title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The earliest known prose rendition is "The Famous and Remarkable History of Sir Richard Whittington" by "T. H." (Thomas Heywood), published 1656 in chapbook form, which specified that the bells were those of Bow Church (St Mary-le-Bow), and that the boy heard them at Bunhill. Common chapbooks of a later period wrote that the boy reached as far as Holloway on the night he fled. Links to this village has not been corroborated in early folklore or literature, and is thought to be an 18th-century invention. But based on this tradition, the landmark Whittington Stone at the foot of Highgate Hill is commonly perceived to be the place where Dick Whittingon stopped and heard the famous bells.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The story was adapted into puppet play by Martin Powell in the early 18th century. Later, it has been performed as stage pantomimes and children's plays. It has also been retold as a children's story by a number of printers and authors to this day.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: A number of foreign and medieval analogues exist that exhibit the motif ("Whittington's cat" motif, N411.2), where the hero obtains wealth by selling a cat, typically in a rodent-infested place direly in need of one. The tale is catalogued Aarne–Thompson (AT) tale type 1651, "Whittington's Cat".


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The following summary gives a comparison of three textual sources. B = Johnson's ballad, H = prose by Heywood, signed T. H. (Wheatley ed.); C = Late chapbook (18th to 19th-century printing by J. Cheney):


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Dick Whittington was a poor orphan boy, languishing in Lancashire (B), or some unnamed place in the country (H, C). He set off to seek his fortune in London (B, H, C), enticed by the rumour that its streets were paved with gold (C). But he soon found himself cold and hungry, and fell asleep at the gate of the home of a wealthy merchant named Fitzwarren (H, C). Fitzwarren gave him lodging and hired him to be the scullion in the kitchen (B, H, C).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: In the prose versions, an account of Dick Whittington's cat subsequently follows, but in the ballad, it is preceded by Dick's flight and church bells episode.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: In the prose legend, Dick is provided quarter at the Fitzwarrens' garret (room in the attic) (H, C), which was infested with rats and mice (H, C). But Dick owned a cat (B, H, C), that the prose versions say he had bought for a penny he earned by shining shoes (H, C). The cat controlled his rodent problem, which made her an indispensable companion.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: When Fitzwarren organized a trade expedition sending the merchant ship "Unicorn" (H), Dick's cat was "ventured" to this mission to be sold for profit abroad (B, H, C). The versions also differ regarding the circumstances: either Dick relinquished the cat of his own volition, hoping its sale in a foreign land might reap a "store of gold" towards the fulfillment of the omen of the bells (B), or, Dick was compelled to do so by Fitzwarren, who maintained a steadfast rule that everyone in his household should have some article of worth riding on the venture, with due dividends forthcoming from the proceeds (H, C).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Dick became disenchanted with the scullion's lot and attempted to flee, either because he received only room and board for his labours but was denied monetary wages (B), or because the kitchen maid (H) or female cook named Mrs. Cicely (C) abused and physically beat him beyond his tolerance. He ran as far away as Bunhill (H) or Holloway (C), where he heard "London Bells" (B), Bow bells (C), or the bells of "Bow Church" (H), that seemed to be telling him,


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: which persuaded him to retrace his steps. (The wording of the bells' message differ slightly according to the textual source).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The ship was driven off course to the Barbary Coast, where the Moorish king purchased the entire cargo for a load of gold, and insisted on entertaining the English traders with a feast. But the banquet was swarmed with rats and mice, whereby the English "factor" (business agent) informed their hosts that they were in possession of a creature which could exterminate these vermin (H, C). Thus Dick Whittington's cat was immediately put to the test, chasing and destroying the rodents. The Moors, even more pleased to learn that the cat was pregnant, paid more (H) (or ten times more (C)) for the cat than the rest of the cargo combined.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The ship returned to London and Fitzwarren who was apprised of the success of the venture (at his home on Leadenhall (H)), summoned the besmirched scullion Dick Whittington to the parlour (H) (or compting-room (C)) and sat him in a seat, addressing him in dignified fashion as Master (H) or Mr. Whittington. Dick was upset at first that this was being done in mockery, but Fitzwarren insisted it was all in earnest, explaining that the profits from the ship now made Dick a richer man than himself (C, H).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Dick married his former master's daughter Alice Fitzwarren (C, H), and joined his father-in-law in his business (H). In time, Whittington became the Lord Mayor of London three times, just as the bells had predicted. Whittington's acts of charity included the building of a college, a church (B, H, C), and Newgate Prison (B, H, C). He also burnt the bonds he owned, which the Crown had issued to fund the war (B, H).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Today, on Highgate Hill in front of Whittington Hospital, there is a statue in honour of Whittington's legendary cat on the site where, according to late versions of the story, the distant Bow Bells beckoned young Dick back to London to claim his fortune. The cat statue was placed atop the Whittington Stone later, in 1964.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The site of the Whittington Stone lies within confines of "Upper Holloway" according to 19th century writers, which corresponds with some chapbooks that say the boy ran away to as far away as "Holloway".


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: It is not clear how far back this marker can be dated. Whittington biographer Lysons felt it stood there as a marker for "many centuries", even if it was actually just the debris of an old cross with only the plinth or base remaining, as some had suggested. Henry B. Wheatley argued that Whittington's association to "Holloway" must have been a later embellishment, as it is lacking in the early T. H. text (in which the boy only goes as far as Bunhill, just north of London). He thus does not think the stone could be dated anywhere near-contemporaneously to Whittington's lifespan, but he does allow that a purported stone was removed in 1795, so that the tradition at least predated the relocation of Whittington College to Highgate.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Wheatley also observed that Holloway was at such a distance that it would have been difficult for a child to have reached there by foot and returned the next morning. and that it was only barely within earshot of the bells of "Bow Church".


