Abdurrahman Wahid's 23 July 2001 Decree

This opposition was mainly caused by his reformist and highly partisan stance, especially after his audit results showed discrepancies in Kostrad's finance management, and further after he personally called for General Wiranto to be sacked from his ministerial post.

[5] On a live television broadcast at 01:10 Western Indonesia Time (UTC+7) in the early morning of 23 July 2001, President Wahid announced the enactment of a decree to address the recent political issues engulfing the country.

He claimed to have received substantial support from sections of society to enact the decree, including members of non-governmental organisations and groups of religious scholars.

It consisted of 3 points: suspension of the MPR and DPR, establishment of a body to prepare for an election within one year; and disbandment of the Golkar Party pending a Supreme Court ruling.

Wahid further ordered the TNI and Polri to support the enactment of the decree, while asking Indonesian citizens to remain calm and continue their daily activities as usual.

President of the Republic of Indonesia/Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces The decree caused uproar among MPR and DPR members, who voiced their immediate opposition to it.

[1] On the same day, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Bagir Manan issued a judicial opinion declaring the decree was invalid and had no legal force.

Despite initial reluctance from Wahid to issue this defence, he later agreed to its publication as he wished to provide future generations with his version of the correct facts about the events of 23 July 2001.

[13] In 2016, several Indonesian political figures including Mahfud MD, Rizal Ramli, and Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, declared their commitment to reassess Wahid's legacy especially regarding the events around the 23 July 2001 Decree.