki said in the aftermath of the President’s decision to reject and suspend visa applications by Chinese nationals, other nations around Southeast Asia have followed suit the only exceptions being Myanmar and Cambodia. The President chuckled when he heard that even Malaysia had followed suit after Indonesia had rejected and suspended visa applications by Chinese nationals.

“Regardless of their stance towards you and what decision they have or have not taken, the word I’m hearing is that around Southeast Asia, they’re waiting to see whether or not Indonesia would “dare” to stop Chinese people from coming in and basing their own decision on this matter based on the decision we have made”, Marzuki said.

“What's Beijing’s reaction?” asked the President.

“They’re playing nice, Mr. President”, replied Marzuki “But that’s because President Luo Gan, Premier Wu Bangguo, and the rest of the Chinese Government are throwing themselves into handling SARS rather than any fond feelings for you.”

Marzuki then reported that Prime Minister of Australia Peter Costello has committed to sending more Australian military personnel to join the “humanitarian intervention” against Yugoslavia and that this personnel will depart next month. This decision has come under attack from Leader of Opposition Mark Latham who debated Costello in the Australian Parliament about this. Producing a tape, Marzuki inserted it into the VCR in the President’s office and a video played of the debate in the Australian Parliament.

“Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is totally misguided. Australia’s main national security threat is not in Afghanistan or Yugoslavia but nearer to home. And I don’t have to name any names because the Prime Minister can ask Minister for Defense Reith for the answer to that question, all I have to say is that this security threat is building its economy, eagerly strengthening its military, and as of April, will be helping Papua New Guinea build its roads and increasing its influence there”, argued Latham.

The President smiled though he was not shocked that Australia would be aware that Indonesia was giving aid to Papua New Guinea in building roads and even less so that there would be those unhappy about it. He continued to listen as it was then Costello’s turn to speak.

“Whatever national security threat that Australia has, whether it be near or far, can only be overcome if we have the United States of America on our side. But for the United States to stand with us, we have to stand with them and that is why we are sending more of our troops to Yugoslavia to unseat Slobodan Milosevic”, replied Costello.

The tape finished there and the President was silent in thought.

“Do we have a chance with these guys to at least have a good relationship?” asked the President.

“The word ambivalent may be overused when it comes to Australia’s attitude to us, but is apt, Mr. President, even in that parliament”, said Marzuki “The ruling Liberal-National Coalition has its share of people wanting good relations with us but as we know, they have their share of people hostile to us. The same goes with the Labor Party; some want closer ties, while some like this Latham fellow is clearly hostile to us.”

The President was quiet unsatisfied with the response and situation.

“The best we can hope for is that this relationship can survive people like Latham or Reith strutting around being anti-Indonesian, that their tourists continues to come to Bali, and that nothing happens that brings out the worst in this relationship”, Marzuki said.

“Yes, let’s hope nothing happens”, replied the President; somehow getting the feeling that something eventually will.

---
A SARS-centered chapter. This last week of March is a bad one for Singapore ITTL as in OTL. I suppose Singapore was the one that came closest to a lockdown in OTL by closing down schools for two weeks. https://mothership.sg/2020/03/sars-singapore-schools-closed/

The Epidemic Law being invoked by the government is the one from OTL https://www.bphn.go.id/data/documents/84uu004.pdf

It's an odd formulation but that's how things are formulated, the Minister of Health declares "diseases which may cause an epidemic" but not a state of epidemic itself. And then I suppose this is to be taken as a declaration of a epidemic.

Indonesia only had 2 SARS cases OTL but already has 5 cases at this stage. The difference in ITTL is that there’s more economic activity in Indonesia, more people travelling in out of Indonesia, and people being more likely to catch SARS.

The list of OTL SARS Cases:

2002–2004 SARS outbreak - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Check out Chapter 203 for Try promising aid to PNG in the form of helping to construct roads there.

The situation with the Aussies having to send extra troops has been mentioned in past chapters but just to refresh: the UK House of Commons does not give its approval for Blair to send troops to Yugoslavia, Blair takes this as a vote of no confidence and resigns as PM, US turns to Australia for extra troops.

 

[GSD310]

Weapon Acquired During Try's Presidency Thus Far:
-Other than the deliveries from orders in the immediate years prior to Try’s assumption of the presidency, the year in which a weapons system is mention alludes to the year in which it is ordered.

-Everything ordered until 2000, excepting the 3 attack submarines, have been delivered. Some of what has been ordered in 2001 has been delivered. Everything else still needs to be delivered.


Deliveries from orders in the immediate years prior to Try’s assumption of the presidency:
-20 x Nomad Utility Aircraft (Navy) (Australia) Relations still warm when purchase and delivery was made
-4 x PB-57 Fast Patrol Craft (Navy) (Germany) PT PAL Production License
-90 x Scorpion Tank (Army) (UK)
-14 x Tactica APC (Police) (UK)
-18 x VAB APC (Army) (France)
-6 x C-212-200 MPA (Navy) (Spain) also includes IPTN Production License
-40 x BAE Hawk (Air Force) (UK) also includes IPTN Production License
-6 x F-28 Transport (Air Force) (Netherlands)
-1 x NB412 (Air Force) (United States) IPTN licensed Product
-16 x AS332 Supercopter Puma (Air Force) (France) IPTN Licensed Product
-5 x Type 206 Submarine (Navy) (Germany)
-34 BTR-50 Amphibious APC (Navy) (Ukraine)

1998:
-40 x BMP-2 (Navy) (Slovakia licensed by USSR)
-9 x Rapier Launchers plus 150 Rapier-2 missiles (Army) (United Kingdom)
-3 x Boa-Class Fast Patrol Boat (Navy) Produced by the Navy’s Western Fleet’s Maintance and Repairs Facilities (Fasharkan)
-30 x Pindad Light APC (Army and Police) Produced by Pindad
-4 x Todak FPB (Navy) Produced by PT. PAL

1999:
-5 x Boa-Class Fast Patrol Boat (Navy) Produced by the Navy’s Western Fleet’s Fasharkan
-15 x Rapier Launchers plus 300 Rapier-2 missiles (Army) (United Kingdom)
-15 x Pindad Medium APC-1 (Army) No mass procurement because Texmaco, the company providing the chassis for the APC, are still making BLBI repayments.
-30 x Pindad Light APC (Police) Produced by Pindad
-6 x TRS 2230 Radar (Air Force) (France)
-1 x Dong Yang Express Ferry converted into a troopship (Navy) (South Korea) [became KRI Tanjung Kambani]

2000:
-60 x M113 APC (Army) (Belgium) Surplus being given as aid
-32 x VAB APC (Army) (France)
-18 x LG1 Mk 3 Howitzer (Army) (France)
-3 x Boa-Class Fast Patrol Boat (Navy) Produced by the Navy’s Western Fleet Fasharkan
-4 x Viper-Class Fast Patrol Boat (Navy) Produced by the Navy’s Eastern Fleet’s Fasharkan
-4 x SIGMA Corvette (Navy) (Netherlands)
-3 x Type 209 Attack Submarines (Navy) (South Korea licensed by Germany) Production ongoing
-12 x Su-30 (Air Force) (Russia)
-14 x Mi-17 Transport Helicopters (Air Force) (Russia)

2001:
-10 x LSTs (Army) Production ongoing by PT. PAL, as of 2003 payment brought forward using money originally earmarked for 28 F-16s.
-6 x CASA C-212-MPA (Navy) Produced by IPTN
-3 x NBO-105 (Navy) Produced by IPTN
-10 x Todak FPB (Navy) Produced by PT. PAL
-15 x Pindad Medium APC-2 (Army) produced by Pindad. No mass procurement because the company providing the chassis, Texmaco are still making BLBI repayments.
-12 x BTR-80 APCs (Navy) (Russia)

2002:
-4 x Kidd-Class Destroyers (Navy) (United States)
-50 x VAB APC (Army) (France)
-41 x Leopard 2 MBTs (Army) (Germany)
-50 x Marder IFVs (Army) (Germany)
-1 x Driver Training Tank (Army) (Germany)
-1 x Bergepanzer Armored Recovery Vehicle (Germany)
-3 x M3 Amphibious Rigs (Germany)
-40 x BMP-3 IFVs (Navy) (Russia)
-12 x Mil-17 Assault Helicopters (Army) (Russia)
-2 x Daesun Landing Platform Dock (Navy) (South Korea) also includes Production License for PT. PAL

2003:
-50 x Marder IFVs (Army) (Germany)
-1 x Driver Training Tank (Germany)
-1 x Bergepanzer Armored Recovery Vehicle (Germany)
-24 x Su-30 (Air Force) (Russia)
-24 x Mig-29 (Air Force) (Russia)
-80 x BMP-3F IFVs (Navy) (Russia)
-3 x URAL-4320 Repairs and Communications Vehicle (Navy) (Russia)
-6 x BREM-L Armoured Recovery Vehicle (Russia)
-38 x BTR-80 APCs (Navy) (Russia) All Russian weapons systems mentioned in 2003 is funded by a $1 billion credit given by Russian government
-4 x C-130H (Air Force) (United States) Military Aid
-36 x M109A6 Self-Propelled Howitzers (Army) (United States) Military Aid
-36 x M116 Howitzer (Army) (United States) Military Aid
-30 x Scorpion Light Tanks (Army) (United Kingdom) Military Aid
-20 x Ferret Gage Reconaissance APC (Army) (United Kingdom) Military Aid
-2 x Type-23 Frigates (Navy) (United Kingdom) Soft loan

---
Just decided to do this when looking at the military equipment of Indonesia during the end of year holidays and finding this that in OTL, despite being in the middle of the Asian Financial Crisis, ABRI/TNI managed to buy BVP/BMP-2 over 1998-1999 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMP-2#Current_operators) as well as some BTR-50 Amphibious APCs over 1997-1999 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BTR-50#Current_operators) This has basically bugged me for a few weeks because given how ITTL Indonesia fared, they probably could have obtained more weapons even during the crisis.

So what I’ve done revise some things abut what is procured when especially in the first half of the first term. There are timelines of things being ordered being moved around so that they are ordered earlier, things already mentioned in TL having a specific date in which they are ordered (ITTL’s Sigma Corvette and Chang Bogo), new additions (Rapiers and TRS radar) and some orders involving the defense-related state-owned enterprises.

For the list of weapons which are acquired in the ITTL final years of Soeharto please refer to Leonard C. Sebastian's Realpolitik Ideology: Indonesia's Use of Military Force (https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...=leonard+c.+sebastian+TNI&printsec=frontcover) pp. 234-236

For the sake of simplicity, I’ve not really focused on small arms. Please assume that whatever combat ship or fighter aircraft will have its OTL collection of radar, missiles, guns attached to it unless it's specifically pointed out otherwise.

The one where I have totally changed things is in regard to Pindad’s APC. As of ITTL 2002, it was still APR-1 but I’ve retconned that. The one that’s being focused on by Pindad is the APS APCs (which becomes the Anoa in OTL) but they are waiting until Marimutu Sinivasan, owner of Texmaco, to complete his BLBI repayments before going ahead with mass production. In the meantime they’re still working on developing the APC.

2001’s list is short because the world was going through an economic downturn.

If it seems like there’s IFVs going to the Navy that’s not a mistake. The Indonesian Marine Corps is part of the Navy.

Wismoyo went out with a bang there, funded by Russian credit and military aid by US/UK as they try to court Indonesia to be sure, but wow…Wiranto has big shoes to fill.

 

[GSD310]

3rd April 2003:
Minister of Manpower Muhyiddin Arubusman came out of a meeting with President Try Sutrisno. Muhyiddin said that the President has instructed him to guide businesses around Indonesia to be mindful of the provisions of the Manpower Law so that when the law takes effect in September, said provisions could be immediately put in place. When told that business owners can be “tricky” in complying with the law, Muhyiddin laughed and said that his organizational experiences, including at the PPP, the Nahdlatul Ulama, the All-Indonesian Workers Union (SPSI), Indonesian Islamic Student Movement (PMII), has taught him the skill to “talk things out” with those who are not convinced.

Also coming out of a meeting with the President that day was Minister of Civil Service Reform Hendropriyono. Hendropriyono said that the President had approved of the formation of two agencies. The first will be the Special Economic Zone Authority Agency (BKEK) which will oversee and guide the development of all the special economic zones that has been established.

The second will be the Secretariat of the National Security Council (DKN). Hendropriyono said that this is what the State Ministry of National Security has been dissolved into and various matters regarding national security will be under the purview of the DKN which will be assisted administratively by the Secretariat of the DKN. The DKN will be formed in due course by the President.

4th April 2003:
The Leader of the PKPI in the DPR Sofyan Lubis, the Leader of the PPP in the DPR Bachtiar Chamsyah, and the Leader of ABRI in the DPR Tri Tamtomo in a post-Friday Prayer announcement said that the PKPI, PPP, and ABRI had collectively submitted amendments to the National Audit Agency (BPK) Law and the Supreme Court Law; in both instances proposing that the retirement age for the members of said institutions be raised from 65 to 70 years old. Sofyan said that this amendment had been proposed on account of increased life expectancies.

The President and Chairman of the DPR Matori Abdul Djalil watched this unfold on the television screen while munching on their post-Friday Prayer lunch.

“Bending over backwards for Hamzah”, Matori said shaking his head at the thought of his fellow PPP member Hamzah Haz “Never thought the day would come, Mr. President.”

“The retirement age of the Chairman of the BPK is 65, Hamzah is 63”, the President said “We don’t do this now, Mr. Chairman, and he will cause mischief again if he has to step down from the position that has been promised to him in 2005.”

“I guess you’re right” Matori said “And as requested, the amendments will start to apply with newly appointed BPK auditors and Supreme Court justices.”

The President nodded in acknowledgment.

“Thank you for making sure of that, Mr. Chairman” the President said “I hate to trouble you but there are political debts that I must pay.”

“Speaking of which”, Matori began “There is still the debt to be paid to the Treasurer of the PKPB, am I correct, Mr. President?”

The President took a sip of water.

“Akbar Tandjung will get what he’s asked for, but until the time is right he needs to do some of the hard lifting himself”, the President “He’s one more reason why we need to get Hamzah in the BPK, because the PKPB’s going to guess rightly that that’s the price for Hamzah’s support for me and they’re going to blame him even more for causing Tutut’s defeat instead of looking elsewhere.”

7th April 2003:
Minister of Tourism Sutiyoso emerged out of a meeting at the Presidential Palace, to announce the President’s approval to hold the “Ujung Pandang Fair” the concept is of an exhibition such as the Jakarta Fair but being held in Ujung Pandang in November to mark the founding of that city. Sutiyoso explained that eventually he wants other big cities in Indonesia to hold similar events but that Ujung Pandang has been picked to go first. This is to allow for a team from South Sulawesi to do research during the Jakarta Fair in June and then prepare accordingly for November.

Speaking to the press after his own meeting with the President, Minister of Transportation Chappy Hakim was asked about tales of arriving passengers from “travel-advised countries” being taken into custody for refusing to wear facemasks. Chappy said that this was true because under the Epidemics Law, all those deliberately getting in the way of the steps to control and contain SARS may be charged a fine or be served with a prison sentence for up to a year.

8th April 2003:
The President, Vice President JB Sumarlin, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, and Junior Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Iwan Jaya Azis hosted a National Development Work Meeting attended by the Department of Economics and National Development’s Planning top officials as well as their regional counterparts in the provinces, regencies, and municipalities.

In his keynote speech, the President told those present that the time has come to prepare for Repelita VIII which is scheduled to begin on 1st April 2004. The President highlighted to those present what he hopes to be the key priorities of Repelita VIII:

*Maintain present levels of economic growth to generate employment and increase living standards
*Strengthen various sectors of the economy not only for its own sake but as preparation for when AFTA is in full effect
*Ensure that economic development be more equitable to moderate and even minimize disparities
*Ensure that the benefits of economic development and growth are felt by the people

“My predecessor, President Soeharto, spoke of our nation as becoming a just and prosperous society after we have completed Repelita X”, the President said “With that in my mind, I believe that this Repelita, the eighth out of ten national development plans, will be an important one. It will be the opportunity for us to make our journey towards nation towards a just and prosperous society irreversible.”

9th April 2003:
State Minister of Environment Erna Witoelar in a press conference announced that the President has approved of a National Ambient Air Quality Standards which determines the maximum amount that certain pollutants can be present before it starts to become a health hazard. This marks the first time that such standards are enacted in Indonesia. The press focused on the reinstatement of the state ministry of environment as a standalone ministry at which point Erna said that this was a welcome move because while it was acceptable to combine the ministry with the Department of Forestry out of a need to cut costs during the Asian Financial Crisis but that it was now time to have this ministry back in action again.

Coming out of a meeting with the President, Minister of Health Azrul Azwar announced that as of that day, Indonesia has 7 SARS cases and no deaths. Azrul also announced that the President has instructed that Hong Kong and Taiwan’s travel advisories be upgraded to “avoid non-essential travel” and that all visa applications from those two places are either rejected or will not be considered for the time being owing to the situation there.

10th April 2003:
At the Presidential Palace, the President welcomed the arrival of Chairman of the Afghanistan Interim Administration Mohammed Fahim. After the welcoming ceremony, the President and Fahim retreated into the Palace. The President accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat while Fahim was accompanied by Afghanistan Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Jalali.

Try welcomed Fahim and expressed his admiration at Fahim’s courage at taking on the task of getting a war-torn country back on its feet. Fahim meanwhile expressed his thanks at the stance Indonesia had taken against religious extremism.

Fahim spoke about the situation at Afghanistan. The Taliban had fallen, Osama Bin Laden is still at large, and he could not help but think the resources the United States is now devoting to invade and unseat President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic could be devoted to Afghanistan. Marzuki asked how was the United States is perceived in Afghanistan. Jalali said Afghanistan, at least the Interim Administration and its supporters, hold a positive view of the United States though it lost some luster because it accidentally killed Hamid Karzai in friendly fire in December 2001 leading to Fahim assuming the position he now occupies.

When discussing about other nations in the immediate vicinity of Afghanistan, Fahim said that he was “Well-disposed” towards Iran while saying that Pakistan did not seem to be as friendly towards the current government as it did towards the Taliban. On Pakistan, Try said that Afghanistan was better off trying to build relations with India; regarding Iran, that even if the United States and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are a bit stand-offish towards Iran, there is nothing wrong with Afghanistan maintaining its good relations with Iran.

A State Dinner was held in Fahim’s honour at the Presidential Palace that night.

11th April 2003:
The morning saw Try and Fahim meeting with each other this time accompanied by ministers. Marzuki, Minister of Legal Affairs Oka Mahendra, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Trade Anthony Salim, and Edi Sudrajat sat on Try’s side of the table. While Jalali, Minister of Finance Ashraf Ghani, Minister of Commerce Anwar ul-Haq Awady, and Minister of Refugees Intayatullah Nazeri accompanied Fahim. Among the things which were agreed to were the following:

*Oka Mahendra and Intayatullah agreed on a timetable for repatriating Afghan refugees who have found their way to Indonesia since 1996 back to Afghanistan.

*Anthony and ul-Haq Awady agreed that Indonesian FMCGs will be given access to Afghanistan’s market. The Afghan government to facilitate importers intending to bring in Indonesian FMCGs.

It was on the matter of aid that there was something of a disagreement. Ghani requested aid in the form of funds to finance the development of school buildings and while he was appreciative of the threshing machines Dorodjatun had given to assist with Afghan agriculture, it was clear that he wanted more. While Try watched Dorodjatun and Ghani haggle, Fahim and Jalali whispered to one another and from Edi’s vantage point it looked like Fahim just convinced Jalali to agree to something.

Try and Fahim went to Baiturrahim Mosque on the grounds of the Presidential Palace for Friday Prayer before walking back to the Presidential Palace by foot. It was while walking back that Fahim brought up the matter of aid.

“I’m flattered that you see our nation as being capable of the aid you’re asking for but we’re not at that level yet, Mr. Chairman”, Try said “It’s a big enough deal as it is giving aid to Papua New Guinea to help them build a road.”

“I understand Mr. President”, Fahim said “Perhaps I can rephrase it to you in a different way, let’s forget that we’re requesting aid for now and focus on the fact that Afghanistan can offer something that can be beneficial to Indonesia.”

“Okay, I’m listening”, Try replied “What is it that you want to offer me, Mr. Chairman?”

---
The President sat in his office surrounded by Marzuki and Edi; they were joined by Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto. The television played news coverage of Fahim arriving at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to depart for his next destination.

“So that’s what Fahim and Jalali were talking about earlier”, Edi said “That’s not a bad idea actually, they get some cash we get some weapons.”

“What do you think?” asked the President to Wiranto.

“T-54/T-55s…”, Wiranto said “There’s a lot of those in Afghanistan, Mr. President, probably hundreds…we can pick the ones that’s best-maintained or in the best shape.”

"Well I'm going to expect a discount if they want us to buy in bulk", the President said "You have the 2003 ABRI Leadership Meeting next week but see that you make a trip to Afghanistan not long after that."

“Buying Soviet-era equipment from a nation occupied by the United States and NATO...”, Marzuki said while chuckling to himself "Doesn't get more free and active than that."

13th April 2003:
In the late afternoon, it was President’s own turn to be at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport. In the Airport’s VIP room, the President was huddled in a corner with Commander of ABRI TB Hasanuddin. The latter reported to the President that the 2003 ABRI Leadership Meeting will get underway tomorrow while the President is overseas.

