by the incumbents, local bureaucrats and military personnel.
48
The political parties
are centralised but at the same time not fully elitist. The lack of transparency of
the whole transition process and the incalculability of its outcomes exacerbate the
institutionalisation of parties.
President Yudhoyono has been trapped into dealing with political parties due to
the fact that his own party only has 20. 85 per cent of seats in the parliament. Ideally,
Indonesia should have only two big political parties and two or three small parties.
It will be a long and painful process to consolidate this ideal arrangement. During
the reform era, every time Indonesia has a new government and parliament as a
result of a general election, it always proposes and then issues a new electoral law.
This not only shows that Indonesia is still in the process of finding the right
direction, but also demonstrates how Indonesian elites are in a battle to benefit
from the new electoral laws. However, the fact that key political and social actors
are committed to solving their disputes and pursuing their interests non-violently,
through the constitutional process, is encouraging.
Furthermore, the role of the military and of Islamic organisations to support
democracy is important. The military’s role in politics has been reduced signifi-
cantly. Active generals are no longer allowed to hold cabinet posts and other key
positions in the government. The drop in the number of governors and mayors with
a military background from 80 per cent in the Soeharto era to less than 10 per cent
in 2005 reveals the new face of the Indonesian political game.
49
The two most
important religious organisations in the country, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul
Ulama, rejected the insertion of sharia during the process amendment.^50
Both Islamic organisations have supported democracy and have participated in
preserving and consolidating the democratisation process. In the Muslim world,
this is important since the Indonesian experience has demonstrated that it is
possible to reconcile Islam and democratic constitutionalism.
(^48) Sukardi Rinakit,Indonesian Regional Elections in Praxis(Singapore: IDSS Commentaries,
2005 ).
(^49) More information on the role of the Indonesian military can be read in Marcus Mietzner,
Military Politics, Islam, and the State in Indonesia: From Turbulent Transition to Demo-
cratic Consolidation(Singapore: ISEAS, 2009 ).
(^50) The Nahdlatul Ulama, established in 1926 , is the biggest Islamic organisation in Indonesia,
numbering 30 million supporters. Muhammadiyah, established in 1912 , is the organisation
which represents modernist Muslims. It has 28 million supporters in Indonesia, and has
built many schools, universities and hospitals. More information on Indonesian fatwas can
be found in Nadirsyah Hosen, ‘Collective Ijtihad and Nahdlatul Ulama’ ( 2004 ) 6 New
Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 5 ; Nadirsyah Hosen, ‘Behind the scenes: fatwas of Majelis
Ulama Indonesia ( 1975 – 1998 )’ ( 2004 ) 15 Journal of Islamic Studies 147 ; see also Nadirsyah
Hosen, ‘Revelation in a modern nation state: Muhammadiyah and Islamic legal reasoning
in Indonesia’ ( 2002 ) 4 Australian Journal of Asian Law 232.