ABSTRACT
In January and February, 1966, the test of wills between Sukarno and Soeharto picked up steam. Desperately seeking to shore up his fading authority, Sukarno sought clear expressions of support from civilian politicians and friendly military officers. The new cabinet was, in effect, a direct challenge to Soeharto. If he didn't respond, he would allow Sukarno a good chance of rebuilding his power base and the military's aspirations for political supremacy would be set back, perhaps permanently. The mechanics of Supersemar remain a morsel for future historians to paw over. But despite Soeharto's protestations, Supersemar was very much a means to power, and Soeharto didn't wait long before flexing his muscles. The emergence of Supersemar knocked the wind out of the sails of pro-Sukarno loyalists in the armed forces. Soeharto was born on 8 June 1921 in a small, poor and unremarkable Central Javanese village called Kemusuk and grew up in a sprawling family heaped with stepbrothers, stepsisters and cousins.
