Democracy and Authoritarianism in Indonesia and Malaysia : The Rise of the Post-Colonial State

## List of Tables 2.1 Gross domestic product per capita ($US) 2.2 Debits on investment income per capita (millions SUS) 2.3 External public debt per capita (millions current SUS) 2.4 Foreign property as a percentage of GDP 2.5 Export partner concentration 31 2.6 Government revenue as a percentage of GDP (current SUS) 7.1 Measures of democracy for Indonesia and Malaysia Central government revenue (% GDP) ix ## Preface This work on democratic and authoritarian post-colonial states is based on an historical study of the emergence of the dominant forces that shaped the types of regimes found in Malaysia and Indonesia. Both emerged as democratic post-colonial states. However. in Indonesia the democratic process was suspended altogether and after about a decade of independence. an authoritarian state emerged. Meanwhile. Malaysia still retains. comparatively speaking. a functioning democratic system. The contrast between Indonesia and Malaysia. then. is an opportunity to study the conditions under which democracy can be sustained in post-colonial states. The study provides an empirical field on which to examine the origins of the post-colonial state. The Indonesian and Malaysian cases exemplify two paths that led to authoritarian and democratic states respectively. These cases offer two very different origins of post-colonial states upon which theoretical issues generated by the literature can be brought to bear. The reason for their selection is that the region consisting of what is today known as Indonesia and Malaysia was historically a cultural entity with similar notions of statecraft. religions and language. I will attempt to show that factors such as the level of economic development and modes of colonial administration. must be ruled out as explanations of different post-colonial state forms in these two countries. This study. in searching for an alternative explanation. looks at how the interplay of three factors. that is. the elite cohesion, internal state strength and armed resistance, led to two different outcomes, that is. authoritarian and democratic post-colonial states. Three conditions under which democracy can survive in post-colonial states, based on the experience of Malaysia and Indonesia. are (1) the absence of armed resistance against the state, (2) the presence of an internally strong state, and (3) a high degree of elite cohesion. The imposition of colonialism upon the pre-capitalist societies of Malaysia and Indonesia left several classes and groups with competing interests in these countries upon formal independence. It is against this historical backdrop that the above factors are examined. It is held that the absence of armed resistance, the presence of an internally strong state and a high degree of elite cohesion led to democratic outcomes. x An earlier version of this work took the form of a Ph.D. dissertation which was submitted in 1991 to the Department of Sociology, The Johns Hopkins University. I would like to express my gratitude to my doctoral committee consisting of Professors Christopher Chase-Dunn and Stephen Bunker for their comments, suggestions and criticisms. Professor Chase-Dunn as chairman was extremely helpful and encouraging during the various stages of this work. I would also like to thank Professor Alejandro Portes who offered useful comments during an early stage of the project and Professor Andy Cherlin who was kind enough to advise me when I began postgraduate training at the Johns Hopkins University. Not to be forgotten are the non-academic staff of the University's Department of Sociology, Binnie, Shirley and Pam who provided much technical and moral support while I was at Hopkins. The dissertation took its final form after I had joined the University of Malaya as a lecturer in 1989, where I was fortunate to have been able to discuss some points with Professors J. Kathirithamby-Wells and Lim Teck Ghee. I also wish to thank Professor K. S. Jomo who made the computer facilities of the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University available to me, and the staff of the Main Library at the University, for their very kind assistance. I would also like to thank Mr Julio Andrews, Asia Foundation, Kuala Lumpur, for a travel grant that enabled me to spend a couple of weeks on a field trip in Jakarta in June 1991. The Fact That The Malaysian State Has Managed To Maintain A Relatively Democratic Regime, While An Authoritarian Regime Came To Power In Indonesia Has Never Been The Focus Of Historical And Comparative Analysis Despite Certain Cultural, Social, And Historical Affinities Between These Two Countries.--book Jacket. This Study Looks At How The Interplay Of Three Factors, That Is, Elite Cohesion, Internal State Strength And Armed Resistance, Led To Two Different Outcomes: Authoritarian And Democratic Post-colonial States In Indonesia And Malaysia Respectively. The Historical Background Is Presented To Assess The Impact Of Colonialism On Pre-capitalist Society In These Two Colonies. This Provides The Context In Which To Understand The Development Of The Indonesian And Malaysian States In Terms Of Differences In The Degree Of Elite Cohesion, State Strength, And The Nature Of Urban And Rural Resistance Against The State. In This Way Two Different Paths To State Forms Can Be Mapped.--book Jacket. 1. Post-colonial Discourse On The State In Indonesia And Malaysia -- 2. Theories Of Democratic And Authoritarian State Formation -- 3. Economy And Society In The Pre-independence Malay-indonesian World: An Overview -- 4. Peasant And Labour Opposition To The Colonial And Post-colonial State -- 5. Nationalism And The Struggle For Democracy -- 6. From Democracy To Authoritarianism: Tendencies And Transformations -- 7. Historical Analysis And The Future Of Democracy. Syed Farid Alatas. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 200-221) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Post-colonial Discourse on the State in Indonesia and Malaysia....Pages 1-18 Theories of Democratic and Authoritarian State Formation....Pages 19-42 Economy and Society in the Pre-independence Malay-Indonesian World: An Overview....Pages 43-69 Peasant and Labour Opposition to the Colonial and Post-colonial State....Pages 70-91 Nationalism and the Struggle for Democracy....Pages 92-125 From Democracy to Authoritarianism: Tendencies and Transformations....Pages 126-149 Historical Analysis and the Future of Democracy....Pages 150-164 Back Matter....Pages 165-233 The fact that the Malaysian state has managed to maintain a relatively democratic regime, while an authoritarian regime came to power in Indonesia has never been the focus of historical and comparative analyses despite certain cultural, social, and historical affinities between these two countries. This book takes a look at contrasting class structures and alliances, elite cohesion, state strength, as well as differences in political challenges to the state in order to understand two different paths to post-colonial state formation. Malaysian national Alatas (sociology, National U. of Singapore) investigates why Malaysia has managed to maintain a relatively democratic regime since independence while Indonesia has long suffered under an authoritarian regime. He looks at the interplay of elite cohesion, internal state strength, and armed resistance to the state in the context of historical differences, especially the impact of colonialism on pre-capitalist society. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.