Indonesia’s Presidential Cabinet

About the Committee:

The year is 1998, and three decades of authoritarian rule in Indonesia have suddenly ended. Longtime discontentment with the corruption and oppression of President Suharto’s New Order regime has peaked amidst a financial crisis, and unrest, rioting, and violence has taken over Indonesia. With Suharto’s resignation, the newly installed President Habibie and his Cabinet must navigate a country in turmoil. Imminent reform of the country’s political system will be vital for quelling unrest. The lack of political rights of Indonesians has been brought to the forefront of debate by protestors, as well as the promise of fair and free elections. The Cabinet must also face the various interethnic conflicts and regional conflicts throughout Indonesia, suppressed under the New Order, that have once flared up again. It remains to be seen how much progress a Cabinet consisting of regime holdovers will be able to stomach amidst civil unrest and threats to national unity throughout the nation.

A LETTER FROM THE DaiS:

Hello Delegates,

My name is Sebastian Padilla, and I am excited to serve as the director of The End of the New Order: Indonesia’s Presidential Cabinet this year. I am a senior at the University of Michigan College of Engineering studying Industrial and Operations Engineering with a minor in political science. I have been involved in MUNUM for four years, and I was previously an assistant director for the Gulf Cooperation Council and the director of the Canadian House of Commons. Outside of MUNUM, I am involved in the Urbanism Club and the Campus Band. In my free time, I enjoy reading, watching baseball, taking public transit, and playing video games. This is my second year as a director and I am very excited to work with you all. I hope you all enjoy this committee and I can’t wait to see what you all can come up with!

Best,

Sebastian Padilla: sebastp@umich.edu