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The earliest recorded instance of the folklore in written form is a registry notice dated 1604–1605 for a theatrical play.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The drama "The History of Richard Whittington, of his lowe byrth, his great fortune" was licensed for the stage 1604–1605. Based on the only remaining evidence, which comes from the record at the Stationers' Registers, there is no proof beyond doubt whether the play accounted for Dick's rise from "lowe birth" by means of a cat, but it is considered likely, since a play from the contemporary period entitled "Eastward Hoe" (1605) makes an explicit cat association with the line: "When the famous fable of Whittington and his puss shall be forgotten". This line also stands as the earliest surviving literary reference of Whittington and his cat.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: A lost ballad is also known to have existed from the Stationers' Register of 1605. It records "A ballad, called The vertuous Lyfe and memorable death of Sr Ri: Whittington mercer sometymes Lo. Maior of the honorable Citie of London" licensed on 16 July 1605 to be printed by John Wright. The earliest surviving complete text of the legend in any form is the ballad written by Richard Johnson on the subject. The 17-octave piece, included in Johnson's "Crowne Garland of Goulden Roses" (1612), begins with the following lines:


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: This ballad of 1612 already contains the tradition that the hero made an attempt to flee his service as a scullion and headed towards "his country", but was persuaded to abort his flight when the London bells beckoned him back, seeming to tell him "Whittington, back return" and pronouncing the omen that he would eventually become Lord Mayor. The ballad goes on to tell how Whittington had a very humble past working as a kitchen scullion, but that he "had a cat...And by it wealth he gat". This ballad was sung to the tune of "Dainty come thou to me". Chappell prints the musical notation to a tune that accompanied the ballad of Richard Whittington, which he suggests may be the same one as "Dainty".


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Of intermediate date is a version entitled "An Old Ballad of Whittington and his Cat," printed and sold in Aldermary Church Yard, London, . A copy is owned by the Bodleian Library (bequest of the Francis Douce collection), and in the U.S., by the Huntington Library and Yale University. These copies show the same woodcut illustrations. A later edition dated to 1773 was part of the Roxburghe Collection of Broadside Ballads.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Other broadside ballad printings have been made into the 19th century. A version entitled "London's Glory and Whittington's Renown; or, A Looking-Glass for Citizens of London", printed for R. Burton at the Horse-Shoe, in West Smithfield, c. 1650, has been reprinted from the Roxburghe collection. Another is a broadside published in London by J. Pitts (between 1802 and 1819).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: "The Famous and Remarkable History of Sir Richard Whittington" by "T. H." (first edition, 1656) is the earliest extant chapbook version of the tale in the estimation of its editor Henry B. Wheatley. The author's identity is only given as "T. H.", but the work is ascribable to Thomas Heywood. Heywood certainly knew the cat story, for it is spoken of by the cast of characters in his play "If You Know Not Me, You Know Nobody" (1606).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: A number of other chapbook editions appeared, such as the one datable to 1730. Perhaps the latest chapbook example is "The Adventures of Sir Richard Whittingon", printed by J. Cheney, 1788–1808 which is quoted in full by Wheatley in his introduction. The later chapbooks contain embellishments such as London being a town with the reputation of being paved with gold, or the boy reaching Holloway, which is several times farther (than Bunhill).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The localization in Holloway or Highgate Hill that appeared in common chapbooks is not found in any early versions, and Wheatley believed it to be an 18th-century invention. Holloway is situated in a historically inconsistent direction since it lies up north, which contradicts the tradition that the boy was fleeing towards home; the real Whittington's place of origin being Gloucester, lying westward.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The artist George Cruikshank published an illustrated version of the story in about 1820. The Australian Joseph Jacobs printed a version that is a composite of three chapbook texts in his "English Fairy Tales" (1890).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Cynthia Harnett's "Ring Out Bow Bells!" (1953) is a retelling of the legend, as is a 1958 adaptation titled "Dick Whittington and His Cat", written by Oscar Weigle and published by Wonder Books.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The story is only loosely based on the life of Richard Whittington. Although Alice Fitzwarren, Dick's love interest in the play, is named after the historical Richard Whittington's wife, the cat story cannot be traced to any early historical source, and there is insufficient evidence that Whittington ever owned a cat.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: It is unknown how the cat story came to be attached to Whittington. Suggestions were made that the cat may be a corruption of the French "achat" meaning "purchase" (Henry Thomas Riley), or that it may come from the word "cat", another name for a coal-carrying boat which Whittington may have engaged in his business (Samuel Foote), but these explanations were downplayed as implausible by later commentators.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The Elstracke portrait of Whittington and his cat probably dates to around 1605, and does not predate the times of the earliest literary adaptations. But commentators have strived to demonstrate that various pieces of art and architecture might be allusions to the legend of "Dick Whittington and His Cat" that predate the early 1600s (See §Relics).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Antiquarians have noticed similarities to foreign tales of medieval origin, which tells of a character who makes his fortune selling his cat abroad. The motif was later catalogued "Whittington's cat" (N411.2) in Stith Thompson's motif-index scheme.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Stith Thompson noted in his seminal book "The Folktale" that the tale harks back to a literary version written in the 12th century, around 1175, which was later attached to the character of Dick Whittington.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Two Italian examples can be noted. One was told by Lorenzo Magalotti (d. 1732), regarding a 16th-century merchant Ansaldo degli Ormanni who made his fortune selling his cat to the king of the isle of Canary (Canaria). Another, the "Novella delle Gatte" ("Tale of the she-cats") told by Piovano Arlotto (d. 1484), was published in the collection of witticisms ("Facetiae") attributed to him.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: A similar tale is "also found in a German chronicle of the thirteenth century", but the tale is localized in Venice, Italy. Albert von Stade in his "Chronicon Alberti Abbati Stadensis", writing on the events in 1175, sidetracks into a legendary tale involving two early citizens of Venice. The rich man about to mount on a trade expedition offers to take a consignment of merchandise from the poor man (who could only afford 2 cats), and a great profit is realized to reward the poor friend. Keightley, who identified the tale as a parallel Whittington's, said the legend "was apparently an old one in Italy", although nothing was certain beyond it being known in the 13th century.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: A Persian story localized around Keish (Kish Island) tells of a certain widow's son who lived in the 10th century and made his fortune in India with his cat. This tale occurs in the "Tarik al-Wasaf" ("Tārīkḣ-i Waṣṣāf"), a 14th-century chronicle. The similarity was noted by James Morier, "Second Journey" (1818), and William Gore Ouseley, "Travels" (1819).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: A convenient source of the parallels is Keightley, who devoted Chapter VII of his "Tales and Popular Fictions" (1834) to the topic, boasting of the largest compilation of these parallels ever. though he was not the first to make note of the parallels in published form.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: "Whittington and his Cat" is listed as one of the analogues grouped under Grimms' tale KHM 70 "" ("The Three Sons of Fortune") in Bolte and Polívka's "Anmerkungen". The list organizes parallel folktales by different language (including Dutch and German printings of "Whittington and his Cat").