“It’s best that I’m overseas for this so that the officer corps aren’t constantly looking in my direction trying to anticipate what I want”, the President “And you can start making your mark on ABRI.”

“I continue to thank you for your trust, Mr. President”, TB replied.

“Whatever you’re going to decide, make sure everyone agrees with it”, the President replied “Whether it’s the territorial commands or how we’re going to fix ourselves after that ABRI Joint Exercise, make sure there’s agreement on what step to take going forward.”

“Sir, yes Sir”, TB said as the President stood up to get ready to leave.

The Presidential Airplane departed Jakarta and touched down at Bangkok International Airport 3.5 hours later. The President, leading by example, along with First Lady Tuti Setiawati descended from the aircraft wearing a facemask and had their temperatures checked.

At the Airport’s VIP room he was welcomed by none other than Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra and Minister of Foreign Affairs Surakiart Sathirathai. There were a lot of cameras in the room as Thaksin made sure that his handshake with Try also doubled as a photo-op. There was a lot of flash photography in the room but a lot of questions were thrown the leaders’ way.

“Prime Minister Thaksin, this is the second time in a month that you are meeting with President Try Sutrisno, the first time when you made the sudden decision to attend his inauguration last month”, asked one reporter “Is this your way of shielding yourself from all that’s happened over the last few months? By latching onto the coattails of Southeast Asia’s most prominent leader?”

“Prime Minister Thaksin, can you be confident of the Army’s stance towards your government the way President Try can be confident of ABRI’s stance towards his?” asked another reporter.

“Thank you, thank you very much”, Thaksin said “Please allow President Try so he can go to his accommodation and get some rest.”

“Tough crowd, huh, Mr. Prime Minister?” Try asked once they got far away enough from the press.

“Yes, of course, Mr. President”, Thaksin replied with a smile though it was clear to Try that Thaksin looked tense.

---
Chappy Hakim using Article 14 of the Epidemics Law to have people arrested in airport who are deliberately not being cooperative https://www.regulasip.id/book/11688/read

DKN will be ITTL’s version of the Wantannas. There is of course Soeharto’s Wanhankamnas but this became the agency in charge of producing the Draft GBHN which Soeharto would submit to the MPR rather than a place to discuss national security issues https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...ankamnas+gbhn&pg=RA5-PA17&printsec=frontcover, ITTL it was abolished by Try to safe funds during the Asian Financial Crisis.

Hamid Karzai surviving US friendly fire is an OTL incident https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/05/afghanistan1

A bit difficult to pinpoint how many T-54/T-55s were there exactly in Afghanistan during this time. Wiki says at least 400 T-54s, T-55s, and T-62 as of 1992 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-54/T-55_operators_and_variants), Global Security’s numbers are higher (https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/army-equipment.htm)

 

[GSD310]

14th April 2003:
There were lot of cameras snapping as President Try Sutrisno shook hands with King of Thailand Bhumipol Adulyadej. First Lady Tuti Setiawati and Queen of Thailand Sirikit were also there but the focus was very much on the two men and the cameras snapped away at them. Try exchanged pleasantries with the King but got the sense that the real conversation would not be with him. From the Grand Palace, Try and his entourage went by car for a short distance to Si Sao Thewes and the residence of President of the Privy Council Prem Tinsulanonda. Try saluted Prem when he saw the latter and the latter returned the salute and began to bow as he shook Try’s hand though Try prevented him from doing so.

Prem told Try that his visit to Thailand comes at an interesting time. Try laughed and said that it seems that way judging by all that he’s read prior to arrival and what he’s experienced thus far. But it was at this juncture that Prem became serious.

“You are a friend to this country, Mr. President”, Prem said “And I want to assure you that whether this or any future government, Thailand’s policy towards Indonesia will not change.”

“I am thankful for that, General Prem” Try replied, knowing what Prem was alluding to but trying to keep it light “Though if you excuse me, the laws of time and space only allows me to deal with one government at a time, in this case the present one.”

Try laughed at his own comment though Prem remained serious.

“This country is like a beautiful race horse that has a jockey riding it to guide it to victory in race” Prem explained “But a jockey is not a horse owner and when a jockey starts to act like he’s the horse owner he needs to realize that jockeys come and go...”

As he got into the car with State Secretary Edi Sudrajat to depart from Prem’s house for Government House, Try looked thoughtful. When Edi asked Try how the conversation went, Try told it at which point Edi took a deep breath.

“That bad, huh?” Edi asked before shaking his head “Of all the times you have to be here…”

Try was silent for a while as the car continued to make its way down the road.

“On the other hand, since I’m here”, Try began “I might as well try to make something of it…”

Try headed to the Government house where he and the ministers he brought along were due to have a work meeting with Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra and some of his ministers.

Try brought with him Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Trade Anthony Salim, Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo, Minister of Transportation Chappy Hakim, Head of the BKPM Mari Pangestu, and Edi Sudrajat. Thaksin brought with him Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Defence Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Finance Banharn Silpa-Archa, Minister of Interior Somkid Jantusripitak, Minister of Foreign Affairs Surakiart Sathirathai, Minister of Commerce Adisai Bodharamik, Minister of Transportation Suriya Juangroongruangkit and Secretary General of the Cabinet Wissanu Krea-angam.

The meeting produced, among others, the following agreements:
*Ari Sudewo and Chavalit signed an intelligence-sharing agreement between BAKIN and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) for intelligence related to terrorism, religious extremism, and separatism.

*Siswono and Suriya signed an agreement for Thailand State Railway to import locomotives, carriages, and ballast hoppers from Indonesia’s Railway Industries (INKA).

*Chappy Hakim and Suriya signed an agreement which grants permission for Indonesian low-cost carriers to establish routes to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.

*Mari Pangestu and Adisai signed an agreement between the BKPM and Thailand’s Board of Investment to conduct exchange visits between regional governments in Sumatra and in Southern Thailand, the areas that had been marked for cooperation in the Indonesia Malaysia Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT). Thaksin half-jokingly said, and Try concurred, that Thailand and Indonesia were not going to wait for Malaysia forever.

15th April 2003:
The morning saw Try and some of his entourage head out from Bangkok International Airport on a short flight to Utapao Airport before heading to Sattahip Naval Base. Here, Try visited HTMS Chakri Naruebet, Thailand’s Aircraft Carrier shaking hands and asking questions with the personnel about the ship. The Thai Government was represented by Chavalit. In between chatting about the aircraft carrier and reminiscing about old times (Chavalit was Commander-in-Chief of the Army in Thailand at the same time Try as Army Chief of Staff in Indonesia), Try noticed that Chavalit was trying to get the two of them out of earshot.

Immediately guessing what this was about, Try allowed himself to be shepherded away. Chavalit got to the point immediately rather speak in riddles, asking Try what he thought on “things”.

“I am a foreigner, General”, Try said “I shouldn’t be involved in such conversations.”

Chavalit smiled politely, his gesture seeming to say “But nevertheless we’d still like your opinion.”

“APEC is in 6 months, suppose you…change jockeys as General Prem puts it, don’t you think that APEC will be the perfect opportunity where they will be show their displeasure? That some will not attend out of displeasure or even worse?”, asked Try “That will be a big event and will add to Thailand’s profile and stature. So that’s the first concern.

The second concern, suppose if the People’s Republic of China recognizes “things” the way it recognized “things” in Cambodia in 1997 and in Myanmar last year, does that mean Thailand will start distancing itself from Indonesia and start drifting into China’s orbit the way Malaysia, Cambodia, and Myanmar has been?”

From Sattaship Naval Base, Try and his entourage headed back to Bangkok where he had lunch with Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai; reminiscing about the days they tackled the Asian Financial Crisis together. Of the current situation that Thaksin was in, Chuan said that Thaksin was undoubtedly popular saying that Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party could have gotten more seats if Chuan had not called an early election and caught them still far from ready.

Chuan offered that a vote of no confidence could be attempted but not politically possible. Chavalit and Banharn, the two deputy prime ministers and leaders of TRT’s two coalition partners, could not be counted upon to cast a vote of no confidence in Thaksin much less support an alternative prime minister. That was why “other alternatives” are being considered.

It proved to be a full day, after lunch Try and Thaksin attended a meeting of Indonesian and Thai Businessmen during which the Indonesia-Thai Chamber of Commerce was declared to be found; Try and Thaksin seen affixing their signatures and declared as witnesses to the organization’s founding.

The day ended in the evening at the Indonesian Embassy in Bangkok with a watch hosted by Try and the First Lady and attended by Thaksin, their wives, Indonesians living in Bangkok, and Indonesian language students in Bangkok. They watched an episode of Si Doel Anak Sekolahan which has been dubbed into Thai language and which had become a hit since it premiered on Thai Television in November.

16th April 2003:
After spending a part of the morning at the Saphan Khao Fruit to talk to locals and look at the quality of Thai fruit, Try headed for his working morning tea meeting at the Phitsanulok Mansion, the Prime Minister of Thailand’s official residence though as Thaksin himself explained, prime ministers do not like it there because it was allegedly haunted. Though the meeting had originally been scheduled with Marzuki and Edi attending with Try and Surakiart and Wissanu attending with Thaksin, Try requested for a one-on-one meeting. Thaksin was fine with that.

The talk covered current affairs and strategic issues. Try agreed to Thaksin’s idea that all of ASEAN’s health ministers meet in Bangkok in a few weeks’ time to discuss ASEAN’s handling of SARS. The two discussed about China taking the threat seriously and taking action against SARS; agreeing that President of China Luo Gan was not about to let his presidency began with failure to handle a crisis. They had a laugh when discussing that in the last 48 hours, China had to push Cambodia to tighten measures against SARS because the latter was still adopting a lax approach but was beginning to record SARS cases.

“3 months left until the election over there, it’s Hun Sen’s problem if the people remember how he’s handling SARS when they go to the polls”, Try said of the Prime Minister of Cambodia.

There was quiet and then Thaksin began speaking about how he was facing insurgency that is at once religious and ethnic, that is at once “religious extremism and separatism”. Try listened to Thaksin speak and waited until the latter was finished, this was why he wanted a one on one. Thaksin ended his spiel by asking Try if he would be able to send an ABRI Contingent, as was the case with the Philippines, to assist with Southern Thailand.

Try turned serious and for a second, Thaksin was worried that Try was going to say no. But what Try said was far worse.

“Resolve your situation with the Army and I’ll consider assisting with the insurgency in the South a done deaal”, Try said.

“Mr. President with all due respect, that is an internal matter…” Thaksin pleaded.

“You’ve decided to exclude them as far as your handling of the insurgency in Southern Thailand is concerned”, Try said “And if I agree to what you’re asking in the current situation, I’m giving approval to what you’re doing and if the Thai Army ends up being hostile to me because of that approval, that’s not only your problem but that also becomes my problem.”

Thaksin scoffed and stood up, pacing around the room.

“I’ve excluded them because I can’t trust them”, Thaksin snapped “The Army belongs to General Prem, General Surayud belongs to Prem, and speaking of which General Surayud has had a long tenure as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and it’s his time to go but he’s digging in his heels and resisting…”

Thaksin trailed off and Try gave him some time to compose himself.

“Your son-in-law is a 3-star Army officer is he not, Mr. President?” asked Thaksin.

“It wouldn't be a good look and the officer corps wouldn't like it if I made him Army Chief of Staff, if that’s what your asking, Mr. Prime Minister”, Try replied “Just like it’s not a good look and the officer corps wouldn't like it if you somehow secure your cousin’s appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Army.”

Thaksin slumped.

“Get them involved again in South Thailand and give them a Commander-in-Chief that both you and them can accept”, Try continued on “If you want your presence at my inauguration and me being here right now to be of any use to you in this situation, please consider what I’m saying…”

Thaksin looked he was trying to process what Try’s saying.

“Listen, I know what it feels like to have people who don’t think that you deserve to stand where you’re at and are powerful enough to do something about it” Try said “But you can do the right thing. The Thai economy’s doing well, it was Thailand which seriously pushed for AFTA to resume again, and Thailand’s hosting the APEC Summit in October…you should be a shoo-in for re-election…not picking the wrong fight and risk losing everything because of it.”

It was on that note that the meeting ended, Try urging Thaksin to think “about what I’ve just said” as he shook hands with him.

From the Prime Minister’s residence, Try and his entourage headed to Chulalangkorn University, Thailand’s oldest university. There, Try delivered a public lecture which was broadcasted live on television. In the lecture, Try said that he had chosen Thailand as the first foreign place he had intended to visit his re-election and inauguration because he considers Thailand “a close friend and partner for Indonesia in navigating this multipolar environment” and said that “on the big issues in this multipolar world, Southeast Asian nations should be in agreement with one another to avoid being used as pawns by other powers which do not have the best interest of the region at heart”.

After Chulalangkorn University it was back to the Grand Palace for a farewell call on King Bhumipol and then Bangkok International Airport for departure. He was looking out of the window as the Presidential Airplane climbed higher when Marzuki and Edi joined him.

“Think you got through to him?” asked Edi.

“I’ve named my price, I’ll help him with Southern Thailand if he makes his peace with the Army”, replied Try as he loosened his tie and massaged his head.

“I’ve told Minister Surakiart about the gist of what you said to Prime Minister Thaksin, he strongly agrees and will encourage Prime Minister Thaksin to do as you have suggested”, Marzuki said “Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit will be important as far as being a bridge to Prem is concerned.”

“Will this be taken as you taking Thaksin’s side, Mr. President?” asked Edi.

“How am I taking Thaksin’s side? I’m telling Thaksin that he needs to get along with the Army instead of telling the Army to back off”, Try replied.

“Come on, Mr. President” Edi said “You can try that line when someone asks about the last few days but not me…the aim here is for Thaksin to remains in place, right?”

“If the Thai Army overthrows Thaksin in a coup, our situation would be impossible”, Try said “If I don’t recognize the coup, I would’ve made an enemy of the Thai Army; if I recognized the coup I would’ve made an enemy out of Thaksin and his supporters.”

“And if China recognizes the coup, we better hope the United States and the West does as well” Marzuki said “Because even with our recognition, if the United States and the West still does not recognize it, express disapproval or whatever and China does, we don’t have enough gravity to prevent Thailand from drifting China’s way.”

Try gestured in Marzuki’s direction in agreement.

“There you go”, Try said.

---
For the sake of being a bit different I left it until quiet late for the “situation” that Thaksin has with the Army to be revealed and of course for the word “coup” to make its appearance.

What’s happening are pretty much things that happened in OTL Thailand except it’s been brought forward a few years and moderated (ie. It’s not as bad because ITTL Thaksin doesn’t have as much control of the Thai Parliament as his OTL version, I daresay the War on Drugs had not gotten under way yet or hadn’t expanded to such a stage that it’s become noticeable). We’re still far away from the OTL political crisis in Thailand as in 2005-2006 but it’s bad enough that a coup is being considered.

Excluding the Army from the Southern Insurgency is as OTL (https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...dq=Thaksin+SBPAC&pg=PA109&printsec=frontcover) but he hasn’t succeeded in getting his cousin appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the Army as in OTL. Instead Surayud’s just trying to stay on for as long as possible here.

On Prem’s “jockey” metaphor: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06BANGKOK4277_a.html

Try’s ultimate fear is that China will be the beneficiary of a military coup in Thailand but this isn’t so far-fetched. When the US reacted negatively to the Thai coups in 2006 and 2014 in OTL, and suspended military aid, China has not condemned the coup and Thailand has turned to China and deepened its cooperation with it https://carnegieendowment.org/2023/10/26/thailand-in-emerging-world-order-pub-90818

 

[GSD310]

17th April 2003:
Having touched down at Bandar Sri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam in the very late afternoon there was only time for President Try Sutrisno to be welcomed at Nurul Iman Palace by Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah and for a Royal Banquet to be held in his honour.

When morning came Try arrived to the Palace again to get down to business. He brought Minister of Legal Affairs Marzuki Darusman, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Mining and Energy Awang Faroek Ishak, Minister of Manpower Muhyiddin Arubusman, Junior Minister of Defense and Security Adwin Suryohadiprodjo and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat; Muhyiddin, Awang, and Adwin having joined Try for this part of the trip.

Bolkiah brought Minister of Home Affairs Isa Ibrahim, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Bolkiah, Deputy Minister of Defence Ibnu Basit Apong and Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy Yakub Abu Bakar.

Among others, the following were agreed to during the meeting:

*Dorodujatun and Yakub signed an MoU committing Indonesia and Brunei to revitalize BIMP-EAGA by conducting exchange visits between officials from Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan and Sulawesi and officials from Brunei’s districts.

*Muhyiddin and Isa Ibrahim signed an agreement where Brunei will increase its intake of migrant workers from Indonesia.

*Adwin and Ibnu Basit Apong signed an agreement which will see Indonesia purchase Brunei’s 3 Nahkoda-Ragam corvettes which it had ordered and ready for delivery but had subsequently decided against having. On account of the agreement regarding Indonesia’s extra crude oil imports (see below), the price at which Indonesia will purchase the 3 corvettes at 1/3 the original price with no interest on payment installments.

*The big one was an agreement signed by Try and Bolkiah which committed Brunei to increase its export of crude oil to Indonesia over the next 10 years. In the press conference after the meeting, Yakub would say that Indonesia is already the largest export destination for Bruneian crude oil, accounting for 30% for all export revenues, but this agreement would see Indonesia’s share of being an export market of Bruneian crude oil reach over 35%.

Awang meanwhile focused on the President’s instruction that while oil imports from the Middle East will continue, it was important given how important oil is in literally fuelling Indonesia’s economy that proximity be considered an important criteria when looking for additional sources of crude oil. Awang said that this decision to import additional crude oil from Brunei builds upon the agreement signed with Vietnam in July 2002 to import crude oil from there so that Indonesia has sources of crude oil imports which are in close proximity to Indonesia.

When the meeting was finished, Try and Bolkiah had a smaller meeting; Mazuki accompanying Try and Mohamed Bolkiah accompanying Bolkiah. Bolkiah expressed his happiness that AFTA will resume again in January 2004 and credits Try for “helping move the process along”. At the same time as AFTA however, said Bolkiah, Brunei is too far into its free trade negotiations with Chile to stop and that this trade agreement will be signed soon. Try said that he’s only too happy to see Brunei sign a free trade agreement and prosper economically outside of AFTA.

“AFTA should never be a restraint on what its participants can or can’t do when it comes to developing itself economically, Your Majesty”, Try said “As far as ASEAN and the region are concerned, however, I would like to see AFTA as a sign that all 10 of us can come to an agreement for the good of the region regardless of our differences of opinion; and if we can agree on economic matters, all 10 of us can come to an agreement on bigger and more strategic questions such as how we should navigate the multipolar world.”

Bolkiah became thoughtful saying that the multipolar world is “complicated”. He said that Brunei condemns United States’ operations in Afghanistan, “somewhat agrees” on the United States and its allies’ ongoing “humanitarian intervention” to unseat President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic on account of the latter’s repression of Muslims in Kosovo, but is now worried whether the the United States’ attention being elsewhere means there will be “others” will look to fill in the vacuum in the immediate region.

“In this regard, your words that Southeast Asian nations should look for their national security in Southeast Asia ring true, Mr. President”, Bolkiah said.

“Does this mean Brunei wants to join the Jakarta Bloc, Your Majesty?” asked Marzuki causing those present to laugh.

“You’ve already got more oil, more spots for your migrant workers here, and 3 corvettes” Bolkiah replied jestfully “I’m worried you might not have enough space left for souvenirs.”

Not long after that the conversation ended and with Bolkiah seeing him off, Try departed back for Jakarta.

“He sees your point, Mr. President, but he still doesn’t want to commit?” asked Edi when Try told him how the conversation went “What’s his game?”

“Sitting on the fence for as long as possible because that makes him all the more valuable”, Try said “But

we import oil and beef from the guy and our relation’s great despite the fact that he frowned a bit at how I’ve acted in the aftermath of 9/11. Somehow I don’t think pushing and pressuring him into anything is not the right move.”

19th April 2003:
The President, First Lady Tuti Setiawati, and their grandchildren attracted attention from other onlookers as they walked around the Bogor Botanical Garden. The President waved and asked where the onlookers were from, listening on with pleasure as a family from Semarang told him that they drove the Trans-Java Toll Road from Semarang to Bogor and are looking to continue their trip to Jakarta the next day. Afterwards the President and his family retreated to Bogor Presidential Palace where they were spending that long weekend.

The afternoon, however, was all work though the President and his guests were dressed in smart casual clothes. Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto, Commander of ABRI TB Hasanuddin, Deputy Commander of ABRI Djoko Sumaryono, Army Chief of Staff Srijanto and Deputy Army Chief of Staff Prijanto, Navy Chief of Staff Djoko Agoes Hanoeng and Deputy Navy Chief of Staff Bambang Supeno, Air Force Chief of Staff Teddy Sumarno and Deputy Air Force Chief of Staff I Gusti Made Oka, and Chief of Police I Made Mangku Pastika and Deputy Chief of Police Firman Gani.

The officers were there, with TB as their spokesman, to report on the 2003 ABRI Leadership Meeting which happened when the President was on his trip to Thailand and Brunei. The following were reported to the President:

Review of the ABRI 2002 Joint Exercise:
*The review of the ABRI 2002 Joint Exercise was submitted to the ABRI Leadership Meeting as promised.

*The review attributed the “difficulties” encountered during the exercise to “human error” and that ABRI personnel, whether collectively or in each respective branch, needed to undergo more training.

