The Indonesian military can adopt a non-interventionist model as in Thailand. But the situation in Thailand did not happen over-night; it is only in the last five years that the military has allowed the civilians to govern the country with a peace of mind;
The Turkish model may be another possibility. Here in this model, the military becomes the sole guardian of the constitution, and while elections are allowed to take place regularly, the civilians rule at the behest of the military;
Islam
■ Since 90% of 220 million Indonesians are Muslims, Islam will feature strongly in the body politics of Indonesia. Islam will remain a galvanising force in Indonesian politics. While many of them are nominal Muslims, nevertheless they will continue to present a strong influence in Indonesia;
■ Re-emergence of Islamic forces is a certainty. Islamic political parties will re-emerge after three decades of deliberate policy of neglect by Suharto as he saw Islam as a threat to his rule. Under the present regime, Islamic political parties will be allowed to register;
■ For those who are familiar with Indonesian politics, Islamic political parties will be aligned along ideological lines and also by geographical areas. Those in Acheh are likely to be more vocal in their aspiration for greater autonomy. They will be joined by those from Celebes and other traditionally Islamic strongholds who have been resisting secularisation process as well as alienation. The infighting between the secular forces and the more traditionalist Islamic forces are likely to be more intense as they compete for recognition and political power. In fact, the Islamic forces are now roughly divided between the traditionalists who want to give more say to Islam and the liberals who are more keen towards a secular Indonesia. The former are represented by the association of Muslim intellectuals known by their initial- ICMI or Institut Cendekiawan Muslim Indonesia.