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Stith Thompson suggests the tale has migrated to Indonesia via oral transmission and seems popular in Finland.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: In modern folkloristics, tales with the same plot structure are classified under Aarne–Thompson (AT) tale type 1651 "Whittington's Cat". Examples of the tale type need not feature a cat, and the helper can be replaced by the angel St. Michael or St. Joseph.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: There is an early record of puppet performance of the legend, dating to Samuel Pepys's diary of 21 September 1668, which reads: "To Southwark Fair, very dirty, and there saw the puppet show of Whittington, which was pretty to see".


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: At Covent Garden, performances of "Whittington and his Cat" were put on by the puppeteer Martin Powell (fl. 1710–1729). Powell was a successful showman, providing such a draw that the parish church of St. Paul would be drained of its congregation during hours of prayer when his plays were on. An advertisement bill of the puppet show has been copied out in "Groans of Great Britain", once credited to Daniel Defoe but since reattributed to Charles Gildon (d. 1724), with a description of some of the many extraneously added characters and elements:


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: "At Punch's Theater in the Little Piazza, Covent-Garden, this present Evening will be performed an Entertainment, called, "The History of Sir Richard Whittington", shewing his Rise from a Scullion to be Lord-Mayor of London, with the Comical Humours of Old Madge, the jolly Chamber-maid, and the Representation of the Sea, and the Court of Great Britain, concluding with the Court of Aldermen, and "Whittington Lord-Mayor", honoured with the Presence of K. Hen. VIII. and his Queen Anna Bullen, with other diverting Decorations proper to the Play, beginning at 6 o' clock".


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The puppet play "Whittington and his Cat" was reviewed by an anonymous correspondent in "The Spectator", No. 14, dated 16 March 1711, soon after it opened. It featured Punch (of the Punch and Judy shows) as did all of Powell's puppet plays. Punch danced a minuet with a trained pig in the opening scene. Punch also gave his "reflections on the French" that was a breach of "the Moral", as was King Harry (Henry VIII) resting his leg on his queen in an immodest manner. Little else on the performance can be gleaned, except that the hero's role (i.e., Punch's role) was performed in a squeaky high voice, just like the lead of the Italian opera "Rinaldo and Armida", the rival draw at the time at Covent Garden which the anonymous reviewer was simultaneously critiquing. The reviewer concludes "as the Wit of both pieces are equal, I must prefer...Mr Powell, because it is in our own language".


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: An opera production that never came into realization was a topic in Joseph Addison's piece in "The Spectator" (1711). Addison states he was "credibly informed that there was once a Design of casting into an Opera the Story of "Whittington" and his Cat, and that in order to it, there had been got together a great Quantity of Mice," but that Mr. Rich (Christopher Rich) who was proprietor of the playhouse (he managed several including Drury Lane theatre) objected that the rodents once released will not be thoroughly collected.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Later "Whittington and his Cat", an opera written by Samuel Davey, was performed at the Theatre in Smock Alley, Dublin, 1739.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: "Whittington", with music by Jacques Offenbach and English text by H. B. Farnie was first produced at the Alhambra Theatre over Christmas 1874–75, and in 1895 the comic opera "Dandy Dick Whittington" written by George Robert Sims and composed by Ivan Caryll played at the Avenue Theatre.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The first recorded pantomime version of the story was in 1814, starring Joseph Grimaldi as Dame Cicely Suet, the Cook.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Ella Shields (Camden Theatre, 1907), Sybil Arundale (Theatre Royal, Birmingham, 1908), Helen Gilliland (Lyceum, 1925) are among the actresses who have played the principal boy. Cast in other productions are listed below, including the production "Dick Whittington", which was the 2018 winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment and Family.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Dick's cat has been given the names Thomas, Tommy, Tommy Tittlemouse (1890), or Mouser (1908). and so forth.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The pantomime has introduced an arch villain, the Pantomime King Rat (or King of Rats), as well as the usual pantomime fairy, the Fairy of the Bells, personifying the London bells. An early record of King Rat and fairy occurs in an 1877 production at Surrey Theatre. This production pitches the archvillain King Rat against the Fairy Queen, for whom the fairy Beau Bell serves as messenger. "King Rataplan (Rat-a-plan)" occurs even earlier, alongside "Queen Olivebranch" who assigns Cupid to uplift Dick Whittington from poverty, in a Charles Millward script for the Theatre Royal, Birmingham production of 1870.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: In some versions, Dick and his cat Tommy travel to Morocco, where the cat rids the country of rats. The Sultan rewards Dick with half of his wealth.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The pantomime version remains popular today. Other notable pantomime productions included an 1877 version at the Surrey Theatre described below, as well as the following:


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: A number of television versions have been created, including a 2002 version written by Simon Nye and directed by Geoff Posner.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: There are various pieces of art and architecture which have been used to try to date the Whittington association to earlier than the 1600s. The Elstracke engraving providing Whittington's portrait with a cat had been ascribed a c. 1590 date by some 19th century authors. A Newgate statue claiming to be Whittington's cat was actually a Libertas goddess statue, and though there were suggestions it was made by the executors of Whittington's will when they rebuilt the prison, the existence of the statues prior to the Great Fire of 1666 cannot be firmly established.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Other relics are a relief tablet of a boy and animal said to be found at a home that belonged to the family, a chariot with a cat carving that was the gift of the family.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: A Whittington portrait painting depicting the mayor with a cat, allegedly dating to 1532, was once kept at the Mercers' Hall. The original has been lost, prompting Wheatley to remark that the disappeared artwork "can scarcely be put in evidence". However, a facsimile of it has been reproduced in engraving in "The New Wonderful Museum" (1805) edited by William Granger and James Caulfield (see image at top).


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The portrait painting that did exist at Mercers' Hall, affixed with a 1536 date had been witnessed and described by James Peller Malcolm (d. 1815) in "Londinium Redivivum", Vol. 4 (1807). The painting was in the apartment of the clerk of Mercers' Company at Mercers' Hall. According to Malcolm, this portrait of Whittington's had "on the left hand.. a black and white cat, whose right ear reaches up to the band or broad turning down to the shirt of the figure". Malcolm admits that the 1536 date had been repainted at a later date after the canvas was cropped, but commented that "it is hardly to be supposed" that this date "was then invented".