*The format of the joint exercise, being a jungle warfare and urban warfare exercise, is deemed to be correct as this encourages the personnel involved to focus on the “little things” and to realize the consequences if they miss the “little things”.

*The review calls for an acceleration of knowledge-sharing between ABRI personnel and the Myanmarian military personnel currently in Indonesia.

*The review also calls for coordination between the Education and Training Commands of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Police to improve synergy between all four branches’ education and training.

*The review also calls for the major units currently involved with the Indonesian Contingent Command in the Philippines to be rotated. The units current involved can then share their knowledge with the units back home and units departing for the Philippines can gain experience.

*In the aftermath of the exercise, the sentiment around the defense attache community in Jakarta and which they are reporting back to their home countries seem to be that Indonesia is getting stronger as far as getting new equipment was concerned but that it still “has a while to go” when it comes to improving the capabilities of its military personnel.

Personnel Matters:
*The Tatmadaw Personnel which had evacuated Myanmar last year to be fully integrated into ABRI this financial year.

*After training for nearly a year, all of the Myanmarian Army personnel are now light infantry qualified and will be organized into 18 Light Infantry Battalions (each battalion comprising 500 personnel). These light infantry battalions will be attached to each of the 3 Kostrad Divisions and the 15 Regional Military Commands. The rest of the personnel will be spread out over the Navy, Air Force, and the Department of Defense and Security.

*On account of the integration of these personnel into ABRI, ABRI’s personnel expansion plans and recruitment will have to be adjusted.

*In the current financial year recruitment intake for combat personnel and for some non-combat personnel would have to be slashed and as the Tatmadaw Personnel which have evacuated Myanmar are mostly Army personnel, the Army will not be recruiting as originally planned.

*Recruitment intake will go back to normal in future years taking into account ABRI’s priorities.

Territorial Commands:
*Modifications to the territorial commands has been agreed to which will see the phasing out of the NCOs in charge of villages (Babinsa), Military Rayon Command (Koramil), and Military District Command (Kodim) while retaining the Military Resort Command and the Regional Military Command.

*The phasing out of the aforementioned levels of territorial command will take into account the security situation of each respective territorial unit (ie. territorial units in secure and conducive areas will be phased out first, territorial units in prone areas will be phased out later).

*ABRI’s territorial function to be focused at the Army’s Military Resort Command level though some functions would have to be transferred to the Police, the Department of Home Affairs’ Civil Defence, and the BAKIN’s regional offices. Further coordination with the aforementioned government departments and agencies will be forthcoming.

*Personnel from phased out territorial units will be retrained and will either be assigned to combat units whether existing or new.

21st April 2003:
“…such are the decisions that the 2003 ABRI Leadership Meeting have reached and come to an agreement to, Mr. President. We thank you for the opportunity of presenting it to you. Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh”, read out TB Hasanuddin.

In his chair, the President nodded in acknowledgement as TB completed his report and returned to his seat at the President’s left hand side. They were at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta now and TB had just repeated what he had reported the previous Saturday to the President at the Bogor Presidential Palace. The big difference was that this time round, TB made his report with not only Wiranto, Djoko Sumaryono and the Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of all of ABRI’s branches as his witness but with ABRI’s top brass in attendance, some 200 officers in all.

And just as TB made his report in front of a larger audience, it was then the President’s turn to give his response in front of this larger audience. In his keynote speech, the President gave his approval to what has been agreed to by the 2003 ABRI Leadership Meeting though he had a lot more to say.

“Officers”, the President said “If we look at the ABRI Leadership Meeting which you have just participated in, we can say that the theme of this ABRI Leadership Meeting is “Continuously Making ABRI Stronger”. And this theme is reflected in the three important decisions which ABRI has agreed to in its Leadership Meeting.

The decision to integrate the Myanmarian military personnel that have evacuated to our shores is a decision to make ABRI stronger. The military capabilities of another armed forces in the region with its own capabilities and traditions and experiences are being added to our own capabilities and traditions and experiences. They will fight alongside us but even more importantly, they will train alongside us. There will be some noise against us limiting the recruitment of personnel this year but our task will be to remember the big picture and that ABRI will become stronger as a result of this.

The decision to make adjustments to the territorial command structure is a decision to make ABRI stronger. From the outset it needs to be said that we are not abolishing anything or changing anything. Where modifications and adjustments are proposed, we will go about things cautiously; not rushing into things, not changing things for change’s sake and most certainly with a greater aim in mind. Keep this firmly in mind while explaining what we are doing to your subordinates, all those belonging to a territorial command will not be left without an assignment, they’ll be retrained and they will be assigned to combat units, whether existing ones or new. Please keep this in mind and please emphasize that.

Finally, the review of the 2002 ABRI Joint Exercise and its recommendations are conducted to make ABRI stronger. I don’t mind setback and I don’t mind coming up short, as long as we’re not too much in our asses to learn from something it. I don’t mind looking bad in front of others and having others underestimate me. I mean, I don’t have to tell you there’s probably a lot of people thinking that I wouldn’t last long, yet here I am. But I’m okay with that, I’m okay with people sniggering and saying under their breath that we still have a lot to go because it will make it that much more shocking for them the next time we take to the field and we end up being stronger than they remember us to be. And that will be the point where we emerge victorious.

We have to remember though, that their shock is not something that we should take for granted. Their shock is something that is conditional on us learning from our setbacks during the Joint Exercise and actually doing something about it. There is hard work to be done, but I believe that the moment will come when you will overcome your setbacks and make your nation remember how worthy you are of their pride.”

---
I’m surprised that Brunei held on to these 3 corvettes/OPVs for such a long time. But Indonesia’s getting a bigger discount than OTL because they’ve signed on to importing additional Bruneian oil.

OTL Indonesia in 2007-2008 was 34% of Brunei’s crude oil export destination https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...+brunei+crude+oil&pg=PA47&printsec=frontcover

On Myanmar’s Light Infantry Battalion having around 500 personnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myanmar_Army#Organisation.

This is going to be a bit of theme for the next while for ITTL ABRI: “More money being spent on getting equipment, but still need to improve their human resources”

 

[GSD310]

22nd April 2003:
The DPR today passed amendments to the National Audit Agency Law and the Supreme Court Law, amending the retirement ages for the BPK’s auditors, including its chairman, and the Supreme Court Judges with said amended retirement ages to take into effect with new BPK auditors and Supreme Court Judges. The PKPI, PPP, and ABRI combined to pass the law while the PNI rejected the passing because “there was no clear reason for the rush”. The PKPB also rejected the passing of the law with DPR Member Yusril Ihza Mahendra calling the amendments the “Hamzah Haz amendments”, saying that “We now know the price for Hamzah’s support for the President”.

Later in the day in the DPR, Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto was facing questioning from a work meeting with DPR members about what precisely the 2003 ABRI Leadership Meeting had agreed to regarding personnel recruitment. Wiranto pointed out that recruitment are still going on for all four branches of ABRI though at a “reduced rate” and that the goal was to strengthen ABRI’s military capability by integrating Myanmarian personnel into ABRI. DPR PKPB Member Syarwan Hamid was merciless however. He asked Wiranto whether the latter’s friendship with Chairman of the Overseas Myanmarians’ League Shwe Mann had effected defence policy, something which Wiranto denied.

Under constant pressure and try as he might, Wiranto said that the reduced personnel recruitment for ABRI this financial year was because the funds are being used to integrate Myanmarian military personnel. Wiranto looked upset when, from that point on, Syarwan pointed to what he had just acknowledged as a “concession”.

23rd April 2003:
President Try Sutrisno, accompanied by Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo, paid his respects to former Chief of BAKIN Yoga Sugama, who passed away that morning, at the latter’s private residence. Among Yoga’s family members and looking busy helping to coordinate funeral arrangements despite looking very pale-faced was Chief of ABRI Intelligence Agency Amirul Isnaeni.

“Amirul doesn’t look well”, the President said to Ari as he got ready to depart Yoga’s residence.

“That’s because he isn’t and hasn’t been well, Mr. President” Ari said “He’s supposed to get a liver transplant in Singapore but he’s delayed that because the ABRI Leadership Meeting was on and now after the ABRI Leadership Meeting this happens and he feels obliged to get involved because he was Pak Yoga’s aide-de-camp for a year.”

In a press conference at the BPK Building this afternoon, Chairman of the BPK Marzuki Usman announced his resignation after serving 15 months in the position. Marzuki has said that the President has accepted this resignation.

24th April 2003:
In a raucous atmosphere, the DPR held a vote to determine whose name it will submit to the President for the now vacant office of chairman of the BPK. The DPR members voted along party lines and when all the votes were counted PPP DPR Member Hamzah Haz (nominated by the PKPI, PPP, and ABRI) overcame former Commander of ABRI Feisal Tanjung (nominated by the PKPB) and PNI DPR Member Laksamana Sukardi (nominated by the PNI).

Minister of Forestry Sapta Nirwandar came out of a meeting with the President. Sapta said he reported to the President that the Legal Timber Certification Scheme has been in effect since 1st April. This will be the important document to have to export timber overseas without which there is no guarantee of the legality. Sapta said that the President has instructed him to encourage forest concessionaires still in the process of bringing themselves into compliance with existing regulations to do so promptly so that they can obtain this certificate and so that they can export timber.

25th April 2003:
There was a demonstration at the Department of Defense and Security this morning. Though still far from a crowd, it was nevertheless still large enough for some units the Jakarta Regional Military Command to be ordered on standby. The demonstrators were aspiring Army recruits who protested that the government “favored foreigners over Indonesians” when it comes to defense.

The demonstration got some press coverage but this was when things got awry for some of its participants. Interviewed by a reporter, one of the demonstrators let slip that he was disappointed not to be able to be recruited this year because he had spent “considerable money” and could not get it back. Another demonstrator revealed that he was not even an aspiring soldier but someone “who helped others” with their application and looked offended when the reporter asked if that made him a “calo ”.

After Friday Prayer and lunch, the demonstrators were seen at the DPR Building in the offices of Vice Chairman of the DPR Hartono. With the press and cameras invited into his office, Hartono expressed his sympathies to those in the room as well as those around Indonesia who has been “disadvantaged” by the government’s policies. Hartono says that the PKPB promises to hold the government to account for all its mistakes during this term because the government holds a majority of seats in the DPR by a virtue of a coalition whereas on a party-to-party basis, it’s the PKPB that holds the the most seat and that this “will and must count for something”.

26th April 2003:
The President spent Saturday morning meeting with Vice President JB Sumarlin over some tea and cakes. Sumarlin reported to the President of his visit to Papua New Guinea over the past few days saying that Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Mekere Morauta hopes that the President’s re-election will positively impact the economy in Papua New Guinea. Sumarlin also reported that Indonesia’s road aid program for Papua New Guinea has begun to flow in, with construction to begin in a few months’ time.

“I think Prime Minister Morauta’s stance can be summarized in the fact that he wants closer economic relations with us”, Sumarlin said.

“That’s what I want too, Mr. Vice President ”, the President replied “But is that what Australia wants?”

“I asked Prime Minister Morauta about Australia and whether it would approve of such a thing, Mr. President”, Sumarlin said “Prime Minister Morauta told us not to take the Australians seriously because Australia has nothing to fear. It is Australia after all, who will soon be completing an oil refinery in Papua New Guinea.”

The President nodded at Sumarlin’s point.

“That said, Prime Minister Morauta acknowledges that Australia seems to have something against Indonesia. It said nothing when Papua New Guinea recently signed an agreement to import crude oil from Malaysia”, continued Sumarlin.

The President changed topics after this though Sumarlin thought no one could have missed anger flashing through the President’s face at the knowledge that Australia did not mind other countries deepening its economic relationship with Papua New Guinea.

Sumarlin said that he fully supported what the President wanted to do to improve ABRI, including integrating Myanmarian personnel into ABRI and abolishing “excess territorial commands” if it meant slowing down recruitment into ABRI saying that he personally “preferred” Indonesians in factories or starting a business rather than becoming soldiers.

That said, Sumarlin said that looking into the numbers, there are cost-savings less funding was required for integrating Myanmarian personnel when compared to recruiting and training of new personnel (the Myanmarians are most definitely not starting from zero when it comes to training and no recruitment was necessary. Sumarlin also said that there will be cost savings from territorial sub-commands being abolished.

“I think these extra funds could be used elsewhere in defense, Mr. President”, Sumarlin said “But I’ll leave it to you to make the call.”

The President chuckled, his mind already thinking about how he was going to use the extra savings.

“I have a couple of big summits to attend next month, Mr. Vice President”, the President said “The informal summit with the the other BRICI nations at Rio de Janeiro, then I’m going to spend Ascension Day in Rio and then I’m heading to Paris for the G-8 Summit. Two summits, one with the current economic powers of the world, one with our fellow aspiring economic powers. What should be my gameplan?”

“As always, I’ll leave the geopolitics to you”, Sumarlin replied “But from an economic standpoint, we’re in a unique position. Yes, we’re a major emerging economy and yet I don’t think we’re as far along the other four BRICI economies as far as wanting to the world to be multipolar or even aspiring to be another “pole” is concerned. At the same time, the IMF and the US Treasury still look warily at us for managing to get leniencies for this and leeways for that when we faced the Asian Financial Crisis but they can’t do anything to us. We’re managing our economy well, our budget’s not out of control…”

“We’re not like Morales in Bolivia or Castro in Cuba”, the President said.

“That’s correct, Mr. President”, Sumarlin replied “We should try to take advantage of this unique position and make further gains from it.”

28th April 2003:
In a press conference at the Department of Health, Minister of Health Azrul Azwar announced that the WHO has declared Indonesia to be SARS-free after 20 days without any addition to the 7 cases which has been recorded, Indonesia being the second country in Southeast Asia after Vietnam to receive this declaration from the WHO. When asked whether the government was going to “loosen up” its policies to handle SARS, Azrul said that the President’s instruction is to keep watch of developments in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan and base Indonesia’s next step on developments there.

Elsewhere, the President hosted lunch with Wiranto and Commander of ABRI TB Hasanuddin at the Presidential Palace though the photo-op element of it was strong with cameras and the press being allowed in to see the President, Wiranto, and TB chatting happily together. After they got their share of pictures, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat ordered the the doors closed to the press though this meant that the press began asking questions at him.

Asked about what the lunchtime photo-op meant, Edi said it meant that the decision made to integrate Myanmarian personnel into ABRI was a decision that the President, the Minister of Defense and Security, and the Commander of ABRI stands behind. When asked about Hartono’s comment that the PKPB will continue to hold the government to account, Edi could not hide his annoyance.

“I appreciate the sentiment but obviously the Vice Chairman Hartono did not get the memo about the results of the MPR General Session”, Edi said “I think given the President’s renewed mandate, any outstanding legislation from the previous term should be passed on account of the President now having that renewed mandate, otherwise it’ll be be a long 5 years for everybody if we want to continue to play this game of getting in the way for the sake of getting in the way.”

29th April 2003:
The President today met with Governor of BI Bambang Subianto, Head of IBRA Herdiwiyatmo, and Head of the BPKP Sjahruddin Rasul. Bambang reported that as of that date, all of the private owned banks which still has outstanding BLBI debts has collectively and immediately repaid their BLBI debts immediately as opposed to waiting until the end of the year as has been the case in the last few years. The President replied by instructing the BPKP to conduct an audit so that these banks can be declared to have settled their payments and so that the Bank Indonesia can issue a notification of payment completion.

Also meeting with the President today were Minister of Religion Slamet Effendy Yusuf and Junior Minister of Religion M. Amin Abdullah. The two came out saying that they reported their consolidation at the Department of Religion over the last month and a half. Slamet said he reported to the President about preparations for a Construction of Places of Worship Bill which is a “homework” he had inherited from his predecessor. The President approved of the steps taken thus far and said that the general goal of the bill is so that “religious majorities and minorities” alike can easily construct places of worship. Amin meanwhile reported that the BAZNAS and the BWI are now headed by civil servants instead of political appointees.

30th April 2003:
At the Presidential Palace today, the President acted as a witness as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Albert Hasibuan administered oaths to the following:

*Hamzah Haz as the Chairman of the BPK

This was then followed by the administering of the oaths for the members of Supreme Advisory Council (DPA) which included the following leadership team:

*Harmoko as the Chairman of the DPA
*Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Harsudiono Hartas as Vice Chairman of the DPA
*Drs. Marzuki Usman MA as Vice Chairman of the DPA
*Drs. Jakob Tobing, MPR as Vice Chairman of the DPA
*Drs. Zarkasih Nur as Vice Chairman of the DPA

The President then presided over a ceremony in which he swore in the following:
*Gen. (Ret.) Wismoyo Arismunandar as Ambassador to the United Nations
*Dr. Feisal Tamin SSEP as Ambassador to Papua New Guinea
*Lt. Gen. Prijanto as Ambassador to Japan
*Dr. Dono Iskandar Djojosubroto as Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia
*Lt. Gen. (Mar.) Yusuf Solichien Martadiningrat as Secretary of the DKN, promoted to lieutenant general prior to ceremony
*Dr. Drs. Sinyo Harry Sarundajang as Head of the BKEK
*Lt. Gen. (Hon.) Haris Sudarno as Operational Control of Development Secretary, promoted to honorary lieutenant general prior to ceremony

There were a lot of satisfied faces as the President shook hands with those who were sworn in. Harmoko said to all who would listen that his faith in and continuing support of the President had been rewarded. Meanwhile, Chairman of the DPR Matori Abdul Djalil hugged Hamzah Haz, their rivalry forgotten as the PPP was united once more.

1st May 2003:
An early morning flight took the President to Merauke, Irian Jaya. Upon landing at Merauke Airport, the President toured the new airport building before standing with Minister of Transportation Chappy Hakim, Budi Soesilo Soepandji, Junior Minister of Economic and National Development Planning Iwan Jaya Azis, and Governor of Irian Jaya Freddy Numberi as he inaugurated the following:

*New Terminal Building at Mopah Airport, Merauke
*The Waropko-Tanah Merah-Merauke Road
*The Merauke-Sota Road
*The Merauke Town Square Shopping Center

The President pointed out that the ambition of the government is to conduct national development so that the promise of independence can be realized all across the archipelago from Sabang to “right here in Merauke”.

The President then travelled from Merauke to the Sota Village close to the Indonesian-Papua New Guinean. This time accompanied by Minister Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan, the President conducted a surprise inspection at the village office. The locals thought the President was some important official from Jakarta until someone pointed out that he looked awfully similar to the official photograph stuck on the office. When the locals began complaining that they were being charged “a lot of money” to make identification cards, family cards, birth certificates and other basic documents, the President began accompanying applicants to the counter and guiding them through the process. Meanwhile Sintong berated officials behind the counter, getting visibly annoyed and impatient at the pace of work.

After Friday Prayer and lunch, the President was flanked by State Minister of Rural Development Cahyana Ahmajayadi and State Minister of the Development of Eastern Indonesia Maria Fernanda Lay as he took questions and comments from locals about government policies under tent in a field. One particular question was about electricity saying that while they now have access to electricity over there, the electricity does not last for 24 hours. The President explained that the target of Repelita VII is for 100% rural electrification, which looks set to be fulfilled, but that 24 hours electricity supply will be the target of Repelita VIII.

The President was enjoying himself but the question and answer session needed to be cut short because the dark clouds coming from the direction of east turned into a downpour and he was forced back inside his car.

---
A comment was made about paying to join the military and this is referred to in 25th April’s small demonstrations with aspiring recruits saying they’ve already “paid money”. Also getting some spotlight another part of the way military recruitment works here in Indonesia, namely the involvement of middlemen. Basically these are the two groups that take a hit because recruitment is cut down because the Myanmarians are being integrated into ABRI.

Australia constructing an oil refinery in PNG and PNG importing crude oil from Malaysia is as OTL https://aperc.or.jp/file/2018/3/19/4-11_PNG_2018_OGSN_FORUM_ON_OIL_GAS_SUPPLY_DEMAND.pdf

20 days without a SARS case gets you declared SARS-free https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/06/world/sars-declared-contained-with-no-cases-in-past-20-days.html

Lots of posts being distributed here. Hamzah Haz gets his reward for switching back to Try, Harmoko gets his reward for not nominating for a second term as chairman of the DPR/MPR.

In keeping with my "OTL PKPI people will do well" principle, Yussuf Solichien and Haris Sudarno, both of whom were Chairman of the PKPI at different points in OTL, are appointed to posts that gives them proximity to Try.

For the non-Indonesians, the significance of Merauke is that it is the symbolic easternmost point of Indonesia.

