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THE POLITICS  OF THE  MAY 1998 RIOTS

THE POLITICS OF THE MAY 1998 RIOTS

FOREWORD
Nearly a year ago, in the midst of preparing for my examinations at the London School of Economics, I received some e-mails and telephone calls from a few journalists. They asked for my comments on a book written by Wiranto entitled Dari Catatan Wiranto: Bersaksi di Tengah Badai” From Wiranto’s Notes: Witness Amidst a Storm”), published by the Indonesian Institute for Democracy in April 2003. The book described the events of May 1998, and touched on the rivalry between Generals Wiranto and Prabowo.

Since that time I have been busy writing my own book because much of the information presented by Wiranto was either not corroborated by the facts or was taken out of context. Wiranto’s book is also very unbalanced in that it does not present information in an even-handed manner. As one of the witnesses in the center of that “storm” of May 1998,1 do not want those historical events to be exploited for personal gain. I do not want my descendants to read a history which is inaccurately written — history written by the winning general. There is a saying, “History is always written by the winning general.” But I believe that the truth will emerge if we have the courage to reveal it.

‘ Wiranto’s political maneuvers were extremely interesting. He was trusted by Soeharto and then by Habibie when he was in the Habibie’s administration. He was hand-in-hand with Gus Dur, and since mid-2003 he has been one of the Golkar Party’s presidential candidates. Wiranto is not an unfamiliar name: ever since the loss of East Timor in 1999, he has been one Indonesian who has gotten much publicity around the world. In recent months, there have been accusations he committed crimes against humanity in Timor Lorosae.

After the completion of my studies at the end of last vear, I started interviewing persons who knew about the turmoil of May 199S. By combining my personal experiences and the recollections of those witnesses, the result was publication of this book.

I hope this small work can be used for comparison, and can lead to more open and fair discussion about the Trisakti Incident and the events of May 1998.

In conclusion, I especially thank my sources for their willingness to be interviewed, my colleagues at IPS, and my friends who suggested I publish this book.

Fadli Zon Jakarta, April 2004

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Tahun Penuh Goncangan

Kita memasuki 2012, tahun penuh goncangan. Peradaban kuno Maya meramalkan sebagai Tahun Kiamat, akhir segalanya. Bumi hancur karena anomali tata surya, guncangan gempa dahsyat, tsunami, banjir dan fenomena alam lainnya. Ramalan ini pernah digambarkan dalam film “2012”.

Sebagai bangsa yang percaya Tuhan, kita meyakini “Kiamat” pasti datang. Tapi soal waktunya adalah rahasia Tuhan. Kita hanya dapat berusaha, bekerja, berjuang dan berdoa. Bencana demi bencana memang terus melanda: gunung meletus, gempa, banjir, kebakaran dan lain-lain. Semua itu cobaan dan ujian. Sikap optimis tetap penting agar kita tak larut dengan berbagai ancaman dan tantangan.

Secara global dunia menghadapi krisis ekonomi. Amerika dan Eropa tengah bergulat dengan krisis yang melanda hebat. Standar hidup mereka menurun, pengangguran dan kemiskinan meningkat. Krisis global ini merupakan bukti kegagalan kapitalisme.

Dampak krisis ekonomi global terhadap Indonesia ditentukan sedalam apa krisis mempengaruhi kawasan Asia khususnya RRC. Jika RRC sanggup menahan dampak krisis, kemungkinan ekonomi Indonesia akan bertahan.

Tahun ini suhu politik meningkat. Partai politik melancarkan sejumlah taktik dan strategi mempersiapkan Pemilu 2014. Bahkan calon presiden sudah mulai dideklarasikan. Kampanye media makin gencar, persiapan penentuan calon anggota legislatif mulai dibicarakan, organisasi makin dimantapkan, dan rapat-rapat konsolidasi di daerah mulai marak. Suasana politik akan mewarnai televisi, suratkabar dan dunia maya.

Konflik sosial politik di masyarakat akan terus meningkat. Kasus-kasus agraria yang sejak akhir 2011 terjadi di beberapa daerah seperti kasus Mesuji dan Bima, mungkin menular ke daerah lain. Hal ini terjadi karena tak ada penegakan hukum yang jelas. Keberpihakan aparat penegak hukum pada korporasi atau kelompok penguasa menimbulkan perlawanan masyarakat luas. Apalagi jika penanganan demonstrasi atau kerusuhan berjalan brutal. Ketika aparat tak punya disiplin, maka tak ada bedanya dengan gerombolan liar bersenjata.

Di negeri ini, mereka yang punya dukungan kekuasaan bisa lepas dari jerat hukum. Sedangkan rakyat tak berdaya mudah dihukum termasuk pencuri sandal dan pisang. Ketidakadilan penegakan hukum dapat berakibat runtuhnya kepercayaan masyarakat. Maka lahirlah anarki dan kekerasan.

Tahun 2012, korupsi kelihatannya tetap fenomenal. Pekerjaan rumah KPK makin menumpuk. Kasus Century, kasus cek pelawat, dan kasus Nazarudin akan mewarnai sepanjang tahun. Korupsi sudah menjadi way of life, tak semata fact of life. Inilah ujian bagi KPK baru menunjukkan keberaniannya menumpas korupsi.

Goncangan-goncangan ekonomi, sosial dan politik pasti terjadi. Kini tergantung pemimpin nasional apakah mampu membawa penumpang rakyat selamat, atau terus hanyut dengan persoalan-persoalan yang tak pernah tuntas. Waktu terus berjalan. Harga kebutuhan pokok terus merangkak, kemiskinan di mana-mana dan pengangguran semakin terserak! (Fadli Zon)