Indonesia Governmental System

Form; structure; general conditions

a. Pre-independent era (1943 to 1945)
In 1942, the Japanese Imperial Army came into Indonesia with the promise of
liberating Indonesia from the Dutch colonial rulers. Almost as quickly as they
came, the Japanese broke their promise and instead imposed strict rules on the
nation. Indonesians had to face poverty, lack of clothing and medication, and
forced labor under their new masters.
There were no clear government forms as Indonesia was not a separate state
before the independence. Due to the government rule, the Indonesian
government system can be colloquially called as the colonialism.
b. After independent
c. New order
d. Reformation Era
After three long decades under President Soehartos rule, Indonesians were
ready to change its governmental system and open doors to a more democratic
and liberal politics. General autonomy would be transferred to separate states
in a process of decentralization; this was mostly done due to the extent of
Indonesias territory. The transition was officially formulated in a law that was
passed in 1999.
The new government system was based on the presidential system, in which a
president was the head of the state. The first president after Soehartos rule
was Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, who was under pressure to enact reformation
measures.
In 1999, the first democratic election was held after a long 44 years of hiatus:
the last election was held in 1955. At first, Aburrahman Wahid won the
elections, but after only two years the government impeached him. Following
into Megawatis government, more emphasis was placed on democratic
system of checks and balances. This became the standard structure of
presidential systems, with three separate branches: the executive, legislative,
and judicial branch. All of these branches were created to create a balanced
government in which no single power was the strongest.