Don't forget to vote for me in this poll, folks (https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...temporary-timeline-poll.551067/#post-24890964)

 

[GSD310]

ABRI after May 2003 Command Shuffle:

Bold indicates newly appointed to the position

ABRI Headquarters:
*Commander of ABRI: Gen. TB Hasanuddin
*Deputy Commander of ABRI: Adm. Djoko Sumaryono
*ABRI Chief of the General Staff: V. Adm. Tedjo Edhy
*ABRI Chief of the Socio-Political Affairs Staff: Lt. Gen. Saurip Kadi
*Inspector General of ABRI: Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu (Try’s son-in-law)
*Assistant of Intelligence: Maj. Gen. Nurdin Zainal
*Assistant of Operations: Maj. Gen. George Toisutta
*Assistant of Personnel: R. Adm. Sumardjono
*Assistant of Logistics: V. Mshl. Subandrio
*Assistant of Planning: Maj. Gen. Noer Muis
*Assistant of Social Order: Maj. Gen. (Pol.) Jusuf Manggabarani
*Assistant of Socio-Political Affairs: V. Mshl. Iwan Sidi (Try’s aide-de-camp as VP)
*Assistant of Territorial Affairs: Maj. Gen. Liliek Sumayo
*Assistant of Functional Affairs: Maj. Gen. Darpito Pudyastungkuro
*Assistant of Communication and Electronic: Maj. Gen. Amir Tohar

*Commander of the ABRI Staff and Command College: Lt. Gen. Syarifuddin Tippe
*Deputy Commander of the ABRI Staff and Command College: R. Adm. Agus Suhartono

*Commander of the ABRI Academy: Mshl. Edy Harjoko
*Deputy Commander of the ABRI Academy: Maj. Gen. Tono Suratman

*Chief of the ABRI Intelligence Agency: Lt. Gen. Amirul Isnaeni (is ill)
*Deputy Chief of the ABRI Intelligence Agency: Maj. Gen. Rachmat Budiyanto

Department of Defense and Security:
*Minister of Defense and Security: Gen. (Ret.) Wiranto
*Secretary of the Department of Defense and Security: Lt. Gen. Romulo Simbolon
*Inspector General of the Department of Defense and Security: Lt. Gen. Djaja Suparman
*Director General of Planning: Maj. Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo
*Director General of Personnel, Human Resources, and Veterans’ Affairs: Maj. Gen. (Pol.) Kadaryanto
*Director General of Materiel, Facilities, and Services: R. Adm. Slamet Soebijanto

*Governor of Lemhanas: Lt. Gen. Albert Inkiriwang
*Lieutenant Governor of Lemhanas: V. Mshl. Djoko Suyanto

Palace:
*Military Secretary: Maj. Gen. Junianto Haroen
*Commander of the Presidential Bodyguards: Maj. Gen. (Pol.) Gories Mere
*Deputy Commander of the Presidential Bodyguards: Brig. Gen. Erwin Hudawi Lubis

Army:
*Army Chief of Staff: Gen. Srijanto Muntasram
*Deputy Army Chief of Staff: Lt. Gen. Erwin Sudjono
*Inspector General of the Army: Maj. Gen. Bambang Darmono
*Intelligence Assistant of the Army: Maj. Gen. Anshory Tadjuddin
*Operations Assistant of the Army: Maj. Gen. Hotmangaradja Panjaitan
*Personnel Assistant of the Army: Maj. Gen. Bambang Suranto
*Logistics Assistant of the Army: Maj. Gen. Osaka Meilala
*Planning Assistant of the Army: Maj. Gen. Suroyo Gino
*Territorial Assisant of the Army: Maj. Gen. Jul Effendi Sjarief

*Commander of the Army Education and Training Command: Lt. Gen. Syaiful Rizal

*Commander of Kostrad: Lt. Gen. Djoko Santoso
*Chief of Staff of Kostrad: Maj. Gen. Rasyid Qurnuen Aquary

*Commander of the 1st Infantry Division of Kostrad: Maj. Gen. Agung Revulton
*Chief of Staff of the 1st Infantry Division of Kostrad: Brig. Gen. Adi Mulyono

*Commander of the 2nd Infantry Division of Kostrad: Maj. Gen. Azmyn Nasution
*Chief of Staff of the 2nd Infantry Division of Kostrad: Brig. Gen. Geerhan Lentara

*Commander of the 3rd Infantry Division of Kostrad: Maj. Gen. Tan Aspan
*Chief of Staff of the 3rd Infantry Division of Kostrad: Brig. Gen. Tisna Komara

*Commander of the Army Staff and Command College: Maj. Gen. Mahidin Simbolon

*Commander of the Aceh Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Hendra Rizal
*Chief of Staff of the Aceh Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Moeldoko

*Commander of the Northern Sumatra Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Amril Amir
*Chief of Staff of the Northern Sumatra Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Erfi Triassunu

*Commander of the Southern Sumatra Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Suwarno
*Chief of Staff of the Southern Sumatra Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Edhy Riyanto

*Commander of the Jakarta Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Suharsono
*Chief of Staff of the Jakarta Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Budiman (Presidential Aide-De-Camp in the previous term)

*Commander of the West Java Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Hariyadi Soetanto
*Chief of Staff of the West Java Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Kitaran Sihotang

*Commander of the Central Java Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Marciano Norman
*Chief of Staff of the Central Java Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Puguh Santoso

*Commander of the East Java Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Agus Gunaedi Pribadi
*Chief of Staff of the Central Java Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo

*Commander of the Western Kalimantan Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Sugeng Budi Harsono
*Chief of Staff of the Western Kalimantan Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Hari Krisnomo

*Commander of the Eastern Kalimantan Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Nana Djuana Priadi
*Chief of Staff of the Eastern Kalimantan Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Muktianto

*Commander of the Northern Sulawesi Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. LP Siegers
*Chief of Staff of the Northern Sulawesi Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Thomas Edy Widagdo

*Commander of the Southern Sulawesi Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Mulhim Asyrof
*Chief of Staff of the Southern Sulawesi Regional Military Command: Burhanuddin Siagian

*Commander of the Nusa Tenggara Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Gede Suardhana
*Chief of Staff of the Nusa Tenggara Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Lodewijk Friedrich Paulus

*Commander of the East Timor Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Amiruddin Usman
*Chief of Staff of the East Timor Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Nizam

*Commander of the Maluku Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Siswondo
*Chief of Staff of the Maluku Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Waris

*Commander of the Irian Jaya Regional Military Command: Maj. Gen. Burhanuddin Amin
*Chief of Staff of the Irian Jaya Regional Military Command: Brig. Gen. Murdjito

*Commander of the Kopassus: Maj. Gen. Soenarko
*Deputy Commander of the Kopassus: Brig. Gen. Hotma Marbun

Navy:
*Navy Chief of Staff: Adm. Djoko Agoes Hanoeng
*Deputy Navy Chief of Staff: V. Adm. Bambang Supeno
*Commander of the Navy Education and Training Command: V. Adm. Waldi Murad
*Commander of the 1st Fleet: R. Adm. Adi Prabawa
*Commander of the 2nd Fleet: R. Adm. Moekhlas Sidik
*Commander of the 3rd Fleet: R. Adm. Jurianto
*Commander of the Marine Corps: Maj. Gen. (Mar.) Nono Sampono
*Commander of the Sealift Command (Kolinlamil): R. Adm. Maryono

Air Force:
*Air Force Chief of Staff: ACM. Teddy Sumarno
*Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff: Mshl. I Gusti Made Oka
*Commander of the Air Force Education and Training Command: Mshl. Mardjono SW
*Commander of the Air Force 1st Operation Command: V. Mshl. Pandji Utama Iskaq
*Commander of the Air Force 2nd Operation Command: V. Mshl. Erry Biatmoko
*Commander of the Air Force 3rd Operation Command: V. Mshl. Ganjar Wiranegara
*Commander of the Air Defense Command: V. Mshl. Ida Bagus Sanubari
*Commander of the Air Force Special Forces (Korpaskhas): Cdre. I Putu Sulastra

Police:
*Chief of Police: Police (Gen.) I Made Mangku Pastika
*Deputy Chief of Police: Lt. Gen. (Pol.) Firman Gani
*Commander of the Mobile Brigade: Maj. Gen. (Pol.) Indradi Thanos

Analysis:
-Command shuffle triggered by outgoing Deputy Army Chief of Staff Prijanto's appointment as Ambassador to Japan. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono brother-in-law Erwin Sudjono promoted to Lt. Gen. and appointed as the new Deputy Army Chief of Staff. Though considered a Yudhoyono-ite, Erwin has developed a relationship with TB Hasanuddin. When TB was Commander of Kostrad, Erwin was a Kostrad Division Commander; when TB was Army Chief of Staff, Erwin was Inspector General of the Army. Erwin functions unofficially as the intermediary between TB Hasanuddin and Yudhoyono.

-Wiranto consolidates control of the Department of Defense and Security by securing the appointment of his close ally Djaja Suparman as Inspector General of the Department of Defense and Security.

-Some rumors that Chief of ABRI Intelligence Agency Amirul Isnaeni might be discharged on health grounds but this had not been the case.

---
Basically this chart will make appearance each time there's an ABRI Command Shuffle.

 

[GSD310]

2nd May 2003:
After spending the night at Merauke, President Try Sutrisno flew with his entourage, landing at Surabaya, East Java. The Presidential motorcade was seen heading to Gresik to Petrokimia Gresik’s new Phosphate Acid Factory. It was here, accompanied by Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo, Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, State Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, and for the last time as Governor of East Java Haris Sudarno, the President inaugurated the following:

*Petrokimia Gresik Phosphate Acid Factory in Gresik, East Java
*Unit 4 of Semen Gresik’s Cement Factory in Tuban, East Java
*Expansion of Almi Aluminium Factory in Sidoarjo, East Java
*Japfa Comfeed Chicken Breeding Facilities in Grati, East Java and Pontianak, West Kalimantan
*Charon Pokphand Mojokerto Chicken Processing Factory in Mojokerto, East Java
*Sari Roti Bread Factory in Pasuruan, East Java
*Dumas Tanjung Perak Shipyard Shipbuilding Facilities in Sampang, Madura

As he toured the facilities, the President and his entourage’s mood was somewhat spoiled by questions about an article Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto penned that morning in the Kompas Newspaper. The article focused on the President’s ASEAN policy saying that the President is “sacrificing Indonesian farmers” for the sake of making Indonesia the leader of ASEAN. Tutut argued that fruit and vegetable farmers will be swamped by imports of fruits and vegetables from ASEAN becoming cheaper.

4th May 2003:
Over some chicken porridge on a Sunday morning, the President met with Chairman of the Overseas Myanmarians League (OML) Shwe Mann. Shwe Mann expressed his thanks for the President for allowing the integration of his followers into ABRI despite this being unpopular in some circles in Indonesia. The President told him that the Myanmarians will “make themselves proud” and will make ABRI strong.

5th May 2003:
In a press conference, State Secretary Edi Sudrajat announced that the President has approved of the formation of the DKN as the forum for discussing, formulating, coordinating policy regarding national security. The composition of the DKN are as follows:

*The President will act as the Chairman of the DKN

*The Vice President, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defense and Security, the Minister of Economics and National Development Planning, the Minister of Finance, the Commander of ABRI, the Chief of BAKIN, and the State Secretary with other ministers and officials to attend as necessary.

*The Secretary of the DKN to act as the administrator of the DKN

The press was keen to know what the government thought about Tutut’s article the previous Saturday. Edi said that the government would take it seriously if there is something coherent to Tutut’s criticism beyond disagreeing for disagreeing’s sake. He jokes that at this stage, if the government was to turn right, Tutut would turn left because that was the opposite of right.

6th May 2003:
The President met with Minister of Education Juwono Sudarsono today. Juwono brought numbers regarding Junior High School enrollment rates which were as follows throughout the course of the President’s presidency.

-1997/1998: 72.5%
-1998/1999: 70.1%
-1999/2000: 75.7%
-2000/2001: 80.1%
-2001/2002: 87.4%
-2002/2003: 93.3%

After recommitting themselves that the target was 100% Junior High School enrollment prior to the end of Repelita VII, the President and Juwono discussed the main goal for Repelita VIII for education which will be Compulsory 12 Years’ Education and how to best achieve that. By the end of the meeting, the President and Juwono had agreed on the following basic principles:

*Much as the Compulsory 6 Years’ Education and Compulsory 9 Years’ Education, the government will give itself 10 years to achieve Compulsory 12 Years’ Education.

*By the end of these 10 years, the goal is for all those aged 16-18 to either be in High School or a Vocational School.

*The Central Government will focus on constructing High Schools and its accompanying infrastructure. The role of building vocational schools will be deconcentrated to provincial as well as municipal/regency governments as they will better know what vocations are required and needed in their respective regions.

*The government will also be continuing its policy of constructing extra classrooms in existing state primary schools to accommodate kindergarten-aged children. The government is setting a target of 5 years for all kindergarten-aged children to be enrolled in a kindergarten.

7th May 2003:
The President today chaired the first meeting of the DKN. The topic of discussion was the most recent development in the United States and its coalition’s humanitarian intervention in Yugoslavia: namely that Montenegro had been declared liberated after the last of the Yugoslav Army had retreated back into Serbia. Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman told the President to expect to see Milo Djukanovic installed as the new President of Montenegro soon.

When the President asked what is Moscow’s reaction. Marzuki said that Russia, along with the Belarus, will continue to provide military aid without sending personnel to get involved and that this was the most they could do without escalating the situation. Commander of ABRI TB Hasanuddin asked whether China is also sending military aid. Marzuki shook his head, saying that China is “judiciously” limiting its assistance to non-military aid. The President laughed cynically at this.

“Well, first and foremost, China’s primary interests were never in the Balkans, it’s always been here in Asia”, the President said “Luo Gan wants to keep China’s hands free.”

“Free to do what?” asked Vice President JB Sumarlin.

“To pursue their interests in Asia while the United States’ focus is fixed on Yugoslavia”, the President explained “And that’s just one reason why they want to keep their involvement limited to non-military aid.”

The President then went on to speak about the meeting he had with President of Vietnam Tran Duc Luong when the latter visited Indonesia in January 2003, that another reason why China wanted to keep their involvement limited was because the agreement it signed with Australia to import coal. At this, Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto scoffed.

“Well, that answers why Australia seems to have such great influence in that coalition”, Wiranto said “As of the end of April, they’re already sending more personnel in Yugoslavia’s direction because the United Kingdom is not taking part in this conflict and because they’re seen to have played a part in keeping China’s role very limited in it.”

“Wait, if that’s the case then Australia is indirectly helping position China to, as you say… keep its hands free”, Sumarlin said to the President “And the United States is all right with this?”

“From the United States and its allies’ point of view, it’s one less providing military aid to the enemy in the battlefield, Mr. Vice President”, explained Wiranto.

“The liberation of Montenegro will not be the end will it” the President asked Marzuki.

“Preparations are already under way for the United States and its allies to launch an offensive into Serbia”, replied Marzuki “The United States’ aim has always been to remove President Milosevic from power and to show the world, most notably Russia, that it cannot be challenged.”

“That part I understand”, the President “I mean, will Montenegro continue to remain a part of Yugoslavia?”

“Djukanovic ran for election promising to hold an independence referendum for Montenegro, I think this will be an eventuality though it will wait until after Milosevic’s overthrow and the installment of a pro-West President of Yugoslavia”, Marzuki replied.

The President thought about it.

“As long as the United States and the United Kingdom keep sending weapons our way, I’ll keep my mouth shut”, the President said “But they still can’t answer whether this “humanitarian intervention” is a precedent.”

8th May 2003:
Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti and State Minister of Housing Bobby Suhardiman emerged out of a meeting with the President at the Presdential Palace. Dorodjatun said that they had come to report on the construction sector where the rate of inflation in the sector had decreased because the moratorium on the construction of new government buildings has taken effect. Dorodjatun said that this was precisely the goal of the policy and meant that more building material can become available and become cheaper. Bobby said that the President has instructed him to look into simplifying procedures for the construction of houses so developers can take advantage of this program and get to building more houses.

State Minister of Transmigration Rusnain Yahya also emerged from a meeting with the President today. Rusnain said that the President has approved of his decision to suspend all transmigration out of Aceh. Rusnain said that in the past 8-10 months there has been a lot of self-funded transmigrants out of Aceh. This in itself not wrong, but what has emerged in the last few months is that these transmigrants are using fake ID cards and that they have “disappeared” instead of reporting their arrival to the local authorities upon arrival. Rusnain said that the State Ministry of Transmigration is working with the Department of Home Affairs in particular to investigate this matter.

9th May 2003:
At the PKPB National Headquarters, Tutut accompanied by Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani and held a coffee morning with a delegation of contractors who came to express their grievance that the government’s moratorium on the construction of new government buildings was and will be “bad for their business”. Tutut listened sympathetically, commenting that this was a government willing to pick a fight and sacrifice anybody and everybody.

Meanwhile, the President had a meeting with Wiranto. Wiranto talked about his recent trip to Afghanistan and his enquiries about the possibility of purchasing surplus T-54/T-55 Tanks there to the “major participants” of Operation Enduring Freedom. No one had a problem with it, but once Australia “raised a concern” about why Indonesia would want to buy 100+ T-54/T-55 Tanks, the United States also began to cool off despite being initially having no problem with the idea. Wiranto once again repeated the point he made in the DKN Meeting that Australia has “a lot of influence with the United States and in their coalition”.

“The only upside of this, Mr. President”, said Wiranto “Is that because we have been transparent in communicating our interests to the major participants of Operation Enduring Freedom, those who are both more friendly to us and have a defense industry are now very much aware that Indonesia is in the hunt for more equipment and are now enquiring about whether we would interested in their “products” instead.”

10th May 2003:
The President spent his Saturday heading by land to Cilegon, West Java. At the new pipe production facilities of PT. KHI Industries, a subsidiary of PT. Krakatau Steel and accompanied by Siswono Yudohusodo, Minister of Mining and Energy Awang Faroek Ishak, State Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Cacuk Sudarijanto, Junior Minister of Defense and Security Adwin Suryohadiprodjo, and Governor of West Java Muzani Syukur the President inaugurated the following:

*Unit 2 of PT. KHI Industries Pipe Production Facilities at Cilegon, West Java
*Units 8 and 9 of the Suralayu Steampowered Electricity Generator at Cilegon, West Java
*Units 2 and 3 of Darajat Geothermal Electricity Generator at Darajat, West Java
*PT. Pindad Military Vehicle Assembly Plant at Bandung, West Java

As the President toured the KHI’s facilities and looking at samples of the products that are manufactured there, the President faced questions about Tutut sitting with contractors who feel disadvantaged by the government’s moratorium on the construction of new government buildings. At first the President tried to distract the press by pointing at how wonderful the facilities are but despite Edi’s glares, the questions were relentless; the moratorium on the construction of new government buildigns, the claim that the President was sacrificing farmers so that Indonesia can become the leader of ASEAN, the integration of Myanmarians into the ABRI, the refusal to support the passing of the Anti-Terror Bill into Law…

“In the last week or so, I have been inaugurating projects”, the President said “Both at the most isolated place in this archipelago and in the centers of industry, both government projects and non-government, both private and state. I inaugurated airports, roads, electricity generators. There are facilities which will help breed chicken for our food industry, produce phosphate for our fertilizers, more cement for our construction industry, more steel and more aluminium, space fo assemble military vehicles…the way I see it this nation is moving forward on all fronts.

If this is still to be and can be perfected, then I’m all for working constructively and for the benefit of the nation. But I do regret if the only contribution others can make is to get in the way for the sake of getting in the way…I hope they would have the decency to get out of the way before they are pushed out of the way.”

“Mr. President, what do you mean pushed out of the way?” asked a member of the press.

“All right, that’s enough questions for now”, said Edi stepping in while gently pushing the President to begin walking away from the press.

---
At her private residence, Chairwoman of the PNI Megawati Soekarnoputri watched this unfold on television so seriously that her husband Taufiq Kiemas took notice of it.

“Something wrong, Dear?” asked Taufiq.

“This will be interesting”, Megawati said as she gestured towards the image of the President looking angry on television “If he’s saying what I think he’s saying, he’s going to do to Tutut what Soeharto did to me.”

“What? Take over the PKPB’s National Headquarters by force?” asked Taufiq.

“Well, I hope it doesn’t get to that”, replied Megawati.

---
Much as the government projects, various private sector projects are undertaken and completed ahead of OTL schedule due to more favorable economic conditions.

Some of the geopolitical calculations about China here mirror the calculations about OTL US’ involvement in Iraq and how OTL China benefitted from it https://sldinfo.com/2012/06/china-and-iraq-the-return/

Check out 211 for Try's conversation with Tran Duc Luong about Australia's maneuverings.

I’m sorry if I’m like a broken record but it’s going to be repeated ad nauseaum. Indonesia considers China the main threat but can’t turn its back on the Aussies.

 

[GSD310]

12th May 2003:
The President chaired a DKN Meeting. At its conclusion, Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan, Commander of ABRI TB Hasanuddin and Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo had the duty of doing the press conference accompanied by Army Chief of Staff Srijanto, Chief of Police I Made Mangku Pastika ABRI Chief of General Staff Tedjo Edhy Purdjiatno, and ABRI Chief of Socio-Political Affairs Staff Saurip Kadi who had been invited along for the meeting.

TB Hasanuddin said that the DKN meeting decided on the follow up to the 2003 ABRI Leadership Meeting; namely how the former roles of the abolished territorial commands will be fulfilled by various departments and agencies which, among others, will be as follows:

*The territorial functions of ABRI will be concentrated at the Army’s Resort Military Command level.
*The Regional Military Commander will represent the Army in Regional Leadership Consultations at the provincial level, the Resort Military Commander will represent the Army in Regional Leadership Consultations at the regency/municipal level, liaison officers will be appointed for lower levels of government.
*Any intelligence and surveillance functions, excepting those of a strategic nature, will be taken over by BAKIN’s regional offices.
*Functions related to public order and security will be taken over by the Police or, at the more grassroots level, the Department of Home Affairs’ Civil Defence and Municipal Police (Satpol PP).
*Training will be provided to BAKIN’s regional offices, the Police, the Civil Defence, and the Satpol PP as they take on these functons.
*Trial run for the abolition of territorial commands will be conducted in Jakarta and Surabaya before the year is out because the two cities are considered secure enough for the experiment.