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: This painting had disappeared by the time Rev. Samuel Lysons, who published the mayor's biography in 1860, requested a viewing of it at Mercer's Hall. Another portrait was available for him to see, but it was more modern and did not correspond to Malcolm's descriptions. At Mercer's hall also had on display an engraved portrait of Whittington and his cat by Guillaume Philippe Benoist. The Benoist was published 1766, and according to the caption represents the Whittington and cat portrait then still hanging at Mercer's Hall.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: There was also an early engraving by Reginald Elstrack (1570 – after 1625). This engraving, entitled the "True Portraicture" or "Vera Effigies Preclarmi Domini Richardi Whittington Equi Aurat" is reproduced in the inset of Lyson's work. The engraving cannot be definitely dated; Lysons noted that the printmaker flourished c. 1590, and this is the date assigned by Sir Walter Besant and James Rice, but other sources give a 1605 date. On the prints can be read "R. Elstrack "Sculpsit"" at bottom, which is truncated in Lysons's reproduction.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: It has also been noted that the engraving originally depicted Whittington with a skull under his hand, but had been replaced with a cat underneath, to cater to public taste, "as the common people did not care to buy the print without it".


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: The antiquarian Thomas Pennant believed that a statue of Whittington with his cat was installed in a niche in Newgate in 1412, by the executors of Whittington's estate, but that it was damaged in The Great Fire of 1666 and replaced. Lysons and others had lent some credance to this statement by Pennant. But much of Pennant's assumptions here have been subjected to corrections and refutations.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: This "assertion that a carved figure of a cat existed on Newgate gaol before the great fire is an unsupported assumption," or so it was pronounced by historian Charles Lethbridge Kingsford. Work on Newgate at Whittington's bequest did not commence during his lifetime in 1412, but in 1442. A copy of Whittington's will kept at Guildhall that prescribes this fails to mention a statue, or him and his cat.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: This statue was actually the female Liberty ("Libertas" carved on the hat) with a cat at her feet, but it was "alluding to" Richard Whittington, as explained by Maitland. The stone Liberty was one of a set of seven, the others being Peace, Plenty, Concord, and Justice, Mercy, and Truth.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: This Whittington statue (Liberty statue) was taken down when the old Newgate was being demolished, in 1766 or 1776, to be placed in the new Newgate Prison. The Liberty statue could later be seen at the new Newgate Prison, but the cat was not with her.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Also a chariot with a carved cat, purportedly presented by Whittington's heirs to the merchant's guild in 1572, was available for the biographer Samuel Lysons to examine.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: It was purported that in 1862 at the site of a former residence of Whittington (in Gloucester), there was unearthed a piece of stone, possibly chimney stone, bearing a "basso relievo" of a boy holding a cat. It was allegedly of 15th-century workmanship. The relic came into the possession of Samuel Lysons. Besant and Rice called this "remarkable proof" that the cat story was in the family, but Wheatley thought "this find, however, appears rather suspicious". This artwork could have been acquired after the cat legend was established, as American folklorist Jennifer Westwood points out, and the supposed "cat" looked more like a lamb to others. The cat has been preserved at the Gloucester Folk Museum (now called Gloucester Life Museum), but taken off display.


title: Dick Whittington and His Cat

text: Sir William Craven was Lord Mayor of London in 1610. It has been noted that the story of Dick Whittington and His Cat has some similarities to Craven's career, though the story was first published before Craven became Lord Mayor.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: The New Order (, abbreviated "Orba") is the term coined by the second Indonesian President Suharto to characterise his administration as he came to power in 1966 until his resignation in 1998. Suharto used this term to contrast his presidency with that of his predecessor Sukarno (retroactively dubbed the "Old Order," or "Orde Lama").


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Immediately following the attempted coup in 1965, the political situation was uncertain, Suharto's New Order found much popular support from groups wanting a separation from Indonesia's problems since its independence. The 'generation of 66' ("Angkatan 66") epitomised talk of a new group of young leaders and new intellectual thought. Following Indonesia's communal and political conflicts, and its economic collapse and social breakdown of the late 1950s through to the mid-1960s, the "New Order" was committed to achieving and maintaining political order, economic development, and the removal of mass participation in the political process. The features of the "New Order" established from the late 1960s were thus a strong political role for the military, the bureaucratisation and corporatisation of political and societal organisations, and selective but brutal repression of opponents. Strident anti-communist, anti-socialist, and anti-Islamist doctrine remained a hallmark of the presidency for its subsequent 32 years.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Within a few years, however, many of its original allies had become indifferent or averse to the New Order, which comprised a military faction supported by a narrow civilian group. Among much of the pro-democracy movement which forced Suharto to resign in the 1998 Indonesian Revolution and then gained power, the term "New Order" has come to be used pejoratively. It is frequently employed to describe figures who were either tied to the Suharto period, or who upheld the practises of his authoritarian administration, such as corruption, collusion and nepotism (widely known by the acronym KKN: "korupsi", "kolusi", "nepotisme").


