Until Soeharto's resignation, open analysis and inquiry into subjects such as the calamitous events of 1965-67 that accompanied Soeharto's rise to power, the growing wealth of the president's family and his close associates, discrimination against the ethnic Chinese, and military operations in such places as East Timor, Aceh, and Irian Jaya were all but impossible. Many other subjects, such as government corruption and nepotism, the entrenched and prominent political role of the military, and the absence of truly democratic political institutions might or might not be off-limits depending on shifts in the political winds. In Indonesia today, all candidate teachers, as well as applicants for jobs in a wide range of other professions, are subjected to mandatory political background checks designed to screen out all individuals alleged to have had affiliations with communist or leftist organizations in the mid-1960s. Under the screening procedures, family members of such individuals, including children and grandchildren, in-laws, and nephews and nieces, are also suspect. The screening procedures cast an ideological pall over education, keep many qualified individuals out of the teaching profession, and, because the criteria for exclusion are vague and unevenly implemented, create an environment in which the threat of being named an ex-communist or sympathizer, whether by government officials or by colleagues seeking to settle personal scores, continues to poison intellectual life in Indonesia.
Book censorship is institutionalized in Indonesia.
Under this law, hundreds of novels, historical studies, religious tracts, and books on political and social controversies have been banned, including scholarly works on subjects from early twentieth century social movements, to liberation theology, to the rise of Asia as a center of global capitalism. By law, Indonesian citizens can still be imprisoned for expressing dissenting views. Under Soeharto, individuals who challenged the militaristic underpinnings of New Order rule or attempted to organize independent political opposition were made the object of aggressive campaigns which included show trials, prolonged imprisonment, public scapegoating, and, at times, physical intimidation and torture. The primary victims were leaders of ethnic and religious separatist movements, but also included outspoken political dissidents who dared to attempt to organize political opposition to Soeharto. Some of the most prominent victims were from the academic community.