TB and Saurip Kadi underlined once again that these changes will not effect the Dual Function. ABRI will continue to conduct its socio-political functions by taking part in the executive, legislative, the civil service, the regions and whereever ABRI is needed. Meanwhile its defence and security function will be bolstered because the personnel from the abolished territorial commands will be converted into combat units. Meanwhile Srijanto said that the territorial commands had 140,000 personnel and said that this personnel could be better used elsewhere such as strengthening ABRI’s military capacity.

13th May 2003:
The President, in his capacity as the Leader of the PKPI, met with Chairman of the PKPI/Vice Chairman of the DPR Basofi Sudirman. Basofi had just returned from India while the rest of the PKPI Delegation, including Day-to-Day Chairman of the PKPI Soeyono, had stayed behind for longer. Basofi reported that the PKPI Delegation are getting along well with their counterparts from BJP, the latter being very keen to learn why the PKPI, despite supporting a competent government, did not get the most seats the 2002 Elections. Basofi also said that Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee conveys his greetings and that he could not wait to see the President soon at BRICI.

They then discussed the situation in the DPR. Basofi said that defeat at the MPR General Session has made the PKPB “all the more” stubborn and all the more likely to be uncooperative for its own sake. As an example, Basofi said that in the aftermath of the MPR General Session, the PNI has expressed agreement to the passing of the Anti-Terror Bill into Law on the grounds that it provides a more sound legal basis for taking action against terrorists and suspected terrorists. The PKPB’s official stance, on the other hand, is that it is against the passing of the law and does not show any inclination of wanting to change its stance. This despite the President’s request that the bill be passed unanimously into law in the DPR because of its importance.

“What will it take for the PKPB to change their stance?” the President asked.

Basofi thought things through.

“Frankly speaking, Mr. President, it will take change to a party leadership more willing to be constructive for the PKPB to stop its current actions”, said Basofi.

15th May 2003:
The President today chaired a cabinet meeting attended by Vice President JB Sumarlin and the entire cabinet. Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti gave a report on the present economic conditions to the meeting, saying that for the first half of 2003, Indonesia’s economy will be bolstered by three long weekends; the Easter Long Weekend in April, the Vesak Long Weekend tomorrow, and the Ascension Day Long Weekend in two weeks’ time. Dorodjatun said that there will be extra economic activity, in particular regards to consumer spending, during these three long weekends with Minister of Tourism Sutiyoso confirming that hotel bookings are receiving spikes during these periods. The President happily noted this saying that these long weekends will make itself known in Indonesia’s economic growth figures, instructing only to make sure that the transport of basic commodities will not be obstructed during this period so that there will not be spikes in prices.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman then reported on the President’s upcoming trip, saying that it will be an “around the world” trip and went through the itinerary, the highlight of which will be attendance at the BRICI Unofficial Summit in Brazil and at the G-8 Summit as an invitee in France. The President commented that he wanted to bring Indonesia to the world on this trip, raise its profile, and most importantly, advance its interests.

17th May 2003:
There were a lot of smiles and flashbulbs as Ginandjar Kartasasmita and Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto posed for pictures before they had lunch together, Ginandjar accompanied by former minister Kuntoro Mangunsubroto while Tutut was accompanied by Secretary of the PKPB ZA Maulani and Treasurer of the PKPB Akbar Tandjung.

Inside, Tutut bemoaned that over the last two months a lot of talent had left the government; pointing to Ginandjar and Kuntoro as the two main examples. Ginandjar said that this was true, that his supporters in the government had been targeted and removed, Jusuf Kalla no longer being Ambassador to Japan being a case in point. ZA Maulani pointed out that Muhammadiyah representation is being cut down to a minimum, especially if said representation was associated with Amien Rais though Kuntoro said that there was one Muhammadiyah member left standing in Junior Minister of Religion M. Amin Abdullah.

Tutut went at length about how she was “nowhere near finished” with the President and repeated her claim that the PKPB will use its weight in the DPR to continue to have a say in the government and that the government must take into account the PKPB’s stance on various issues if it wants to move forward.

“Well it’s not that I disagree with you and what you’re doing now”, Ginandjar said “It’s just that while it is true the PKPB is the party that has the most seats in the DPR, it’s the government that controls the majority through its PKPI-PPP-ABRI Coalition so it does not have to take the PKPB into account. And on the matter of the Anti-Terrorism Bill, the government has asked for unanimous support because it’s an important bill and with the PNI having declared support, is it not poor form for the PKPB to not declare its support and to openly get in the way of this and various government policies just for the hell of it?”

“You’re sounding like you’re still a government official”, Akbar joked, getting a laugh from Tutut in the process.

“It’s not that there isn’t a time and a place to take on the government” said Ginandjar “It’s just that there is 4 years and 10 months left of this, this is always going to be a marathon.”

“What do you think of the President’s comments a few days ago at Cilegon?” asked Akbar.

“I think whatever intentions we in this room have towards him, the one thing we should never do is underestimate Try Sutrisno”, Ginandjar replied “He creates the false impression that he’s an easy target or that he will just sit there and take the bad treatment being dished out to him or that he will just get out of the way…but I say this having been his partner in making foreign policy and not expecting that he would actually dare to remove me in the middle of the MPR General Sesson…if you’re thinking those kinds of thoughts about him, you do it at your own peril.”

Ginandjar would later say that despite the fact that he was the one to make the joke about Ginandjar sounding like a government official, it was Akbar who took Ginandjar’s comments about the President most seriously.

18th May 2003:
The Presidential Palace was a lot of hustle and bustle. Edi was seen going over some things with his staff and First Lady Tuti Setiawati was playing with her grandchildren even as she was overseeing her staff packing her clothes. At the President’s office, the President received Sintong Panjaitan, the latter had a concerned look on his face.

“This arrived Friday afternoon”, Sintong said as he handed the President an envelope “Normally I would wait until tomorrow Monday but you will be gone for a bit, so I wanted to bring the matter to your attention.”

The President opened it and read it carefully.

“It is a letter from Akbar Tandjung asking the Department of Home Affairs whether it has the same understanding of the PKPB’s Constitution and By-Laws about the requirements to hold an Extraordinary National Congress”, said Sintong as the President looked up at him “I’m assuming the reason Akbar is sending me this letter is because he is preparing an Extraordinary PKPB National Congress.”

The President finished reading the letter and handed it back to Sintong.

“Usually party national congresses that are held under extraordinary circumstances…the aim is to forcefully change leadership…” Sintong said “I wonder what the government’s stance on this should be.”

Realizing that Sintong had not been part of the politicking at the MPR General Session, the President decided to tell the story of how Akbar Tandjung and his supporters had helped the President secure his re-election but that Akbar had also asked for the President’s support to challenge Tutut for the chairmanship of the PKPB at the next PKPB National Congress.

Sintong looked seriously at the President.

“And right now, Mr. President, you’re inclined to support what Akbar is doing and have a PKPB Extraordinary National Congress where Tutut will be overthrown?” asked Sintong.

“You’re not wrong”, the President replied “And it’s not only because I had cut a deal with Akbar, it’s also because the way the Chairwoman of the PKPB has acted in the last few weeks…there is still a long way to go in this term and for her to just continue getting in the way on top of the last 5 years…my patience is at an end, Mr. Minister of Home Affairs.”

There was silence in the room.

“It’s not that I don’t understand your position, Mr. President”, Sintong advised “It’s just that I hope you will not act rashly.”

The President listened.

“10 years ago, your predecessor tried to prevent the election of Megawati Soekarnoputri as the Chairwoman of the PDI but she got elected in defiance of government intervention, became popular and that’s the reason why she became the third name, other than yourself and the Chairwoman of the PKPB, intending to contest the presidency”, Sintong continued “If you wish to intervene in this and you fail, she will be another “Megawati”, she will continue to be a thorn in your side.”

“Then we have to make sure that Akbar wins”, the President said.

“That won’t be enough, Mr. President”, Sintong said “If he wins but Tutut still has a sizeable chunk of support of influence, she will be doing to Akbar what she was doing to you in Golkar. There will be two PKPBs vying for existence.”

There was silence between the two.

“So what you’re saying is, it’s not enough that Akbar wins, Tutut has to lose as well”, the President said “And decisively lose.”

“That’s right, Mr. President”, Sintong said “If you want to strike at her now, make sure it’s nothing less than a knockout blow.”

There was another silence and then the President stood up signalling that the meeting was over.

“I have to go to Halim soon”, the President “I’m not going throw the government’s support behind him but for the moment, by all means confirm to Akbar that if he fulfills the requirements set out in the PKPB’s Constitution and By-Laws, he can apply for the government’s approval for an Extraordinary National Congress. But pleasewait until I’m back here before you give that approval, would you? I think I want to be around for that moment.”

---
Chapter title spells Munaslub, the Indonesian acronym for Musyawarah Nasional Luar Biasa or in English, Extraordinary National Congress

In OTL, the territorial commands circa 1999 has 140,000 personnel

TNI : Reformasi TNI dan Sulitnya Mengatur Bisnis Tentara

BINTANG Mayjen TNI Agus Wirahadikusumah ternyata tak memudar walaupun ia tengah “dibuang” ke ujung timur. Saat restrukturisasi TNI awal November lalu, perwira tinggi kelahiran Bandung, 17 Oktober 1951, seorang mayor jenderal senior, akhirnya malah “dilempar” ke pos Panglima Komando Daerah...

www.google.co.id

The significance of Basofi offering this advice is that he had been a part of interfering in another party’s internal affairs. In OTL, Basofi adopted a hardline approach as Governor of East Java against Megawati’s supporters in East Java. When Megawati’s supporters took control of the PDI’s East Java Provincial Branch, Basofi continued to support pro-government PDI members in the East Java Provincial Branch https://www.google.co.id/books/edit...i+megawati+latief&pg=PA83&printsec=frontcover

Credit to @Rajveer Naha on the BJP wanting to learn from the PKPI's experiences

And this is a random question I forgot to ask in the previous chapter: When is it Yugoslavia? When is it Serbia? Or are the two interchangeable?

 

[GSD310]

Approaching the "May 2002 Around the World update" on my 5th rereading (yes, i'm either forgetful or just that engrossed in your TL) and just realized that with the TL has already on May 2003, is the March 2003 coup of President Patassé of the Central African Republic still succeeded like OTL because Gaddafi already prepared the ISA on their journey home, or Patassé is actually saved again?

Funny you should ask that...

19th May 2003:
After arriving late the previous night at Manama, Bahrain, President Try Sutrisno and his delegation made their way to the Al-Sakhir Palace in the morning. There, he was given a welcome ceremony, including a sword ceremony by King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Try and Hamad hugged each other very effusively.

There was another ceremony to attend to immediately after this one. A teleconference had been set up, linking Bahrain with Indonesia and on the screen, those in attendance could see Vice President JB Sumarlin, Minister of Public Works Budi Susilo Soepandji, Head of the BKPM Mari Elka Pangestu, Governor of Jakarta Endriartono Sutarto, and Governor of West Java Muzani Syukur. Thus was a ceremony under way when Try together with Hamad inaugurated the Cilincing-Cibitung Toll Road and the Serpong-Parung Toll Road, projects which Hamad had signed on to invest in the last time Try visited Bahrain in November 2000.

After a mid-morning banquet, Try and Hamad disappeared into a room to have their private meeting. Try was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat while Hamad was accompanied by Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

Try praised Hamad for Bahrain’s involvement in Operation Enduring Freedom saying that actually getting involved in Afghanistan was a line he could not cross. Hamad returned the compliment saying that without Indonesia’s stance against extremism, the War on Terror would not progress. Hamad expressed discontent with both the United States and Russia at the moment; the United States for moving too quickly onto Yugoslavia while Osama Bin Laden is still out there and Russia, in a bid to build friends in the Islamic world, said that Islamic nations should not feel pressured to do anything in the wake of 9/11. Try said that this just gives an excuse for those who are not serious about taking action to not take action to which all those present agreed.

There was much joking about how Russia trying to seem more friendly did not help them because there was a lot of support for the intervention in Yugoslavia among the Islamic world. On a more serious note, however, Marzuki and Khalifa both agreed that so long as the War On Terror is not over, “our nations will still be part of the equation”. Khalifa said that in addition to wanting Indonesia to keep quiet or stay out from taking any stand on Yugoslavia, the continuing need for support in the War of Terror was the reasoning behind the military aid sent by the United States and the United Kingdom Indonesia’s way earlier in the year.

Marzuki asked about how the United Kingdom was doing, given Bahrain’s close relations to it. Khalifa said that the United Kingdom’s now under Prime Minister Gordon Brown after Blair took the British Parliament’s refusal to authorize military intervention as a vote of no-confidence and resigned. From what news he has gathered, the United Kingdom, because it has not participated in the intervention in Yugoslavia is wanting to make itself useful and wanting to counter, in particular, Australia’s increased influence over the United States in that coalition. Edi softly kicked Try’s foot at this.

By and large, Try and Hamad agreed on a lot of issues. The only issue where Hamad was a bit ambivalent was Try becoming close to Iran, half-jokingly saying that he tended to agree with Saudi Arabia on Iran but added more seriously that if Iran could be more constructive that this would be all right. It was late afternoon when Hamad escorted Try to the Bahrain International Airport and for the latter to depart to his next destination.

“We are nowhere near part of the inner circle of that coalition and so we must take advantage of any tensions or internal divisions”, Marzuki was heard saying “That’s the gap we must exploit to advance Indonesia’s interests.”

20th May 2003:
Arriving in the evening again the previous night at Harare, Zimbabwe, the morning saw Try and his delegation depart for the State House. There he was given an official welcome ceremony by President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnagagwa before they disappeared inside for their meeting.

Inside Try was accompanied by Marzuki Darusman, Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Trade Anthony Salim, State Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Cacuk Sudarijanto, and Edi Sudrajat. Mnangagwa was accompanied by Prime Minister Simba Makoni, Minister of Foreign Affairs Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Minister of Finance Herbert Murerwa, Minister of Defence Sydney Sekaramayi, Minister of Industry and International Trade Samuel Mumbengegwi, and Minister of Transport and Communications Joice Mujuru.

The meeting produced the following agreements:

*Dorodjatun and Murerwa signed an agreement to establish an Economic Cooperation Commission between the two countries and for Indonesia to send a business delegation to Zimbabwe to explore investment opportunities.

*Anthony and Samuel Mumbengegwi signed an MoU committing the Zimbabwean government to facilitate importers seeking to import Indonesian FMCGs.

*Cacuk Sudarijanto and Joice Mujuru signed an agreement whereby Zimbabwe will purchase INKA trains to help revitalize Zimbabwe’s railway system.

*Wiranto and Sekaramayi signed agreement where Indonesia will purchase all 12 of Zimbabwe’s BAE Hawks Aircraft.

Try and Mnangagwa held a joint press conference afterwards. The BAE Hawks got some attention, with Mnangagwa saying that the government’s priority was economic recovery after they had withdrawn from the war in Congo and that this included cutting defense spending, saying that Zimbabwe was struggling with spare parts and maintenance and had to prioritize its economy.

Try got a question from a BBC Journalist about whether he saw similarities between himself and Mnagagwa, both successors of older men who had been mentors, and both having their legitimacy questioned by someone related to their predecessor; Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto and former First Lady Grace Mugabe in the case of Mnangagwa. Try diplomatically Indonesia and Zimbabwe had both their respective succession mechanisms and that if this is mechanism is adhered to, then the succession should be called legitimate.

“But I understand now why I have and am getting along so well with President Mnangagwa”, Try said to Mnangagwa’s laughter.

The late afternoon saw Try held a meet and greet with Indonesians who are living in Zimbabwe as well as the families of the Indonesian Embassy in Zimbabwe’s staff. This being National Awakening Day, Try told those present to be proud of themselves for by being in Zimbabwe and in Africa they are helping with the nation’s national awakening and that one day the world will take notice of Indonesia.

The day ended at the State House where Mnangagwa held a State Banquet in Try’s honor; both men toasting their respective nations’ diplomatic relationship with each other.

21st May 2003:
The day began with Tru and First Lady Tuti Setiawati making a quick visit to Makavisi Woodland where they had a look at the animals. From there, after stopping at their hotel to get changed, Try went to Zimbabwe House where he, accompanied by Dorodjatun, met with Makoni. Try allowed Dorodjatun to do most of the speaking with Makoni. Hearing about Makoni saying that defense spending had to be slashed so that more funds are available for economic development, Try was reminded of Indonesia’s own experience.

From there, there was an event where Try and Mnangagwa unveiling a supermarket billboard in the middle of Harare advertising the availability of Indonesian FMCGs in the city. The two were then seen touring a supermarket and looking at various Indonesian FMCGs, Mnangagwa saying that he has taken a liking to Kopiko.

Try and Mnangagwa had lunch together and then began talking about various issues. Mnangagwa said that Zimbabwe still had some long way to go economically to develop though Try consoled him by saying Zimbabwe did not wait until inflation was 650% before it tried to economic recovery and that it was the right thing pulling out of the Second Congo War. Try agreed with Mnangagwa that they both wanted to utilize the G-15 to foster economic cooperation.

Try asked Mnangagwa about the Second Congo War. Mnangagwa said that it was a mess with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola, and Namibia on one side with Rwanda and Uganda on the other side. If the Angolans manage to score victory in their civil war, they will be more focused in helping their side of the war to victory. Rwanda and Uganda are holding on but all the while failing to get others on their side and getting the United States to assist them now that the latter are distracted by 9/11 and now, the intervention in Yugoslavia. Mnangagwa said that China and Russia will be the beneficiary if the DRC emerges victorious.

Try’s afternoon itinerary took him to the National Heroes’ Acre where he paid his respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and visited the museum there.

22nd May 2003:
After one final visit in the morning to the State House to farewell Mnangagwa, Try and his delegation headed to Harare International Airport and departure to their next destination. It was around noon when the Presidential Airplane landed at Leon-Mba International Airport, Libreville, Gabon. On the tarmac there was much handshakes and hugs from President of Gabon Omar Bongo. After a short ceremony, Try and Bongo rode in a car together to the Palais du Bord de Mer, a very luxurious presidential palace.

There was another ceremony there with Try and Bongo making speeches about each other. Bongo said that it was a happy occasion to at last meet a friend he had only “encountered on written pages” while Try said that he will never forget Gabon’s support “even though we had never met, for Indonesia’s territorial integrity”.

Business was conducted in a meeting between Try and Bongo. Try was accompanied by Marzuki, Dorodjatun, Minister of Mining and Energy Awang Faroek Ishak, Cacuk Sudarijanto and Edi while Bongo was accompanied by Prime Minister Jean Francois Ntoutoume Emane, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Ping, Minister of Finance and Economy Paul Toungoui, and Minister of Mines, Energy, and Oil Richard Auguste Onouviet. The meeting agreed on the following:

*Awang Faroek Ishak and Onouviet signed an agreement where Indonesia would import crude oil from Gabon.

*Cacuk and Toungoui signed an agreement making official a Gabonese purchase of 2 units of CN-235s.

There were a lot of smiles when the agreement to make the import of crude oil official. Bongo said Gabon’s prosperity is directly linked with that one of the world’s five major emerging economies and, as an aside, said that he could now look at this father-in-law, who had concluded a similar deal with China, in the eye. Try smiled, other than Gabonese petroleum, meeting Bongo’s father-in-law was the reason that he was in Gabon.

23rd May 2003:
At the Leon-Mba International Airport, Bongo welcomed the arrival of his father-in-law who was none other than President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou-Nguesso. After a welcome ceremony, Sassou-Nguesso was escorted to the airport’s VIP rooms where he was introduced to Try. There was a lot of cameras snapping and then Try sat down to talk with the two African presidents.

Amongst talk about how Bongo had “said a lot about you”, Try and Sassou-Nguesso talked about each other’s countries and agreed that the two nations should establish diplomatic relations with each other.

Sassou-Nguesso was the first to broach the topic Try wanted to talk about, enquiring about the Acehnese. Try talked about Aceh, how Acehnese secessionists had been trained in Libya in the past, and how it was part of Indonesia, before asking whether it was true that they had been in Africa in recent times.

“Two years ago now, there was a coup attempt in the Central African Republic, just north of where my country is, against President Ange-Felix Patasse”, Sassou-Nguesso said “The coup failed and to ensure that such future attempts also fail, President Patasse’s armed forces were reinforced by his ally, Colonel Gaddafi in Libya. The Libyan contingent included Acehnese personnel. There were more coup attempts against President Patasse in the past 2 years but these have failed; in part because President Patasse imprisoned Gen. Bozize, the man widely seen as the leader of the anti-Patasse forces; in part because the Acehnese are formidable soldiers to have in a skirmish.

Apparently the message from Gaddafi was that they should be the first deployed in a situation because “they need the practice” but judging by the stories of how they have helped beaten back coup attempts, they are ready for whatever it is they are being prepared for. There were a few rotations with different units returning to Libya and other units coming in to Central Africa, but they were Acehnese…”

“If I may, Mr. President”, interrupted Bongo “Perhaps our guest would like to know what your sources are.”

“Ah yes”, continued Sassou-Nguesso “My sympathies in this predicament lies with Bozize and I have people in his camp that provide me with information.”

“Are the Acehnese still in Central Africa, Mr. President”, asked Try.

“Well, Mr. President, the most recent information I’ve got from Central Africa, at least from Bozize’s supporters, is that a coup attempt against Patasse is being contemplated”, replied Sassou-Nguesso “Precisely because they’re not there anymore. A unit has returned to Libya but another one has not been sent in its place.”

