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Why Do Some Civil Organizations Use Military-Like Uniforms?

(Antara Photo/R. Rekotomo)

Indonesian people have a long history – and it’s not always a proud one – with the military. The New Order regime which was in power for 32 years put the military in a prominent role to establish the government and run the state. As you remember, certain strategic posts in the government were reserved for military men and seats in the House were allocated to military representatives. And of course, the president himself was (like the current one) a military general as well.

There’s no prize for saying that, back in the day, the military was perceived as holding a distinguished place in society. Your life would be much easier if you’re related to a general or two. Even being acquainted with a mid-rank officer would do. It was always nice to say, “Do you know Lt. Gen X? He’s my uncle” after the said general handed you a reference letter to get you through the jungle of Indonesian bureaucracy.

The military guys were not the people you wanted to mess with on the street. If they hit your car by accident, chances were you’d be forced to accept it as a force majeure because you didn’t want to debate them. On the contrary, you would have to prepare for major eruption if you were the one who hit them. When I was little, I remember my driver’s reckless driving caused him to bump on a car with a military plate on it. As expected, the crew-cut guy from the military car got out and his first reaction was slapping my driver on the face. A slap, an apology, and a large sum of rupiah later, the military man finally went away.

It’s not the case of who’s right or wrong because my driver was certainly the guilty party, but would he go crazy if a military-plated vehicle bumped my car and slap the man in camouflage? No, because my driver was not the one in a uniform.

We are only civilians in a society that was shaped to make us believe the ones in plain clothes are inferior to the men in uniforms. When disputes arise between those two, it will turn into a non-contest. It’s not a fair competition since one side ranks higher than the other in society.

Yes, the military’s power has been largely reduced post-1998 but the memory of how the military is superior than civilians still lingers and some members in the society translate it into another form of military supremacy.

The citizens of Jakarta may have encountered a certain so-called youth organization that wears military-style uniforms. Its members have been seen wearing uniforms with camouflage patterns and berets on their heads. The color of choice may not be conventional, but an elementary school student can tell the uniforms resemble military ones.

The thing is, that organization is not the sole aficionado of military-like uniforms. Name any political parties’ youth organization onderbouw and you would find most of them owning a military-like attire as their uniform.

Why would they associate themselves with camouflage and berets that are identical to military ones when they are actually civilians? I believe it’s because by sporting those two things, they benefit from the illusion of being a military organization.

The civilians fear the military, so some civilians who want to be feared and more respected than other civilians may decide to use military-like attire. It looks tacky but it works like a herd of sheep who want to scare other sheep by wearing wolves’ skin. By wearing camouflage, you can command the respect of a military crew without being one.

You don’t want to mess with the military guy on the road, so these camouflage shirt-wielding organization members think they’re not to be messed with either. Hence, the reckless convoy, road blocks, and other nuisances you could encounter on the street. Potential violence also comes with the package, as we have heard news of clashes between two such organizations a couple of weeks ago.

The reluctance of civilians to challenge the men in military-like organizations shows some kind of trauma left by the pre-1998 era. It also tells us that, even now, the structure in our society hasn’t changed. To rephrase George Orwell, some civilians are equal, but with a military-like uniform, some civilians are more equal than others.

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