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Sukarno was Indonesia's founding president, a position he had held since the Republic's formation in 1945. In 1955, the first general parliamentary elections delivered an unstable parliament and from the late 1950s, Sukarno's rule became increasingly autocratic under his "Guided Democracy". Described as the great "dalang", Sukarno’s position depended on his concept of NASAKOM (Nationalism, Religion, Communism) whereby he sought to balance the competing Indonesian Military, Islamic groups, and the increasingly powerful Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). To the resentment of the Military and Muslim groups, this arrangement became increasingly reliant on the PKI which had become the country’s strongest political party.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Sukarno’s anti-imperial ideology saw Indonesia increasingly dependent on the Soviet Union and China which was met with indignation from Western countries. The cash-strapped government had to scrap public sector subsidies, annual inflation rose to as high as 1,000%, export revenues were shrinking, infrastructure crumbling, and factories were operating at minimal capacity with negligible investment. Sukarno’s administration became increasingly ineffective in providing a viable economic system to lift its citizens out of poverty and hunger. Meanwhile, Sukarno led Indonesia into "Konfrontasi", a military confrontation with Malaysia, removed Indonesia from the United Nations, and stepped up revolutionary and anti-Western rhetoric.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: By 1965 at the height of the Cold War, the PKI penetrated all levels of government. With the support of Sukarno and the Air Force, the party gained increasing influence at the expense of the Army, thus ensuring the Army's enmity. Muslim clerics, many of whom were landowners, felt threatened by the PKI's rural land confiscation actions. The army was alarmed at Sukarno’s support for the PKI’s wish to quickly establish a "fifth force" of armed peasants and labourers, which was first announced by the PKI to a CBS News journalist. Adding to this desperate and fractious nature of Indonesia in the 1960s, a split within the military was fostered by Western countries backing a right-wing faction against a left-wing faction backed by the PKI.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: On 30 September 1965, six generals were killed by a group calling themselves the 30 September Movement who alleged a right-wing plot to kill the President. General Suharto led the army in suppressing the abortive coup attempt. The PKI were quickly blamed and the army led an anti-communist purge which killed an estimated 500,000 to a million people. Public opinion shifted against Sukarno in part due to his apparent knowledge of, and sympathy for, the events of 30 September, and for his tolerance of leftist and communist elements whom the army blamed for the coup attempt. Student groups, such as KAMI, were encouraged by, and sided with, the Army against Sukarno. In March 1966, Suharto secured a presidential decree (known as the Supersemar), which gave him authority to take any action necessary to maintain security. Using the decree, the PKI was banned in March 1966 and the parliament (MPRS), government and military were purged of pro-Sukarno elements, many of whom were accused of being communist sympathisers, and replaced with Suharto supporters.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: A June session of the now-purged parliament promulgated a parliamentary resolution irrevocable by Sukarno ("Tap MPRS no. XXV/MPRS/1966"), that confirmed Suharto's ban of the PKI and simultaneously banned "Communism/Marxism-Leninism" ("sic"; explicitly defined in the resolution's corresponding explanatory memorandum to include "the struggle fundaments and tactics taught by ... Stalin, Mao Tse Tung "et cetera""), as well as promulgating other resolutions that elevated the Supersemar into a parliamentary resolution also irrevocable by Sukarno, and stripped Sukarno of his title of president for life. In August–September 1966, and against the wishes of Sukarno, the New Order ended Indonesia's confrontation with Malaysia and rejoined the United Nations. Parliament re-convened in March 1967 to impeach the President for his apparent toleration of 30 September Movement and violation of the constitution by promoting PKI's international communist agenda, negligence of the economy, and promotion of national "moral degradation" via his womanising behaviour. In March 1967, the MPRS stripped Sukarno of his remaining power, and Suharto was named Acting President. Sukarno was placed under house arrest in Bogor Palace; little more was heard from him, and he died in June 1970. In March 1968, the MPRS appointed Suharto to the first of his five-year terms as President.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: The "New Order" was so called to distinguish and "better" itself from Sukarno's "Old Order". Pancasila was promoted as the national ideology, one that pre-dated introduced religions such as Hinduism or Islam. Suharto secured a parliamentary resolution in 1978 ("Tap MPR No. II/1978") which obliged all organisations in Indonesia to adhere to Pancasila as a basic principle; he later secured another parliamentary resolution in 1983 ("Tap MPR No. II/1983") which prohibited all organizations to adhere to any principles except Pancasila, a policy known as the "Pancasila single principle" (). He instituted a Pancasila indoctrination program that must be attended by all Indonesians, from primary school students to office workers. Pancasila, a rather vague and generalist set of principles originally formulated by Sukarno in 1945, was vigorously promoted as a sacrosanct national ideology which represents the ancient wisdom of Indonesian people even before the entry of foreign-based religions such as Hinduism or Islam. In a July 1982 speech which reflected his deep infatuation with Javanese beliefs, Suharto glorified Pancasila as a key to reach the perfect life ("ilmu kasampurnaning ") of harmony with God and fellow mankind. In practice, however, the vagueness of Pancasila was exploited by Suharto's government to justify their actions and to condemn their opponents as "anti-Pancasila".


