Editing Politics of Indonesia (section)

===Transition to the New Order===
{{further|Transition to the New Order}}

The transition to the "[[New Order (Indonesia)|New Order]]" in the mid-1960s, ousted Sukarno after 22 years in the position. One of the most tumultuous periods in [[History of Indonesia|the country's modern history]], it was the commencement of [[Suharto]]'s three-decade presidency. Described as the great ''[[dhalang]]'' ("puppet master"), Sukarno drew power from balancing the opposing and increasingly antagonistic forces of the army and the [[Communist Party of Indonesia]] (PKI).

By 1965, the PKI extensively penetrated all levels of government and gained influence at the expense of the army.<ref>Ricklefs (1991), pp. 271-283</ref> On 30 September 1965, six of the military's most senior officers were killed in an action (generally labelled an "attempted coup") by the so-called [[30 September Movement]], a group from within the armed forces. Within a few hours, [[Suharto|Major General Suharto]] mobilised forces under his command and took control of Jakarta.  Anti-communists, initially following the army's lead, went on [[Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66|a violent purge of communists throughout the country]], killing an estimated half million people and destroying the PKI, which was officially blamed for the crisis.<ref>{{cite video|people=Chris Hilton (writer and director)|title=Shadowplay|medium=Television documentary|publisher=Vagabond Films and Hilton Cordell Productions|date=2001 }}; Ricklefs (1991), pages 280–283, 284, 287–290</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Unresolved Problems in the Indonesian Killings of 1965-1966|author=Robert Cribb|journal=Asian Survey|volume=42|issue=4|year=2002|pages=550–563|doi=10.1525/as.2002.42.4.550|s2cid=145646994}}; Friend (2003), page 107-109, 113.</ref>

The politically weakened Sukarno was [[Supersemar|forced to transfer key political and military powers]] to General Suharto, who had become head of the armed forces. In March 1967, the Provisional [[People's Consultative Assembly]] (MPRS) named General Suharto acting president. He was formally appointed president one year later. Sukarno lived under virtual house arrest until his death in 1970. In contrast to the stormy nationalism, revolutionary rhetoric, and economic failure that characterised the early 1960s under the left-leaning Sukarno, Suharto's pro-Western "New Order" stabilised the economy but continued the official state philosophy of [[Pancasila (politics)|''Pancasila'']].