Try thought about this carefully…this was definitely information that he had come to get.

“So much for the Acehnese in Africa, now for the East Timorese in Africa”, Sassou Nguesso continued.

Try’s heart sank at this.

“To the Republic of Congo’s south is Angola and the Angolans are participants both in the war currently happening in the other Congo and their own civil war which has gone on for decades”, said Sassou-Nguesso “And the Angolans have been using East Timorese as auxiliary forces, they’re coming into Angola from Mozambique. They are recruited in Mozambique and they have been getting both training and experience from the Angolan military.”

“How strong is the Angolan military?” asked Try.

“Capable of conducting numerous regional interventions at the same time, Mr. President” replied Sassou-Nguesso “I should know…they were the ones who installed me in my current position. They only just withdrew out of my country just months ago.”

Try tried to keep his head clear.

“Are the East Timorese still in Angola, Mr. President?” asked Try.

“Well, the Angolan Civil War is not over yet” replied Sassou-Nguesso “But the East Timorese will only be on board in Angola until July…after that they are departing back to Mozambique and that is the limits of my information.”

---

Stockholm, Sweden…
TVRI International beamed images of Try shaking hands with Sassou-Nguesso and hugging Bongo at the conclusion of their three-way conversation and then walking up the airplane stairs to board the Presidential Airplane.

“Do you suppose he’s aware of our existence?” asked the OPM’s Jacob Prai as he watched the screen “He’s sniffing around in the right places.”

“Only vaguely”, replied the Fretilin’s Jose Ramos Horta “They know we’re preparing something, but not precisely what...”

“They are in the dark”, interjected the GAM’s Abdullah Syafi’i “They don’t even realize we’ve been getting our men to move and take up their positions under the guise of participating in transmigration.”

“Well, they've caught on to the fact that you’re using fake ID cards”, said Prai.

“But they don’t see anything beyond that”, countered Syafi’i.

Ramos Horta watched as Try turned around at the top of the airplane stairs to wave at Bongo and Sassou-Nguesso. He smiled when he saw that there was something forced about Try’s smile and chuckled at the look on his face as he turned around to head in.

“You look worried…” said Ramos Horta “You should be worried…”

---
Refer to 102 to the King of Bahrain (then Emir) investing in toll roads. The factories I’m trying to remember what factories I had in mind.

Zimbabwe dodged the hyperinflation bullet but they’re taking the same steps that early New Order is taking (ie. focusing on the economy and cutting defense spending).

On Mnangagwa and Grace Mugabe struggling for succession in OTL Zimbabwe https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41530924. I’ve always identified Mnangagwa as a “Try”, someone who inherits a third world authoritarian/illiberal/hybrid regime rather than build it.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo are two different nations.

Between 1989 and 2009, the President of Bongo was the son-in-law of the President of the Republic of Congo https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/may/05/1 (check out the final sentence of the article)

On Sassou-Nguesso becoming president with the backing of Angola https://reliefweb.int/report/angola/congo-angolan-troops-begin-pull-out

 

[GSD310]

23rd May 2003:
When his national anthem had been played and it was then his host’s turn to have her national anthem played, President Try Sutrisno felt like he was at a football match. But as he heard President of Brazil Roseana Sarney singing the anthem, he appreciated the fact that he was now in South America in the land of that continent’s most prominent nation Brazil and its capital city, Brazilia.

After the ceremony was over Try and Sarney went and had talks at one of the Alvorada’s many meeting rooms, the Brazilian Presidential Palace’s, meeting halls. Try conveyed his respects, saying that Brazil’s being the first host of BRICI speaks to its international stature. Sarney said that the most prosperous region in the world in the 21st century will be Asia which includes, Indonesia, India, and China but Brazil wants to have a say too. Sarney expressed her “belief” in a multipolar world though this did not necessarily mean taking on the United States, but rather more nations, because they have the strength or having become stronger, being able to have a say on international matters as well. Try said that whatever international order makes it possible for Indonesia to proceed with its free and active foreign policy was good for him.

There was a photo-op and a joint press conference afterwards. Try got a lot of question his way. One question asked whether Try would commit to joining the BRICI the way the other 4 leaders had done. Another asked whether as the most “western-friendly” of the 5 nations to attend the BRICI Informal Summit, the nation with whom the West has placed a moratorium on the payment of debt and to whom the United States and the United Kingdom had given a military aid package in January, Try was going into “unfriendly territory”.

To the first question, Try only said that Indonesia’s presence at Brasilia that very moment has got to count for something as far as Indonesia’s commitment to BRICI was concerned. To the second question, Try said that Indonesia’s foreign policy principle is a Free and Active foreign policy and reminded that in January, he also received $1 billion credit to purchase Russian weapons.

24th May 2003:
The morning saw Try and the Indonesian delegation went to the Palacio de Planalto. The Indonesian delegation consisted of Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman, Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto, Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Trade Anthony Salim, Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo, Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat.

Sarney was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Lafer, Minister of Defence Gleuber Vieira, Minister of Finance Gustavo Franco, Minister of Planning, Budget, and Management Sergio Amaral, Minister of Development, Industry and Trade Pedro Parente, Minister of Agriculture Carlos Melles, and Chief of Staff to the President Sarney Filho

The two delegations agreed on the following, among others:

*Anthony and Parente signed an MoU establishing cooperation between the two nation to look for ways to facilitate the availability of Indonesian FMCGs in Brazil. Speaking at a press conference afterwards, Anthony said that Brazil is a large market that Indonesian FMCGs could not afford to ignore.

*Sarwono and Melles signed two agreements between Indonesia and Brazil in agriculture. The first agreement commits Brazil to import fertilizers from Indonesia, in particular phosphate fertilizer from Petrokimia Gresik. The second agreement committed Indonesia to increase its imports of beef from Brazil. Sarwono explained to the Indonesian press this was do diversify so that Indonesia would not become overly reliant on, for example, Australian and New Zealand beef.

*Siswono and Parente signed an agreement for Indonesia and Brazil to jointly facilitate and fund exchange visits by delegations from the IPTN and Embraer. Siswono said that IPTN and Embraer are at similar stages of development and can learn from one another.

*Dorodjatun and Amaral signed an agreement for both governments to facilitate a Brazilian-Indonesian Chamber of Commerce.

*Wiranto and Vieira signed an agreement for both governments to facilitate exchange visits between the Indonesian Navy and the Brazilian Navy. Wiranto said afterwards that the Brazilian Navy is a Navy conducting coast guard duties, the Indonesian Navy is similar though there is a small “coast guard” under the Department of Transportation and that there is much to learn from each other as far what the organizational options and possibilities are.

*Marzuki and Lafer signed an MoU which commits both Indonesia and Brazil to promote cooperation in each’s respective regional organization, Indonesia in ASEAN and Brazil in the Mercosur. As a first step the aim is to organize an ASEAN-Mercosur Informal Ministerial Meeting.

25th May 2003:
After an easy morning and noon, this being a Sunday, after lunch Try, accompanied by Marzuki and Edi, was scheduled to meet the leader who had arrived in Brazil before Try, the meeting held at the Planalto once again. The cameras snapped and took pictures as Try shook hands with President of the People’s Republic of China Luo Gan. The cameramen then left and the doors were closed. Luo Gan was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Jia Chunwang.

Luo congratulated Try for “defusing” the situation in Thailand, pointing to Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra backing down from wanting to appoint his cousin as Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army and then settling with an appointee acceptable to both him and the Thai Army in the last few weeks. Luo mischievously said that it would have been a “sticky” situation had things been allowed to deteriorate.

Try replied by congratulating Luo for what had occurred in the months since the latter had taken over as general secretary in November; facilitating the opening of diplomatic relations between Myanmar and North Korea and more nations switching their diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, most notably Costa Rica and Senegal and pushing more nations to make the switch.

“That China is advancing economically is obvious”, Try said “But what is even more obvious is that it is also advancing in power and influence.”

Luo chuckled at this.

“You speak eloquently about our progress, but these are empty words as far as I’m concerned”, Luo said causing Marzuki and Edi to wince “Your stance towards us has not changed.”

It was Try’s turn to chuckle now,

“And your stance towards us has not changed, Mr. President”, Try countered with a smile “Still attempting to control more seats around the ASEAN table, without having a seat at that table yourself.”

“And I suppose the Philippines is the United States’ effort at getting a seat at the ASEAN table?” Luo countered, a hint of fury behind his smile “Or is it only China that seeks to gain influence in ASEAN?”

Try did not answer as Luo pushed on.

“I don’t understand what precisely China has done to Indonesia to warrant this treatment”, Luo said, turning to Jia for support “I mean, we haven’t gotten in its way when it goes around looking to strengthen its military.”

Try winced at this.

“Our friends the Russians decides to give you $1 billion worth of credit to procure weapons and we don’t even raise a protest about it”, Luo continued, smiling when he saw that he struck a nerver “But when you, who has been and are so useful to the United States in the War on Terror, come to the United States and ask to procure certain weapons, others decide to disrupt the process not once but, the way things are looking, twice.”

“I had a similar conversation with your predecessor and it’s nice that you’re speaking from the same script”, Try said coldly “But should you be speaking about your coal supplier in this manner?”

“I am only speaking facts, am I not?” Luo said “You want to identify China as your main security threat and that’s fair enough, but do you think it’s safe to turn your back on Australia?”

Try had no answer.

“You have spent some time thinking about this dilemma, I see, ”, Luo said as he saw Try’s expression “Let me do my part to help you: whatever answer and whichever way you choose, I hope you will not put China in a position where it feels that its coal supply is under threat. We might just make common cause with Australia when it comes to dealing with you.”

Try kept a poker face at this. Which one was the bigger threat for Indonesia between China and Australia was one thing, but China and Australia joining hands so it can handle Indonesia…

Both Try and Luo then left Marzuki and Jia to discuss more technical details. Speaking only to express approval at what their ministers of foreign affairs agreed on: that when the WHO declares China to be SARS-free, Indonesia would immediately revoke its SARS-related precautions as it relates to China.

26th May 2003:
The BRICI unofficial summit got underway today at the Ulysses Guimares Convention Center in Brasilia. By this morning, both President of Russia Yevgeny Primakov and Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also arrived in Brasilia, the latter was especially happy to see Try. The five leaders sat around a round table with each respective delegates sitting on an outer circle mmediately behind the five leaders.

One by one, all of the leaders gathered made their speeches. Sarney spoke about how the leaders gathered represent the world’s five largest emerging economies.

Primakov, getting the most attention, won a round of applause when he said that he would not escalate Russian participation in assisting Yugoslavia beyond providing arms to Yugoslavia. Primakov said that the nations present are willing to continue and deepen economic ties with Russia was an important reason why he would not escalate Russian participation despite the “clear and unsanctioned” aggression being shown. To laughter, Primakov said that the United States and the West should be thanking BRICI for keeping Russia under control.

Vajpayee and Luo’s speech were parallels of their respective nations’ projected economic might in the 21st century. In their own ways, Vajpayee and Luo expressed India and China’s respective desires for a peaceful international environment to facilitate economic growth, India and China’s commitment to be responsible members of the international community, but also India and China’s desire to become more active and have more say in international affairs.

Try spoke last, calling himself the “least” in this grouping of emerging economies. He revisited the themes explored at the 2001 G-15 Summit which was hosted in Jakarta, namely about IMF conditionalities which nations in economic crises have to adhere to. Try said that leniency should be given so that in putting in place economic policies as part of the IMF’s conditionalities does not cause social unrest and that provided that the government in question is maintaining prudent fiscal and monetary policies, they should not be “pressured” to adhere to policy prescriptions on a “letter by letter” basis. Try called for the BRICI’s support in this, saying that Indonesia, Brazil, and Russia recovered from economic crises in 1998-1999 by departing from the IMF’s strict prescriptions but maintaining prudent economic management.

“Yes, I am saying this as someone who’s been given a moratorium on the payment of debt for 10 years”, Try said to some laugh from the audience.

“That’s part one done”, Marzuki said to Dorodjatun and Edi who were sitting beside him.

Part two waited until after lunch when the five leaders met again in a closed session, this time to finalize a text formally announcing the formation of BRICI. Having spoken last in the first session, Try this time had the chance to speak first.

“I thank the Federative Republic of Brazil and President Sarney for hosting this event and I congratulate BRICI for its impending formation”, Try said “At the same time, however, I respectfully decline this opportunity to speak just as I will, for the moment, pass on membership of BRICI. On the grounds that the occasion necessitating Indonesia’s membership of this organization has not occurred yet.”

The other four leaders then made speeches expressing their support for the formation of BRICI and their desire to become members. But once all have made their speeches, they immediately turned their attention to Try. At the leaders’ table, Sarney and Vajpayee immediately began persuading Try to reconsider his position. Around the leaders’ table, all the other delegations stared at the Indonesian delegation wondering what was going on. Primakov urged Indonesia to continue attending future summits even though it would not be a member. Try said that Indonesia will do that and remain committed to BRICI even though it was not a member.

The next question was in what capacity Indonesia will attend future BRICI Summits if not as a member. Try proposed that Indonesia attend an observer but this was unacceptable for Vajpayee and Sarney. Primakov proposed that Indonesia attend as an associate member but Try repeated that “for the moment, membership of BRICI” was not on the horizon.

From his corner of the leaders’ table, Luo kept quiet watching all this unfold. He had prepared a speech which would conclude with him declaring that China would only join BRICI if Indonesia would hold ASEAN+3 at the ASEAN Summit it was going to host that October and at future ASEAN Summits. The idea would be that the others at the table would pressure Indonesia to accept China’s demand so that they could have China with them at BRICI. But Try saying that he would not be a member rendered the speech moot.

Now Vajpayee proposed that Indonesia attend future BRICI summits as a dialogue partner and this time Try accepted. Sarney agreed, as did Primakov. And then everyone turned to Luo. Luo studied the expression on Try’s face, as though trying to guess his game.

“I believe it’s not a good start for this organization for a prospective core member to be ambiguous about it” Luo said, trying his luck “Either Indonesia will be a member or Indonesia will not be a member, it’s as simple as that. None of this “for the moment” nonsense.”

There was silence as Try and Luo stared each other down.

“Well, President Luo’, began Primakov “I believe even if Indonesia chooses to reject a BRICI membership, there must always still be a place for it in this organization. This organization’s basis is the fact that all of us here are the five largest emerging economies. If we have other nations join, that won’t work because it’s not going to be an organization with the largest emerging economies, is there?”

Luo’s glance bounced back and forth between Primakov and Try before he shifted in his seat and made his reply.

“I accept that Indonesia will for the moment, pass on membership of BRICI, and be a dialogue partner”, Luo replied, in tone which said that he did not necessarily approve but he was going along.

Not long after, the meeting ended. After the day’s sessions had finished, it fell to the ministers of foreign affairs to announced what had been agreed to that day while the rest of the delegations returned to their hotels. The organization would be known as BRIC with Indonesia as a dialogue partner rather than a member. Indonesia’s claim that it would not be a member “for the moment” and that the “occasion” for it to become a BRICI member had not arrived yet were repeated ad nauseam by Marzuki.

---
And so Try has officially touched down at all continents during his presidency.

The gap between ITTL IPTN and Embraer are probably not as big as in OTL. The big surprise for me doing research for this chapter is that after the OTL IPTN was drastically cut down as a result of the IMF’s requests in 1998, some of its engineers moved to Embraer https://www.alinea.id/nasional/n-250-dan-mimpi-habibie-yang-dibunuh-imf-b1Xm89nmX

Try’s stance towards BRICI and why he chose to take such a stance will be further elaborated in the next few chapters.

 

[GSD310]

27th May 2003:
President Try Sutrisno sat at his part of the table as he watched the discussion going on in front of him, realizing that his “not yet, the occasion had not arrived yet” to BRIC membership was going to be yesterday’s news. It was the second day of what is now dubbed as the BRIC Informal Summit and President of Brazil Roseana Sarney and Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee were each now proposing reform of the United Nations’ Security Council and in particular proposing that Brazil and India be permanent members of the United Nations’ Security Council.

Vajpayee and Sarney supported each other, Try as well as President of Russia Yevgeny Primakov supported Brazil and India’s intentions while President of China Luo Gan expressed agreement “in principle” but saying that he would give unqualified support if Africa also got a Security Council permanent seat.

After the session broke up and lunch, Try met with Vajpayee. Try was accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat while Vajpayee was accompanied by Minister of External Affairs Yashwant Sinha.

Vajpayee thanked Try for the support for India’s proposed reform of the United Nations Security Council, to which Try joked said that it was just a matter of time before the matter emerged in their conversations. Try asked what was the rationale behind China’s attitude and Vajpayee replied that “it would seem” that China does not want to share its status as the only Asian member of the Security Council with a nation that could become an economic rival.

The discussion went to India’s geopolitical situation with Sinha telling the tale. In Pakistan, President Aziz Khan continues to consolidate his position by backing and facilitating the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) Coalition’s victory at the Pakistani General Elections, securing the appointment of Fazal-u-Rehman as Prime Minister of Pakistan, and proposing constitutional amendments which would restore the president’s power to dismiss parliament and allow Aziz to hold on to the Chief of the Army Staff’s position. On the foreign policy front, Aziz has met with Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia to deepen its ties with that country and of course there is Pakistan’s close relationship with China.

“Putting aside Bangladesh for the moment, all three of you have nuclear capability and that’s concerning”, Try said.

“Of Pakistan and China, I am more concerned about Pakistan given President Aziz and Prime Minister Fazal’s stance and attitude on world affairs, most notably the War on Terror. China at the very least could be relied upon to keep Pakistan from escalating matters it does not want a situation that jeopardizes the general peace it needs for its economic development”, Vajpayee explained “We are bracing ourselves for a two-front scenario, diplomatically or otherwise, though less of China lumbering around behind our back would not hurt.”

There was silence in the room for a few seconds as they processed the information.

“Mr. Prime Minister, India has a close relationship to Russia, are they of any help in this situation?” asked Marzuki “And more broadly, what are the odds that the Chinese and the Russians are not without their own internal tensions?”

“That’s a great question”, Vajpayee said “You already got weapons coming your way from the Russians and yesterday it was Russia who told China to back off when it was asking you to be firm on whether or not you want to join BRIC and who said that there must always be a place for Indonesia in this organization, doesn’t that tell you something?”

“President Luo gave me the sense when we met that all was well between the two because China did not raise a complaint when Russia gave us credit to buy weapons”, Try said.

“That’s face-saving way of putting it, Mr. President”, Vajpayee said “But if President Primakov’s account is to be treated as an accurate first-hand factual account, the Chinese were not even told in advance about the weapons credit.”

Try nodded as he tried to comprehend it.

“I’ve always thought that it was Russia’s way of showing displeasure that China’s aid to Yugoslavia during this conflict would be of a non-military nature”, Try said “But that ultimately they’ll continue to present a united front to the world, especially to the United States.”

“You’re right that they’ll want to try to present a united front to the world but you’re also right, Mr. President and Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs, that there is tension between Russia and China”, Vajpayee said “I had dinner with President Primakov last night and he invited me to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).”

“Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan…” Marzuki muttered trying to remember the name of SCO’s members “My question is why would Russia want India in the SCO?”

“Because China’s lobbying for Russia to invite Pakistan to join the SCO, Russia’s having a hard time saying no, and Russia wants to have its own big addition to the SCO in response to China’s proposal of Pakistan”, Sinha explained.

“So influence is a potential cause of tension between Russia and China”, Marzuki said “Who’s in charge, who’s in charge, who’s setting the agenda…”

“That’s right, Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs”, said Sinha.

“What did you say in response to President Primakov?” asked Try.

“I told him that India’s not interested in the SCO right now”, Vajpayee replied “But actually my aim here is I don’t want Russia to be able to compensate Pakistan joining with Chinese support with India joining with Russian support. That would just restore balance in Russia and China’s relationship. The goal here is to make sure there’s a wedge between Russia and China.”

The discussion went on. Vajpayee expressed concerns that the United States will downgrade the War on Terror in importance because of its focus on Yugoslavia saying that Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda is still at large and that “for all we know”, Bin Laden is in Pakistan and nothing is being done about it. Sinha said, to Try’s agreement, that having a stable Afghanistan would help.

This led to Vajpayee bemoaning Australia’s “undermining” of Indonesia wanting to procure T-54/T-55s in Afghanistan because this was both depriving Afghanistan of aid and preventing Indonesia from increasing its military capability. Sinha offered the opportunity for Indonesia to send a delegation to India to survey possible military procurements but said that perhaps “in light of Indonesia’s recent military exercise”, exchanges to improve Indonesian officer and personnel capability would also be useful. Try smiled sourly while Marzuki thanked Vajpayee and Sinha for the offer on his behalf.

There was a gala dinner that night attended by the five delegations and involving speeches and toasts by the five leaders.

28th May 2003:
Try’s breakfast was with a roomful of BRIC business delegations including a business delegation from Indonesia. Delivering the keynote speech in this networking breakfast, Try said that even though Indonesia is an emerging economy, it is only seeking the improvement rather than the overturning of the existing economic order. The existing economic order needs to be improved upon if it is to provide more opportunity for more nations to be prosperous.

When asked why he did not want to join BRIC, Try repeated his lines that he would, for the moment, pass on membership because the occasion for it had not arisen yet.