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: The "Dwifungsi" ("Dual Function") policy allowed the military to have an active role in all levels of Indonesian government, economy, and society.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Having been appointed president, Suharto still needed to share power with various elements including Indonesian generals who considered Suharto as mere "primus inter pares" as well as Islamic and student groups who participated in the anti-communist purge. Suharto, aided by his "Office of Personal Assistants" ("Aspri") clique of military officers from his days as commander of Diponegoro Division, particularly Ali Murtopo, began to systematically cement his hold on power by subtly sidelining potential rivals while rewarding loyalists with political position and monetary incentives.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Having successfully stood-down MPRS chairman General Nasution's 1968 attempt to introduce a bill which would have severely curtailed presidential authority, Suharto had him removed from his position as MPRS chairman in 1969 and forced his early retirement from the military in 1972. In 1967, generals HR Dharsono, Kemal Idris, and Sarwo Edhie Wibowo (dubbed "New Order Radicals") opposed Suharto's decision to allow the participation of existing political parties in elections in favour of a non-ideological two-party system somewhat similar to those found in many Western countries. Suharto then proceeded to send Dharsono overseas as ambassador, while Kemal Idris and Sarwo Edhie Wibowo were sent to distant North Sumatra and South Sulawesi as regional commanders.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: While many original leaders of the 1966 student movement ("Angkatan 66") were successfully co-opted into the regime, it faced large student demonstrations challenging the legitimacy of the 1971 elections, the "Golput" Movement, the costly construction of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah theme park (1972), the domination of foreign capitalists (Malari Incident of 1974), and the lack of term limits of Suharto's presidency (1978). The New Order responded by imprisoning student activists and sending army units to occupy the campus of the Bandung Institute of Technology in 1978. In April 1978, Suharto ended the campus unrest by issuing a decree on the "Normalization of Campus Life" (NKK) which prohibited political activities on-campus not related to academic pursuits.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: In 1980, fifty prominent political figures—including Nasution—signed the Petition of Fifty which criticised Suharto's use of Pancasila to silence his critics. Suharto refused to address the petitioners' concerns, and some of them were imprisoned with others having restrictions imposed on their movements.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: To placate demands from civilian politicians for the holding of elections, as manifested in MPRS resolutions of 1966 and 1967, Suharto government formulated a series of laws regarding elections as well as the structure and duties of parliament which were passed by MPRS in November 1969 after protracted negotiations. The law provided for a parliament ("Madjelis Permusjawaratan Rakjat"/MPR) with the power to elect presidents consisting of a lower house ("Dewan Perwakilan Rakjat"/DPR) as well as regional and groups representatives. 100 of the 460 members of DPR were soldiers of the Republic of Indonesia Armed Forces (ABRI)—mostly Indonesian Army soldiers—directly appointed by the government as part of "Dwifungsi", while the remaining seats were allocated to political parties based on results of a general election. This mechanism ensures significant government control over legislative affairs, particularly the appointment of presidents.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: To participate in the elections, Suharto realised the need to align himself with a political party. After initially considering alignment with Sukarno's old party, the PNI, in 1969 Suharto took control of an obscure military-run federation of NGOs called Golkar ("Functional Group") and transform it into his electoral vehicle under the co-ordination of his right-hand man Ali Murtopo. The first general election was held on 3 July 1971 with ten participants: Golkar, four Islamic parties, as well as five nationalist and Christian parties. Campaigning on a non-ideological platform of "development", and aided by official government support and subtle intimidation tactics. Golkar secured 62.8% of the popular vote. The March 1973 general session of the MPR promptly appointed Suharto to a second term in office with Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX as vice-president.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: On 5 January 1973, to allow better control, the government forced the four Islamic parties to merge into the PPP ("Partai Persatuan Pembangunan"/United Development Party) while the five non-Islamic parties were fused into PDI ("Partai Demokrasi Indonesia"/Indonesian Democratic Party). The government ensured that these parties never developed effective opposition by controlling their leadership, while establishing the "re-call" system to remove any outspoken legislators from their positions. Using this system dubbed the "Pancasila Democracy", Golkar won the MPR general elections of 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997 with massive landslides. The elected MPR then proceeded to unanimously re-elect Suharto as president in 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, and 1998.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Suharto proceeded with social engineering projects designed to transform Indonesian society into a de-politicized "floating mass" supportive of the national mission of "development", a concept similar to corporatism. The government formed civil society groups to unite the populace in support of government programs. For instance, the government created and required all civil servants and employees of state- and local government-owned enterprises and those of Bank Indonesia to join KORPRI (the Employees' Corps of the Republic of Indonesia) in November 1971 to ensure their loyalty; organised the FBSI ("Federasi Buruh Seluruh Indonesia") as the only legal labour union for workers not eligible for KORPRI membership in February 1973 (later renamed as SPSI/"Serikat Pekerja Seluruh Indonesia" in 1985), established under the pretext of tripartism, officially defined as Pancasilaist Industrial Relations () (while in fact it cements only business interests with the state); and established the MUI ("Majelis Ulama Indonesia") in 1975 to control Islamic clerics. In 1966 to 1967, to promote assimilation of the influential Chinese Indonesians, the Suharto government passed several laws as part of the so-called "Basic Policy for the Solution of Chinese Problem", whereby only one Chinese-language publication (controlled by the army) was allowed to continue, all Chinese cultural and religious expressions (including display of Chinese characters) were prohibited from public space, Chinese schools were phased out, and the ethnic Chinese were encouraged to take Indonesian-sounding names. Furthermore, Chinese Indonesians are also subject to the Certificate of Citizenship in order to enter an academy, obtain a passport, register for an election, and to get married. In 1968, Suharto commenced the very successful family planning program ("Keluarga Berentjana"/KB) to stem the huge population growth rate and hence increase per-capita income. A lasting legacy from this period is the spelling reform of Indonesian language decreed by Suharto on 17 August 1972.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Inspired by Javanese culture of priyayi, the New Order, during its consolidation era, was antifeminist and patriarchic, and officially defined as "familyism" (). In 1974, President Suharto established civil servant wives' corps "Dharma Wanita", organized under the doctrine of "Five Women's "Dharma"" (, an antifeminist, patriarchic doctrine similar to Nazi Germany's Kinder, Küche, Kirche); a "Family Welfare Training" programme (, PKK), which was rooted on a 1957 conference on home economics in Bogor, was made compulsory in 1972, especially on rural regions.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: It wasn't until 1980 that feminism would gain an uprising with the establishment of several foundations, for example the Annisa Shanti foundation (Yasanti).


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Suharto relied on the military to ruthlessly maintain domestic security, organised by the Kopkamtib (Operation Command for the Restoration of Security and Order) and BAKIN (State Intelligence Coordination Agency). To maintain strict control over the country, Suharto expanded the army's territorial system down to the village level, while military officers were appointed as regional heads under the rubric of the "Dwifungsi" ("Dual Function") of the military. By 1969, 70% of Indonesia's provincial governors and more than half of its district chiefs were active military officers. Suharto authorised "Operasi Trisula" which destroyed PKI remnants trying to organise a guerrilla base in the Blitar area in 1968 and ordered several military operations which ended the communist PGRS-Paraku insurgency in West Kalimantan (1967–1972). Attacks on oil workers by the first incarnation of Free Aceh Movement separatists under Hasan di Tiro in 1977 led to dispatch of small special forces detachments who quickly either killed or forced the movement's members to flee abroad. Notably, in March 1981, Suharto authorised a successful special forces mission to end hijacking of a Garuda Indonesia flight by Islamic extremists at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: To comply with the New York Agreement of 1962 which required a plebiscite on integration of West Irian into Indonesia before end of 1969, the Suharto government began organising for a so-called "Act of Free Choice" (PEPERA) scheduled on July–August 1969. The government sent RPKAD special forces under Sarwo Edhie Wibowo which secured the surrender of several bands of the former Dutch-organized militia ("Papoea Vrijwilligers Korps"/ PVK) at large in the jungles since the Indonesian takeover in 1963, while sending Catholic volunteers under Jusuf Wanandi to distribute consumer goods to promote pro-Indonesian sentiments. In March 1969, it was agreed that the plebiscite will be channelled via 1,025 tribal chiefs, citing the logistical challenge and political ignorance of the population. Using the above strategy, the plebiscite produced a unanimous decision for integration with Indonesia, which was duly noted by United Nations General Assembly in November 1969.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Under Suharto political Islamists were suppressed, and religious Muslims were carefully watched by the Indonesian government. Several Christian Generals who served under Suharto like Leonardus Benjamin Moerdani actively persecuted religious Muslims in the Indonesian military, which was described as being "anti-Islamic", denying religious Muslims promotions, and preventing them from praying in the barracks and banning them from even using the Islamic greeting "As-salamu alaykum", and these anti-Islamic policies were entirely supported by Suharto, despite Suharto being a Muslim himself, since he considered political Islam a threat to his power. The Christian General Theo Syafei, who also served under Suharto, spoke out against political Islam coming to power in Indonesia, and insulted the Qur'an and Islam in remarks which were described as Islamophobic. Furthermore, the hijab was also banned briefly (1980–1991) in state schools.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: The new president enlisted a group of mostly American-educated Indonesian economists, dubbed the "Berkeley Mafia", to formulate government economic policy. By cutting subsidies and government debt, and reforming the exchange rate mechanism, inflation dropped from 660% in 1966 to 19% in 1969. The threat of famine was alleviated by influx of USAID rice aid shipments in 1967 to 1968.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Realizing the dearth of domestic capital capable of re-juvenating growth, Suharto reversed Sukarno's economic autarky policies by opening selected economic sectors of the country to foreign investment under the new Foreign Investment Law of January 1967 (containing generous tax holidays and free movement of money). Suharto himself travelled to Western Europe and Japan in a series of trips to promote investment into Indonesia, starting in the natural resources sector. Among the first foreign investors to re-enter Indonesia were mining companies Freeport Sulphur Company and International Nickel Company, later followed by significant investment from Japanese, South Korean, and Taiwanese companies. British-owned businesses nationalized by the Sukarno administration as part of Konfrontasi (including then-dual-listed Unilever and the British part of also-then-dual-listed Royal Dutch/Shell) were reprivatized; however, Dutch companies originally nationalized in the late 1950s-early 1960s (including but not limited to Hollandsche Beton Groep, NILLMIJ (by 1969 merged into Ennia, now Aegon), and the Dutch part of Royal Dutch/Shell) were not reprivatized due to nationalist sentiments. From 1967, the government managed to secure low-interest foreign aid from ten countries grouped under the Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia (IGGI) to cover its budget deficit.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Suharto's government issued the Domestic Investment Law of June 1968 to allow development of a domestic capitalist class capable of motoring economic growth to supplement existing state-owned enterprises. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw emergence of domestic entrepreneurs (mostly Chinese-Indonesians) in the import-substitution light-manufacturing sector such as Astra Group and Salim Group.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Flush with IGGI foreign aid and later the jump in oil exports during the 1973 oil crisis, the government began a series of large-scale intensive investment in infrastructure under a series of five-year plans ("Rencana Pembangunan Lima Tahun / REPELITA"):


