ABSTRACT
Indonesian history offers a flimsy foundation for democracy. The islands were colonized for centuries by the Dutch and for a few brutal years by the Japanese. Indonesia's first president was the spellbinding nationalist orator Sukarno. He was contemptuous of Western-style democracy, which he scornfully referred to as "50 percent plus one democracy". After the abortive coup, Sukarno reluctantly named Suharto army chief of staff. Given his relatively advanced age, many Indonesians privately thought he should not run for a sixth term in 1993. However, there was no alternative because the electoral machinery was designed precisely to exclude opponents. In 1980 when a group of prominent citizens, both military and civilian, drafted the "Petition of Fifty" expressing concern about some of Suharto's actions, all fifty signers were fired from their jobs. Liberal democracy assumes an open clash of ideas, but traditional culture everywhere in Asia places the welfare of the group above the desires of a mere individual.