Back at the Summit itself, BRIC’s formation was being underlined. The declaration announcing BRIC’s formation was finalized stating that they represented the world’s emerging economies and that their increased economic weight meant that they should be more involved in the decisionmaking when it comes to the global economy. The declaration expressed support for the United Nations Security Reform though it did not specify Brazil and India by name. Indonesia’s status as a dialogue partner was underlined, as is BRIC’s resolution to continue meeting with a summit to be held in Russia in 2004.

Unofficially the grouping was known as BRIC + 1 or BRIC + I in acknowledgment that Indonesia was not a member.

There was a “family photo” with all five leaders and then it was time to head off in separate directions. Try and Primakov apologized to each other for not finding the time to talk during the summit but said that they will see each other at the G-8.

Not long after all the fanfare and after calling on Sarney to farewell her, Try and the Indonesian delegation arrived at Brasilia’s Juscelino Kubitschek International Airport where they departed for their next destination.

29th May 2003:
It was just as well that the Netherlands also observed Ascension Day Holiday. After the long flight from Brazil, Try and his delegation could observe a light schedule and their day did not begin until a meet and greet lunch with the Indonesians living in the Netherlands at the Indonesian Embassy to the Netherlands. There was a loud applause when Try made his entrance and chants of “5 More Years! 5 More Years!” in relief that he had been re-elected.

Try found these Indonesians, living far from home to be knowledgeable about developments in Indonesia. One of the questions he received as he sat down to take questions was news from the last 24 hours that the Chairwoman of the PKPB Tutut Soeharto was offering Ginandjar Kartasasmita a PKPB membership. Try only replied that Ginandjar was a private citizen and that it was his decision and right to join whichever political party he chooses.

As he rested at his hotel, Try chatted with Minister of Agriculture Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and Edi. Sarwono reported that Leader of the PKPB in the DPR/Treasurer of the PKPB continues to gather the necessary support from within the PKPB to both request for an Extraordinary PKPB National Congress and be victorious in the contest for the chairmanship. Try told both Sarwono and Edi about his conversation with Minister of Home Affairs Sintong Panjaitan.

Edi tended to agree with Sintong’s advice that the aim is to ensure Tutut’s ultimate defeat rather than simply a victory for Akbar’s. Sarwono said that Akbar understands that Try would have his own considerations but is nevertheless hoping for Try to declare his support for Akbar somewhere along the line.

30th May 2003:
Try and Tuti began the day with a visited the Huis ten Bosch to pay their respects to Queen of the Netherlands Beatrix and have a photo-op. Try then departed to the Binnehof where he was welcomed by Prime Minister of the Netherlands Hans Dijskstal and Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Peter Balkenende. Try was joined by Marzuki Darusman and Edi Sudrajat.

As they had only met four months prior, Try and Dijkstal did not agree on anything new. Dijkstal would recall attempting to speak about progress in the “humanitarian intervention” in Yugoslavia but that Try would have none of that, focusing instead on Afghanistan. Try said that Afghanistan needed to be bolstered so that it had the capacity to fight the remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda including with aid and that in Indonesia’s case, the aid it is able to provide Afghanistan is to procure the Soviet T-54/T-55 tanks and pay the Afghanistan government with cash. Try concluded by saying this was a win-win situation for Indonesia, Afghanistan, and all those who participated in Operation Enduring Freedom if only those “who dislike to see such things” would get out of the way.

Dijkstal was thrown off-balance and it fell to Balkenende to explain the situation. Saying that because of the United Kingdom’s non-participation, Australia had committed more troops to Yugoslavia, that as a result “they have more of a say” within the United States’ coalition, and that they are not comfortable with Indonesia purchasing such weapons. Balkenende then conveyed Australia’s sentiments in coalition deliberations, namely “What are Indonesia’s intentions trying to get more weapons on top of the military aid given by the United States and Australia and the weapons credit by Russia just a few short months ago?”

“We are always on the record as saying that our economy is at a place where we can afford such defense spending and that we are trying to have a level of defense spending that reflects our current position in international affairs whereas previously our defense spending was low”, Marzuki replied “To that we add that military aid and weapons credit does not mean we will not be spending more on weapons, four months ago was an old fiscal year, now we’re in a new financial year.”

“Indonesia feels aggrieved that we’re trying to do things the right way by communicating with those participating in Enduring Freedom, including the Netherlands when expressing our interest in the tanks” Try said “We could have just turned around and gone to the Russians, they probably have a larger stock of those tanks, but we didn’t. I’m just wondering if doing things the right way is the wrong way to go?”

Dijkstal and Balkenende glanced at each other as though to note what Try had said so that it could be passed along to the White House.

Attempting to change the tone of the meeting, Dijkstal said with a broad smile that the Netherlands did not have the reservations that “others” have about Indonesia procuring military equipment and asked Try if Indonesia would be interested in Damen’s products to add to the 4 Sigma Corvettes already delivered. Try was politely non-commital saying that Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto was at Damen’s shipyard at that very moment and that he would wait for Wiranto’s report.

Not long after that the meeting ended and Try attended Friday Prayer at Al-Hikmah Mosque before returning to his hotel to have lunch. As luck would have it, Wiranto was the only one of his delegation who had returned; having spent the entire morning at Damen. Try told Wiranto what had happened and how Dijkstal suddenly turned “salesman” and started asking him if he wanted more Damen ships.

“It’s not only Damen, Mr. President”, Wiranto reported “In Brazil it was Avibras and I’ve got meetings with lined up with people from defense ministries and the defense industry alike at the G-8.”

“So the chances of us getting those tanks from Afghanistan are slim then, Wir?” asked Edi.

“It’s very likely we’ll be notified of this at the G-8”, said Wiranto “But as I’ve said, when we communicated our interest in those Soviet tanks to the participants of Operation Enduring Freedom that we advertised to a lot of people we’re on the lookout for weapons. This on top of other pieces of information such as that we’re increasing defense spending, that we’re looking to strengthen our military and that the President has another 5 years.”

Try turned to Marzuki, non-verbally asking for his opinion.

“Weaponry and military equipment, that’s where we can try to drive a wedge between Australia and the rest of the West” Marzuki said “Let’s try to make the United States at least feel annoyed that they’ve listened to Australia twice, the first time on the F-16s and the second time on these tanks, and the consequence is us looking for weapons from sources they don’t necessarily approve.

And if we buy Russian, we’ll be trying to drive a wedge between Russia and China too. Russia can’t ignore an market for its weapons and there’s the added of bonus of showing its independence vis and vis China.”

There was silence between the four.

“Well, that we got invited to the big kids’ table is a lucky break for our nation”, Try “Let’s make sure it counts.”

---
Much as in OTL, India and Brazil are advocating UNSC reforms. Much as in OTL, China is not warm towards the idea of India in the UNSC.

For those missing my “around the world update”, we get a mini-update of what happens in South Asia specifically in Pakistan. Aziz Khan taking steps parallel to that of Musharraf in OTL to consolidate power except it reflects his leanings.

On OTL India’s “two-front” mindset https://piyushchaubey.com/uploads/pdfs/bbcffbc80fc4275c69f3285e7a354d9e.pdf

The significance of Marzuki being the one to ask about Russia in the meeting with Vajpayee is based on information regarding Marzuki’s life where some interesting trivia could be found:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzuki_Darusman)

-He’s the son of Suryono Darusman a diplomat and Indonesian Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1973-1976)

-He spent his formative years in Europe following his father around on the latter’s postings. According to Tempo, he event went to university in East Germany https://majalah.tempo.co/read/memoa...n-didepak-dari-dpr-karena-ingin-jadi-presiden

OTL Marzuki went on to become a human rights advocate/activists and Attorney General under Wahid so we don’t really get to see him talk about foreign policy except in the context of human rights but it’s intriguing what possible thoughts or opinions he has on foreign affairs because of the time he had spent in Europe and seeing his father being ambassador to the USSR.

Uzbekistan is not in ITTL SCO. It has chosen to remain to be part of GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, and Moldova).

I wanted Try to visit a nation which is a part of the US coalition en route to the G-8 so that he can express his grievances. It came down to Spain and the Netherlands. My gut told me to go with the Netherlands. I’m saving the United Kingdom for the G-8 itself.

Why is Indonesia attending the G-8? Because it is the practice of the G-8 to invite certain non G-8 nations to G-8 summits (http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/oxford/g8rg-ox-objectives2007.pdf)

 

[GSD310]

31st May 2003:
President Try Sutrisno began the day at his hotel by recording an interview with NPO 1 which he used to promote Indonesia’s economy. After that he huddled together with Chief of BAKIN Ari Sudewo and State Secretary Edi Sudrajat. Ari reported that he must rush back to Jakarta because Chief of ABRI Intelligence Agency’s condition continues to decline and that he might not “have very long”. Edi said that Amirul should have gotten a liver transplant but Ari said that this was too late.

“And any way he might not like the disruption to his work figuring what GAM, OPM, and FRETILIN are up to”, Ari said “I told him to get some rest but from what I hear and he’s working from bed to analyze the information we got at Gabon.”

Try looked at Edi.

“Tell him to stop working and start spending his time with his family”, Try said “He can consider that to be an order from me…”

“Yes, Mr. President”, Ari said “It’s just that…

“He’s done enough, he needs to spend time with his family in however long he has left”, Try said “There’s no need for him to continuously monitor the OPM, the GAM, and the FRETILIN and whatever individual plans they have…”

When the three were finished however, they walked out of their private meeting to the Indonesian delegation sitting around the television. Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman began telling the others to make way for Try. On the screen were Premier of China Wu Bangguo and Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak shaking hands looking very happy.

“Malaysia just got 100 Type 88 Tanks and 12 Shenyang J-8 Aircrafts from the People’s Republic of China, Mr. President”, reported Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto.

It was in that mood that Ari took the long flight back home to Jakarta while Try and his delegation took the much shorter flight south to Geneva, Switzerland where they were driven just over the French border to Evian-les-Bains where the G-8 Summit was being held. The Indonesian press following along were told that the government continues to study the situation.

After resting for a few hours, it was off to the Evian Resort which was to function at the venue of the summit the next day. There, Try accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman and Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti met with a G-8 leader who had arrived early, Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin. Martin brought along Minister of Foreign Affairs John Manley and Minister of Finance Jim Peterson to the meeting.

Try found Martin to be pleasant but having a set of determined opinions behind the smiles. Though expressing happiness that Indonesia had not joined BRIC and hoping that the “occasion” never arises that Indonesia would join this organization, he said he “expected nothing less” from the nation that got a moratorium on the repayment of debt for 10 years for its support on the War On Terror. Try countered by gently reminding that this moratorium has been guaranteed by the White House and that the War On Terror is handicapped without the largest Islamic nation on the planet on board.

Martin countered that the guaranteed moratorium did not mean Canada would not urge Indonesia for further economic reform and to be concerned about the way Indonesia is using the additional funds from the moratorium. At this point, Peterson took over with the “urging” for more economic reform to mean that Indonesia should continue reducing tariffs as per its commitment to APEC as opposed to prioritizing AFTA. Dorodjatun said that Indonesia is committed to both APEC and AFTA but that it was prioritizing the resumption of AFTA because AFTA was the agreement that had previously been in effect.

Then it was Manley’s turn asking why Indonesia was looking to procure more weapons which got the by now Indonesian standard response (“We have been underspending on defense…") from Marzuki.

“What my Minister of Foreign Affairs is saying is, we’re too far away from Canada to be a threat no matter how many military equipment we procure, Mr. Prime Minister”, Try said causing Martin to laugh.

“Those who are closer to you tell me that they think differently, Mr. President”, Martin said with a smile.

“Well since you’re speaking for them, you can tell them I’ll be sure to watch their reaction to today’s developments”, Try said.

The meeting did not last long beyond that.

1st June 2003:
Try shook hands with President of France Alain Juppe and posed for pictures when he arrived to the Evian Resort for the G-8 Summit. He took his seat with the other invitees and found himself chatting with President of Mexico Vicente Fox. President of China Luo Gan also attended and Try nodded his head at him from afar to greet him. Luo nodded his head in acknowledgment and Try thought his smile looked a little smug.

The geopolitical impact of Malaysia procuring weapons from China far from the main topic at hand as the G-8 Summit underway. Juppe spoke about there being a multipolar world and called for dialogue and cooperation between the various “poles” of the world. But Juppe’s conciliatory message was quickly overshadowed by President of the United States John McCain who invited all those “who may have reservations” about the humanitarian intervention in Yugoslavia to participate in the reconstruction of Montenegro. This was countered by President of Russia Yevgeny Primakov who, while re-iterating that he would not go beyond providing military aid to Yugoslavia, reminded the summit that the ground invasion of Yugoslavia has not been sanctioned by the United Nations much less by NATO.

When the plenary session broke up, Try left the plenary hall to the room being used by the Indonesian delegation. Marzuki instructed a staff to play a tape that had only been recorded minutes earlier. It was a broadcast of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Parliamentary Question time and Prime Minister of Australia Peter Costello was asked by a member of his own coalition about the government’s thoughts on Malaysia’s procurement of weapons from China.

“Simply put, Australia has good and constructive relations with China and Australia has good and constructive relations with Malaysia”, Costello said “So for these two to not only have good constructive relations but also to solidify these relations is a positive development for Australia and for Australia’s strategic position.”

After lunch as he went to his next meeting, a group of reporters and cameramen came to Try to ask what he thought about Malaysia’s procurement of Chinese weapons.

“What military equipment to procure and where to procure them from is a matter for the Malaysians”, Try said “Indonesia takes note accordingly of this development and hopes others in the region will take note accordingly.”

There was a question about Australia’s response but Try brushed it off, repeating that Indonesia takes notes of developments.

From there, Try took Marzuki and Edi to a meeting with McCain who was accompanied by Secretary of State Richard Williamson, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Richard Wolfowitz.

McCain congratulated Try on his re-election and expressed his belief that Indonesia would continue to be a bulwark against Islamic extremism. He also thanked Indonesia for keeping a “low-key” stance during the first few months of the humanitarian intervention and that the weapons promised in January 2003 would arrive as quickly as possible. And then came the news that Try had been expecting, that perhaps Indonesia’s interest in the T-54/T-55 tanks in Afghanistan “would not be advisable” due to transport factors saying that Afghanistan did not have the means to transport the tanks.

There was silence in the room for a while though all eyes now were on Try. Try could see, even on McCain’s face, that what was just said was a piece of diplomatic sugarcoating.

“I accept it if would not be possible for Indonesia to procure certain equipment, Mr. President”, Try said “I do find it difficult, however, if the reason why Indonesia cannot procure equipment is because there are those who don’t like the idea of Indonesia strengthening its military. Because it’s twice now that this has happened first over the F-16s and now this; and it’s galling that the same people who has tripped over twice are now saying it’s all right for others to get weapons.”

McCain massaged his head and then he let loose.

“Mr. President, I have my priorities and I have to make sure that my decisions serve those priorities”, McCain said “The Australians has now sent over more personnel and equipment to Yugoslavia when it became apparent that the United Kingdom will not participate, the Australians are keeping China’s involvement to very negligible levels because they have the leverage of coal over China. If they’re concerned about something, I have to address it because Australia helps me serve my priorities. And if their concern is you then it’s simple, I have to address it…it’s as simple as that.”

Marzuki and Edi felt Try coming up with a response, tried to intervene so that he would not open his mouth but Try beat them to the punch.

“If Indonesia cannot procure equipment in places where Australia can exert its influence”, Try said “Then we will look elsewhere and not necessarily in places you will like, Mr. President.”

“What you say is redundant because you’ve already gone to the Russians and have gotten something, it’s redundant for you to say what you have just said”, McCain snapped as his face went red “And yet here you are without anyone standing between your Air Force and getting a Sukhoi Wing. You don’t think there wasn’t anybody in my ear trying to tell me that there should be consequences for that?

What about last week, you in Brazil saying that you’re not going to join BRIC because the “circumstances” hasn’t emerged yet? By “circumstances” you mean if something happens to the weapons that were promised to you earlier in the year or something happens to the debt moratorium, you’ll join BRIC and start singing from their multipolar emerging economy hymn sheet, right? You might as well just say it out loud that you’re using BRIC as a sword of Damocles. You don’t think there wasn’t anybody in my ear telling me that I should just cancel that debt moratorium at that point?”

Try winced at the fact that McCain had figured out his gameplan.

“Yes, Indonesia is a valuable partner in the War On Terror and yes, in this situation there is something unjust about the way Indonesia is being prevented from strengthening its military” McCain explained “But make no mistake, I’ve already been more than fair with Indonesia. More than fair. Don’t come in here and say otherwise and threaten that you’re going to buy Russian or Iranian or hell, maybe even Iraqi for all I know…”

Marzuki and Williamson took over the meeting at that point as they formulated a statement about a “frank and productive” discussion between their two presidents. McCain looked impatient and looked like he had more useful things to do than try to mediate between Indonesia and Australia.

“Kena semprot deh”, Try muttered to Edi as the meeting came to a close.

Try laughed it off but Edi knew that Try was considering this to be a bad day already. Having the President of the United States yell at him was nothing for it was China selling Malaysia weapons with Australia apparently cheering them on was the real thing causing him stress.

---
I wanted China to increase its influence in SE Asia through Malaysia, counter Indonesia, and solidify its relationship with Malaysia. Considering Indonesia is strengthening its military what better way to respond than by selling Malaysia some weapons. In the OTL of course the MBT is the PT-91 Pendekar.

Canada’s hostile, the United States has bigger priorities, who’s going to help Indonesia’s cause at the G-8?

 

[GSD310]

1st June 2003:
After the scolding by President of the United States John McCain, it was the denunciation by Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia. President Try Sutrisno sat through it as Khaleda first attacked him for causing “Islam to be persecuted and blamed” as a result of his stance in the aftermath of 9/11. And then in her capacity as Chair of the NAM, Khaleda then criticized him for “standing by and doing nothing” as the United States and its coalition conducted an unauthorized attack on Yugoslavia. When the meeting was over, Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman could only look sympathetically at him while State Secretary Edi Sudrajat gave him a pat in the shoulder.

The economic members of the delegation did better. As Try walked down to his next meeting Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Minister of Industry Siswono Yudohusodo, and Minister Trade Anthony Salim, reported about their meeting with the various economic delegations at the summit.

They said that they were making good progress promoting Indonesia’s Legal Timber Certification Scheme and encouraging governments not to import Indonesian timber which has not carried such a certification. Dorodjatun said that when they met with President of the European Commission Romano Prodi the latter said that the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan is due to be completed this year and invited Indonesia to comply with the action plan once it had been agreed.

His mood briefly improved, Try took Marzuki and Dorodjatun to a meeting with Prime Minister of Japan Yukio Hatoyama, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ichiro Ozawa, and Minister of Economy, Industry, and Trade Yoshihiko Noda.

The conversation began pleasantly enough. Hatoyama told Try that Japan not only supported Indonesia’s Legal Timber Certification but even volunteered Japan to assist with the promotion of this scheme to other nations importing timber from Indonesia. At the same time he reminded Try that Indonesia had not signed the Kyoto Protocol.

Dorodjatun and Noda signed an agreement where Japan would be sending electric train carriages to Indonesia to be used as part of Jakarta’s commuter railway network. Dorodjatun and Noda also provided an update of existing projects and aid programs in particular the technical assistance being given to the feasibility study of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport’s 3rd Terminal. Hatoyama asked Try when will the construction of the new terminal start and Try said that it will begin at Repelita VIII.

The conversation took a turn when it veered from economic cooperation. Try repeated what he said to Hatoyama the last time they met at APEC 2002, that Indonesia could not try to control which nations Japan became friends with, including China. But now he added whether with the United States’ attention distracted by Yugoslavia, Japan as the United States’ main ally in Asia and as the second largest economy, would “step up” and check China. Marzuki added to Try’s flattery saying that if this was a multipolar world, then certainly Japan would be one of the “poles”.

Ozawa began to look at Try dismissively while Hatoyama remained pleasant as he waited for Try to finish.

“Japan and Indonesia’s longstanding relationship has always been based to its close economic relations and this government acknowledges that and will always be committed to the investments that has and currently been made in Indonesia by Japanese businesses and by commitments made by past Japanese government even if said government originated from a different political party”, Hatoyama said “But what you have just asked would require me to deviate from the foreign policy goal I have set for this government, that it would have an Asia-first foreign policy and building closer relations with Asian nations including yourself and China.”

“Would you not agree, Mr. Prime Minister, that by adopting your present stance towards China and with the United States being focused on Yugoslavia and the War of Terror, that the only beneficiary in this situation is China?” asked Marzuki.

“Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs,”, Ozawa replied on Hatoyama’s behalf, faintly patronizing “Japan’s relationship in the past has always been centered on the United States, it is perhaps inevitable that when seeking to build a more balanced approach that in the interim, it will look as though Japan is becoming close to China. And if I may say so, you talk about Japan acting like a “pole” in the multipolar world, well this is the way to do it by having a foreign policy independent to that of the United States.

Try and Marzuki nodded in acknowledgment and then they turned from Ozawa to Hatoyama for an answer. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds while Ozawa and Noda smiled and Hatoyama said nothing.

Filling in the silence, Ozawa went on the offensive. Putting Try and Marzuki at ease by wishing Indonesia well as the chair and host of the ASEAN Summit that year, Ozawa asked whether given the rhetoric of the past few years, Japan’s attendance “was still required at the ASEAN+3”. This received the intended effect as Try and Marzuki stumbled to explain that Indonesia’s policy as regards ASEAN is that it is not subject to outside interference, prompting Ozawa to ask indignantly whether Japan’s participation in the ASEAN+3 constituted “outside interference”.