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: While establishing a formal economy based on rational and sound macroeconomic policies, Suharto continued his past "modus operandi" of creating a vast network of charitable organisations (""yayasan"") run by the military and his family members, which extracted "donations" from domestic and foreign enterprises in exchange for necessary government support and permits. While some proceeds of these organisations were used for genuinely charitable purposes (such as building a heart-disease hospital by "Yayasan Harapan Kita" run by the first lady), most of the money was recycled as slush funds to reward political allies to maintain support for Suharto's presidency.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: In February 1975, the state oil company Pertamina was forced to default on its US$15 billion in loans from American and Canadian creditors. The company's director, General Ibnu Sutowo (a close ally of Suharto), invested the windfall income from rising oil prices into a myriad of other business activities such as shipping, steel, construction, real estate, and hospitals. These businesses were mismanaged and riddled with corruption. The government was forced to bail out the company, in the process nearly doubling the national debt, while Ibnu Sutowo was removed from his position.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Upon assuming power, Suharto government adopted a policy of neutrality in the Cold War with quiet alignment with the Western bloc (including Japan and South Korea) with the objective of securing support for Indonesia's economic recovery. Western countries, impressed by Suharto's strong anti-communist credentials, were quick to offer their support. Diplomatic relations with China were suspended in October 1967 due to suspicion of Chinese involvement in 30 September Movement (diplomatic relations were only restored in 1990). Due to Suharto's destruction of PKI the Soviet Union embargoed military sales to Indonesia. However, from 1967 to 1970 foreign minister Adam Malik managed to secure several agreements to restructure massive debts incurred by Sukarno from the Soviet Union and other Eastern European communist states. Regionally, having ended confrontation with Malaysia in August 1966, Indonesia became a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in August 1967. This organisation is designed to establish a peaceful relationship between Southeast Asian countries free from conflicts such as the ongoing Vietnam War.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: In 1974, the neighbouring colony of Portuguese Timor descended into civil war after the withdrawal of Portuguese authority following the Carnation Revolution, whereby the leftist-leaning Fretilin ("Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente") emerged triumphant. After persuasion from Western countries (including from US president Gerald R. Ford and Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam during their visits to Indonesia), Suharto decided to intervene to prevent establishment of a communist state. After an unsuccessful attempt of covert support to Timorese anti-communist groups UDT and APODETI, Suharto authorised a full-scale invasion of the colony on 7 December 1975 followed with its official annexation as Indonesia's 27th province of East Timor in July 1976. The "encirclement and annihilation" campaigns of 1977–1979 broke the back of Fretilin control over the hinterlands, although continuing guerilla resistance forced the government to maintain strong military presence in the half-island until 1999. An estimated minimum of 90,800 and maximum of 213,600 conflict-related deaths occurred in East Timor during Indonesian rule (1974–1999); namely, 17,600–19,600 killings and 73,200 to 194,000 'excess' deaths from hunger and illness. Indonesian forces were responsible for about 70% of the violent killings.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: By 1996, Indonesia's poverty rate had dropped to around 11% compared with 45% in 1970 according to some studies, though this claim of poverty reduction is debatable and many studies indicate poverty is much higher than claimed, with as many as 50% of Indonesians living on a dollar PPP a day or less. From 1966 to 1997, Indonesia recorded real GDP growth of 5.03% per year, pushing real GDP per capita upwards from US$806 to US$4,114. In 1966, the manufacturing sector made up less than 10% of GDP (mostly industries related to oil and agriculture). By 1997, manufacturing had risen to 25% of GDP, and 53% of exports consisted of manufactured products. The government invested into massive infrastructure development (notably the launch of the Palapa telecommunication satellites); consequently Indonesian infrastructure in the mid-1990s was considered on par with China's. Suharto was keen to capitalise on such achievements to justify his presidency, and an MPR resolution in 1983 granted him the title of "Father of Development".