It was at this point that Hatoyama decided to get involved in the conversation, by beginning to summarize the discussion and signalling to bring the meeting to a close.

“Whatever happens geopolitically, I think we should be fine economically, Mr. President”, said Dorodjatun when they were back in the Indonesian delegation’s meeting room “Our two nations’ economic ties are too deep for the government of Japan to do anything unconstructive…they at the very least will have to face the ire of their business community if they try to mess around with our economic ties.”

“I agree with that”, Try said before turning to Marzuki “But geopolitically and strategically, things do look concerning.”

“Yes, Mr. President”, Marzuki said “Whatever their explanation, it can’t be doubted that this government’s foreign policy favors China and that they, for the moment, cannot be relied upon strategically. They’re not due for another election until 2006.”

“That situation in there, Ozawa being the dominant voice on foreign affairs, what’s happening there?” began Try.

“Minister Ozawa’s nickname is the Shadow Shogun, Mr. President”, Marzuki replied “That should tell you who holds the real power in the Japanese government right now regardless of Prime Minister Hatoyama being officially in charge.”

Try massaged his head as he thought things through.

“It’s just that I think we need partners and allies that are not within ASEAN but still within the Asian region for our purposes”, Try said “We have one in India, I always thought Japan would be another one. We can build the deep ties that we have with Japan in the economic field to the strategic level but I guess not…”

“It doesn’t have to be Japan, Mr. President”, Marzuki encouraged “Let’s put aside the sakura flowers for now and start thinking about ginsengs…”

It was late afternoon when Try, accompanied by Marzuki Darusman and Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto, arrived for his next appointment. Emerging out of the meeting room was his next appointment’s previous appointment, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown. Try and Brown shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, Try getting the sense that Brown was curious to speak to him.

When Try got into the meeting room, President of Russia Yevgeny Primakov and Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov were watching a television screen broadcasting President of the United States John McCain and President of China Luo Gan shaking hands with each other. Ivanov was annoyed that the protocol officer had not informed them that the Indonesians were coming and that Primakov had “been caught watching” the television.

Primakov however, took a more philosophical view. He began the meeting by saying with a long talk criticizing those who think that the Multipolar World is the New Cold War and ridiculed McCain as a “Cold Warrior seeking to contain the influence of the Soviet Union” and probably thinking he could play the China card because he had met with Luo Gan. Primakov also ridiculed McCain’s effort to court the Baltic States saying that he was playing an “old game” trying to get the support from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Primakov contrasted this to the “new game” he was playing by signing the agreement he had signed in late 2002 with Germany to develop a Northern European gas pipeline (“Let him have Repse, Kallas, as well as Adamkus and Kubilius because I have gotten Schroder.”)

While once again expressing Indonesia’s happiness that Russia had not escalated its involvement in Yugoslavia beyond providing military aid Try asked Primakov whether Russia would not be better off focusing on its economy. Primakov replied that Yugoslavia is an ally and given that the so-called humanitarian intervention had not been sanctioned by the UN and NATO, the United States must be shown that its will “does not reign supreme” and that it cannot just throw its weight around.

“Permit me to ask a question of my own, if I may, Mr. President”, Primakov said “The President of Yugoslavia mentions you quite a bit in his conversations with me. I was astounded that you warranted a mention because Indonesia is so far away from Yugoslavia but President Milosevic said that he was surprised that another multi-ethnic nation with a history of separatist rebellion like Indonesia could not see that this sets a precedent; if a government takes action on behalf of territorial integrity against those trying to illegally secede, they get a “humanitarian intervention” from the West in response.”

“President Milosevic believes this humanitarian intervention aims to further carve up Yugoslavia, Mr. President?” asked Try.

“Well, the President of Montenegro has claimed mandate to hold an independence referendum and I am wary of Kosovo’s intentions, which is why I have withdrawn Russian forces from the KFOR”, Primakov explained “But I am curious as to your thoughts on this.”

Try kept a poker face though all that he had learned about the OPM, GAM, and Fretilin recently floated in his mind.

“There’s no separatist movements in Indonesia at the moment”, Try declared “They have not shown their face in recent years and have no reason to show their face because the regions where such movements have emerged have received more autonomy and more economic development than they could imagine under my predecessor.”

“And if they still show their face after all of that?” Primakov asked with a wry smile.

“Let’s just say they’ll be making a mistake”, Try said.

The discussion moved on from there and Wiranto’s presence already telegraphed Try’s intentions for that meeting for Primakov who asked what kind of equipment are they looking for that they were willing to dig around in Afghanistan. Try and Wiranto told Primakov what they were after. Primakov only chuckled when he heard this.

“Yes, whatever shortcomings you have on the manpower side, you are serious about strengthening your military capability” Primakov commented before firmly saying “But at the moment Russia is not in a position to offer anything to you from the standpoint of military equipment.”

Try and Wiranto both nodded their acknowledgments.

“This because first and foremost, Russia’s priority when it comes to weapons production this year will be itself, in the event that the other side chooses to be the one to escalates, and Yugoslavia to which it is providing and will continue to provide military aid”, Primakov continued “And secondly, because I know what game you are trying to play…I indulged Vladimir Vladimirovich and gave Indonesia a $1 Billion military equipment credit earlier in the year but now I will tell you what I told him; that China is Russia’s main strategic partner and that nothing must come in the way between Russia and China.”

As the meeting wrapped up, Try chuckled to himself and wondered if Primakov saw his attempt at trying to divide and conquer from a mile away.

When the meeting was finished, Primakov and Ivanov were talking excitedly Marzuki because the latter’s father had been Indonesia’s Ambassador to the Soviet Union in the 70s and Marzuki was asking them questions about how things were in Moscow and could mention things that showed that he had been to Russia before. Primakov however could see that Try and Wiranto were feeling a bit left out and moved over to them to leave Marzuki and Ivanov chatting together.

“Having said all that I have said to you earlier”, Primakov said “I just want to add if it is weapons that you’re looking for, there is a place where you can find them aplenty and the person in charge there might just let things go at a cheaper price because they’re cash-strapped over there.”

Try and Wiranto listened to Primakov, all the while trying to figure out who or what he was talking about.

“Keep in mind, though”, Primakov said with a tone of caution “You go to this place and get military equipment from it, there are a lot of people who will get angry at you, including those who have made it possible for you to go without paying debt for the next 10 years. No amount of threatening that the occasion has arrived for you to join BRIC as a full member can save you then.”

Try laughed again as another world leader revealed that they have figured out his game. Primakov shook Try’s hand and then went away to his next appointment.

“Who or what is President Primakov talking about?” asked Try to a thoughtful-looking Wiranto once Primakov was out of earshot.

“Iraq, Mr. President”, Wiranto replied “Saddam Hussein…”

---
I daresay Khaleda Zia’s rant is not merely her expressing Bangladesh’s opinion of things but also how Indonesia might be seen in some of the international forums we have not seen in a while, in this case the OIC (Last summit 2000, next summit 2003 in Malaysia) and the NAM (Last summit 2001, next summit 2004 in TBD).

“Pro-China” is the last thing Japan's pro-China politicians would describe themselves as. They always describe themselves as pursuing an “equidistant” policy between the United States and China or wanting an Asia-Centric foreign policy or an independent foreign policy but never “Pro-China”.

The foreign policy which Hatoyama and Ozawa are pursuing are their OTL foreign policy brought forward a few years https://eastasiaforum.org/2010/08/03/the-decay-of-the-angel-the-unraveling-of-japans-foreign-policy/

Noda’s the quiet one of the bunch but when he was prime minister in OTL, he was worried about claiming sovereignty over Senkaku Islands out of fear this would not be received well in Beijing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshihiko_Noda#Senkaku_Islands

There are pro-Chinese politicians in the LDP just as they are anti-Chinese politicians in the DJP but this government is very much friendly towards China.

Primakov hints that the Baltics here are filled with Pro-US governments and are being brought into the US fold.

Repse is the PM of Latvia (taking over within a similar timeframe as OTL) while Laar in Estonia manages to cling on to power because the emergence of Primakov causes his coalition so stick around for longer though in the 2003 election his party loses the election and he gets replaced as PM by Siim Kallas who will get a longer run unlike in OTL. Meanwhile Adamkus gets re-elected in 2003 in Lithuania unlike in OTL and Kubilius gets a longer run as PM of Lithuania. Basically this part of the world is wary of Russia’s intentions ITTL with Primakov running around.

There’s a clue here about the internal dynamics between Primakov and “Vladimir Vladimirovich” about how Russia should relate to China. I think ITTL “Vladimir Vladimirovich” will not be exactly the same as his OTL counterpart.

This gas pipeline is of course ITTL’s version of Nord Stream I. In OTL the agreement was 2005, in ITTL it is 2002. Schroder signing the agreement with Primakov reflects his OTL version and his favorable attitude towards Russia.

Primakov and Saddam’s OTL relationship https://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/02/23/sprj.irq.primakov.reut/index.html

 

[GSD310]

2nd June 2003:
The skies were green and the weather pleasant as President Try Sutrisno stood and watched the G-8 leaders take their photo. Dressed in his suit, tie and peci for the occasion, Try waited his turn with all of the other invitees.

“Fancy yourself standing up there one day, Mr. President?” asked the voice behind him tapping him on the shoulder.

Try turned around and found himself shaking hands with President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma.

“Just trying to muddle my way through at the moment, Mr. President”, Try replied.

“Isn’t that always the case?” said Kuchma before going on to say a line that Try knew was Kuchma’s favorite “It’s only a multipolar world for those aspiring to be “poles”, the rest of us have to make do with multi-vectorism.”

An usher told the G-8 Invitees that it was their turn to join in the photograph. Try walked with Kuchma, the latter telling him that Ukraine had applied to the NAM for its observer status to be upgraded to a membership. Try said that Indonesia would welcome that as he took his position for the official photograph.

When the photographs were finished, the invitees were keen to get some informal facetime with the G-8 leaders. Try made eye contact with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown who looked like he wanted to say something. But Try's attention would be distracted by an elderly man wearing long billowing robes a keffiyeh on his head. Try approached him and allowed the older man to hold on to his arm. The older man’s aide moved towards him but the older man signalled him not to come closer. and allow him to walk with Try.

“There are cameras about, Mr. President”, said Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Abdullah “I hope this doesn’t cause a misunderstanding with Tehran.”

“Indonesia being friends with Saudi Arabia doesn’t mean it’s becoming the enemy of Iran” Try said “Just as Indonesia becoming friends with Iran doesn’t mean that it’s becoming the enemy of Saudi Arabia.”

Abdullah tried to pass off the Aramco contractors taking a long time to return to Indonesia and the complaints about Indonesia’s BAKIN keeping surveillance on LIPIA as misunderstandings as a result of “others in Riyadh”. Despite apologizing however, Abdullah made the argument that Saudi Arabia had not experienced a terrorist attack after 9/11, this despite the government having not taken “harsh measures” such as those in Indonesia or Egypt against suspected terrorists.

“I hope one does not have to wait until they are struck with a terrorist attack to begin taking action, Your Royal Highness”, Try said “And secondly, I know you are not as pro-American as the King and you want to show your independence from the United States but not taking a decisive stance, not taking a decisive action against those claiming to act on behalf of our faith is not the way to go. If anything, Your Royal Highness, taking action will give you that independence to chart your own way.”

Abdullah was silent as he thought things through as he and Try continued on their walk.

“Coming from someone who has taken said decisive stance and action and has gone on to buy Russian weapons and positioned themselves one step away from joining a bloc of emerging economies, this is a point worth considering”, Abdullah said “But what can I do concretely, Mr. President?”

“What you do within your own borders are your concern, Your Royal Highness”, replied Try.

“Perhaps Saudi Arabia can provide aid to Afghanistan?” enquired Abdullah.

“Well, I regret to say Your Royal Highness that the Iranians have a headstart there”, Try replied.

There was a flash of anger in Abdullah’s eyes but Try knew what he was doing: he wanted Saudi Arabia and Iran to compete with each other in fighting extremism.

“But perhaps there are other ways to help”, Try said “Perhaps you’re strategically located to apply pressure on them and tell President Aziz Khan that Pakistan would have more credibility if they made a real effort at making sure there are no Al Qaeda elements hiding in Pakistan rather than making a claim that there are no terrorists and expecting everyone to trust them based on that.”

Try and Abdullah parted ways as they arrived back at the summit venue. The plenary session, led by President of France Alain Juppe, discussed the possibility of forming a forum discuss matters related to the global economy. To the laughter of those in attendance, President of United States John McCain and President of Russia Yevgeny Primakov said that this forum should not be the G-8; the former arguing that the forum needs to have permanent membership instead of permanent members plus those the year’s chair feel like inviting, the latter saying that the G-8 and BRIC are separate organizations. The meeting responded more positively to Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin’s suggestion that such a forum should consist of the world’s largest economies.

Finding the world’s foremost economic powers debating and arguing, Try got bored and though he kept watching things unfold in front of him, he found himself listening behind him to the front row of the Indonesian delegation debating about what Primakov had told him the previous day. Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto was all for buying weapons from Iraq if it could meant a “bargain” could be had while Minister of Economics and National Development Planning Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said that this could “risk everything” as far as the West's response was concerned. Minister of Foreign Affairs Marzuki Darusman’s stance was somewhere in between of Wiranto and Dorodjatun's/

“What if we keep Iraq as a card in our back pocket for now? All things considered, it’s very unlikely there’ll be any regime change over there soon” weighed in State Secretary Edi Sudrajat “Only and if only things become dire and desperate that we reach into our back pocket and we use that card.”

There were murmurs of agreement from Marzuki, Wiranto, and Dorodjatun. Try himself also agreed with what Edi said.

It was after lunch that Try, accompanied by Marzuki Darusman and Edi Sudrajat, went to have his meeting with Prime Minister of Italy Francesco Rutelli, the latter being accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Piero Fassino. Try and Rutelli talked closer economic ties, with Try asking for Italy’s assistance to help Indonesian coffee producers and exporters fulfill EU imported coffee standards. Rutelli in turn asked for the Indonesian government to facilitate motorcycle manufacturer Piaggio’s application to open a factory and for insurance provider Generali to begin operations in Indonesia, saying that the two respective companies see Indonesia as a bright investment prospects.

Rutelli then went on to speak more strategically. Rutelli that Italy and Indonesia both share a close relations with Iran and thanked Indonesia for doing its part. Try said that both Italy and Indonesia must continue to build closer relations with Iran to create a more conducive international environment. Rutelli expressed his desire of realizing an international gathering which takes “Dialogue Among Civilizations” as its theme, dialogue among civilizations being an idea put forward and espoused by President of Iran Muhammad Khatami. Try expressed his support, saying that Khatami having to leave office in slightly more than 2 years is a “natural deadline” before which this event can be held.

The conversation went on to other topics. Marzuki asked for Italy’s point of view on the “Humanitarian Intervention” in Yugoslavia, whereupon Fassino provided an account of Italy’s involvement, saying that much like in 1999, allowed the United States and its coalition to use Italian air bases. Italian military personnel had not been involved in the ground invasion but that they have now been deployed now that Montenegro has been liberated to help maintain security and provide aid on the ground. Rutelli then quipped that while strategically and security-wise Italy has aligned itself with the United States, it sees itself as being economically tied to and supporting the EU, with the intention of helping it become an economic power and, in turn, leverage that for geopolitical purposes.

Rutelli then asked Try whether there were any Italian-made military equipment that Indonesia might be interested in, half-jokingly saying that the Australians “don’t have any leverage here” to attempt to prevent a sale from happening. Try said that he was interested in the 2 Assad-Class corvettes that remains out of the 6 which Italy had produced for Iraq in the 80s and of which 4 had been purchased by Malaysia. Rutelli confirmed that this was the message he got from the Ministry of Defence.

From Rutelli, Try went to a G-8 Business Summit event attended by businessmen from the G-8 countries where he delivered a speech about Indonesia’s economy and promoted it as a great place for investment. Try also spoke about the infrastructure projects that are under way in Indonesia, joking that contrary to “perception”, his interest is not just in acquiring weapons.

En route to his next meeting, Try found himself standing in front of a television broadcasting a CNN interview of Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak. Najib said that the procurement of MBTs and aircraft which Malaysia made two days prior was a sign of Malaysia’s independence when it comes to strategic matters and that Malaysia has taken such a step in response to those with “hegemonic aspirations” in the region. When asked who has these hegemonic aspirations, Najib only said that “it cannot be those from whom we have procured these military equipments”.

Edi saw Try’s eyes narrow in anger at the sight of Najib saying all this though after a few moments composing himself, he began to walk to his next meeting. Edi tagged out for this meeting as Minister of Defense and Security Wiranto tagged in.

Prime Minister of France Jean Pierre Rafarrin and Minister of Defense Michele Alliot-Marie were apologetic that Juppe had not attended the meeting; saying that he was meeting with McCain because the latter will be departing after the gala dinner that night. Try expressed his understanding and expressed Indonesia’s support to the idea put forward by Juppe that there should be an international forum to discuss the global economy.

Rafarrin himself had other things on his agenda and was keen to get down the business. While thanking Indonesia for its “continued faith” in French military equipment, Rafarrin wondered whether he could interest Indonesia in further products. At Rafarrin’s cue, Alliot-Marie then proceded to sound like a spokeswoman for French defense industry though there were two “products” in particular that caught Try and Wiranto’s eyes.

The first was the AMX-30 tanks which France had begun to phase out from its Army. Try’s mind immediately went back to when he was Deputy Army Chief of Staff (1985-1986) and there was some talk about purchasing this for ABRI. Alliot-Marie put on a hard sell, saying that she is aware that Indonesia was on the lookout for something not as heavy as an MBT but not as light as an AMX-13. Wiranto countered and asked for a repeat and volume discount because Indonesia intended this to be a “quantity” purchase. Seeing Rafarrin and Alliot-Marie a bit taken aback, Try apologized on Wiranto’s behalf but in a way which showed that he approved of what Wiranto was asking for. Rafarrin promised to take this under consideration.

The second one was regarding an aircraft. While the Dassault Rafale was pitched to them, it was the SEPECAT Jaguar which got Try and Wiranto’s attention though not for technical reasons. Rafarrin said that “the other nation” involved in the production of SEPECAT Jaguar was willing to assist regarding the payment arrangements of the Jaguar should Indonesia wish to make the procurement.

For the moment however, Wiranto and Alliat-Marie signed an agreement which made official Indonesia’s purchase of another 50 VAB APCs and 6 Master-T Radar fixed units. Of the 6 radars, 2 will be assembled by PT. Len, Indonesia’s state-owned electronics enterprise. Cameras were on hand as Wiranto and Alliat-Marie signed the agreement and shook hands with each other while Try and Rafarrin stood behind them applauding.

After more handshakes and Rafarrin reminding Try not to miss the gala dinner in just a few hours before leaving, Try huddled together with Marzuki and Wiranto.

“If I may, Mr. Minister of Defense and Security”, Marzuki began “Which other nation was involved with the production of the aircraft that France just offered to us?”

“The United Kingdom, Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs”, Wiranto replied.

Try looked thoughtful.

“The United Kingdom…”, Try began “Each time I’ve seen and bumped into him here, Prime Minister Brown’s been looking at me like there’s a whole load of things he wants to talk about…and now we find out that the United Kingdom wants to help with the payment arrangement if we’re interested in the Jaguar…”

“Well now that you’ve said that he’s been looking at you like that, Mr. President”, said Marzuki “I’m very much interested to hear what the United Kingdom has to say.”

---
In OTL, Ukraine is a NAM Observer.

Try and Kuchma need no introduction to each other because they have already met before https://www.antarafoto.com/fr/view/1963473/wapres-try-sutrisno-cenderamata-presiden-ukrania

In OTL, Crown Prince Abdullah was by this time the dominant figure in Saudi politics because King Fahd is ill and he has been described as being less pro-US than King Fahd http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/255097.stm

The ITTL multipolar moment provides him with a more conducive environment to indulge his inclination to act independently of the US. Post 9/11, he’s been unenthusiastic about taking decisive action against potential terrorist elements in Saudi Arabia. Any terrorist incidents post-2001 are butterflied away which only contributs to Abdullah being even less inclined. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_Saudi_Arabia#2001

ITTL’s G-20 being discussed here.

As in OTL, Italy maintains close relations with Iran and sees Indonesia as a nation that can partner it in building ties with Iran. Of course Indonesia and Italy can also see their stature rise if they can build a constructive relationship with Iran.

I think when it comes to this summit, the one thing I wanted to show is that from the G-8 leaders’ POV, they have more important issues to address than Indonesia. This is why Try either struggles to advance Indonesia’s strategic aims or have less than pleasant exchanges with the G-8 leaders he has met. It's because whether consciously or not they have an attitude of "Nah, you're not that important."

Canada is hostile because it sympathizes with Australia, the US feels it has more important things to do ie. Yugoslavia and more important countries to keep happy ie. Australia, Japan disagrees with Indonesia’s attitude to China, and Russia says it doesn’t want Indonesia to get in the way of its relationship with China.

Italy being the most friendly of the nations met thus far is a reflection of its OTL reputation as the “Least of the Great Powers” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_of_the_great_powers) and thus probably more sympathetic to the G-8 invitees.

But once again Indonesia being “not that important” is seen when President of France fails to meet with Try, the choice being all too easy when the alternative to meeting Try is meeting with the President of the United States.

The only G-8 nations which Try has not met at the summit are Germany and the UK.