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Suharto's health-care programs (such as the "Puskesmas" program) increased life expectancy from 47 years (1966) to 67 years (1997) and cut the infant mortality rate by more than 60%. The government's "Inpres" program, launched in 1973, resulted in the primary-school enrollment ratio reaching 90% by 1983 while almost eliminating education gap between boys and girls. Sustained support for agriculture resulted in Indonesia reaching rice self-sufficiency by 1984, an unprecedented achievement which earned Suharto a gold medal from the FAO in November 1985.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: In the early 1980s, Suharto responded to the fall in oil exports due to the 1980s oil glut by successfully shifting the main pillar of the economy into export-oriented labour-intensive manufacturing, made globally competitive by Indonesia's low wages and a series of currency devaluations. Industrialization was mostly undertaken by ethnic-Chinese companies, which evolved into immense conglomerates, dominating the nation's economy. The largest conglomerates are the Salim Group, led by Liem Sioe Liong (Sudono Salim), the Sinar Mas Group, led by Oei Ek Tjong (Eka Tjipta Widjaja), the Astra Group, led by Tjia Han Poen (William Soeryadjaya), the Lippo Group, led by Lie Mo Tie (Mochtar Riady), the Barito Pacific Group, led by Pang Djun Phen (Prajogo Pangestu), and the Nusamba Group, led by Bob Hasan. Suharto decided to support the growth of a small number of Chinese-Indonesian conglomerates since they could not challenge his rule due to their ethnic-minority status, and, based on past experience, he thought that they possessed the skills and capital needed to create real growth for the country. In exchange for Suharto's patronage, the conglomerates provided vital financing for his "regime maintenance" activities.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: In the late 1980s, the Suharto government decided to de-regulate the banking sector to encourage savings and providing domestic source of financing required for growth. Suharto decreed the "October Package of 1988" ("PAKTO 88"), which eased requirements for establishing banks and extending credit, resulting in a 50% increase in number of banks from 1989 to 1991. To promote savings, the government introduced the "TABANAS" (, National Development Savings) program to the populace. The Jakarta Stock Exchange, originally opened in 1912 as the Batavia (later Jakarta) branch of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (now Euronext Amsterdam) and re-opened in 1977, performed strongly due to spree of domestic IPOs and an influx of foreign funds after deregulation in 1990. The sudden availability of credit fuelled strong economic growth in the early 1990s, but weak regulation of the financial sector sowed the seeds of the catastrophic crisis in 1997 which eventually lead to Suharto's resignation.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: The growth of the economy was coincided by rapid expansion in corruption, collusion, and nepotism ("Korupsi, Kolusi, dan Nepotisme / KKN"). In the early 1980s, Suharto's children, particularly Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana ("Tutut"), Hutomo Mandala Putra ("Tommy"), and Bambang Trihatmodjo, grew increasingly venal and corrupt. Their companies were given lucrative government contracts and protected from market competition by monopolies. Examples include the Jakarta Inner Ring Road, which Tutut had a majority (75% at one time) stake through her PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada subsidiary PT Citra Marga Nusaphala Persada; the national car project, monopolized by Bambang and Tommy (through the Bimantara Group (now MNC Group)'s joint venture with the Hyundai Motor Company, and Timor Putra Nasional's joint venture with Kia Motors, respectively); the clove industry, monopolized by a Tommy-linked governmental body called the Clove Buffering and Marketing Administration (, BPPC); and even the cinema market (and furthermore, all imports of films distributed by the American major film studios), monopolised by 21 Cineplex, owned by Suharto's cousin Sudwikatmono's Subentra Group (now Indika Group). The family is said to control about 36,000 km² of real estate in Indonesia, including 100,000 m² of prime office space in Jakarta and nearly 40% of the land in East Timor. Additionally, Suharto's family members received free shares in 1,251 of Indonesia's most lucrative domestic companies (mostly run by Suharto's ethnic-Chinese cronies), while foreign-owned companies were encouraged to establish "strategic partnerships" with Suharto family's companies. Meanwhile, the myriad "yayasan"s run by Suharto family grew even larger, levying millions of dollars in "donations" from the public and private sectors each year.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: By the 1980s, Suharto's grip on power was very strong, maintained by strict control over civil society, engineered elections, liberal use of military's coercive powers, and a strong economy. Upon his retirement from the military in June 1976, Suharto undertook a re-organization of the armed forces that concentrated power away from commanders to the president. In March 1983, he appointed General Leonardus Benjamin Moerdani as head of the armed forces. A tough and capable soldier, Moerdani was also a Roman Catholic, which precluded him from posing a political threat to Suharto.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Suharto ruthlessly suppressed elements that disturbed the tranquility of the New Order society. From 1983 to 1985, army death squads murdered up to 10,000 suspected criminals in response to a spike in crime rate (dubbed "Petrus Killings"). Suharto's imposition of Pancasila as sole ideology caused protests from conservative Islamic groups which considered Islamic law ("sharia") to be above any human conceptions. In September 1984, a violent demonstration in the Tanjung Priok area of Jakarta by conservative Muslims led to soldiers opening fire, massacring up to 100 protesters. A retaliatory series of small bombings (notably the bombing of Borobudur Temple in January 1985) led to arrests of hundreds of conservative Islamic activists, ranging from future parliamentary leader A. M. Fatwa to radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir (future founder of terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah). Attacks on police by the resurgent Libyan-aided Free Aceh Movement in 1989 led to a brutal military operation (""Operasi Jaring Merah"") that killed up to 12,000 people, mostly civilians, by the time ended the insurgency ended in 1992. More subtly, the Suharto government sought to better control the press by issuing a 1984 law requiring all media to possess a press operating licence ("SIUPP") which could be revoked at any time by the Ministry of Information.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: In the international arena, Western concern over Communism waned with the end of the Cold War, and Suharto's human-rights record came under greater international scrutiny. The November 1991 Santa Cruz Massacre in Dili, East Timor, resulted in the United States Congress passing limitations on IMET assistance to the Indonesian Military. Suharto retaliated by cancelling purchase orders for American F-16 fighter jets in 1997. When Netherlands condemned the Santa Cruz Massacre, Suharto retaliated by expelling the Dutch from IGGI in March 1992 and renaming it the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) which continued increasing aid to Indonesia. Realizing this trend, Suharto sought wider alliances under the rubric of economic development, away from over-reliance to United States support. Suharto was elected as head of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1992, while Indonesia became a founding member of APEC, in 1989, and hosted the Bogor APEC Summit in 1994.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Domestically, the growing rapaciousness of Suharto's family created discontent among the military, which lost access to power and lucrative rent-seeking opportunities. In the March 1988 MPR session, military legislators attempted to pressure Suharto by unsuccessfully seeking to block the nomination of Sudharmono, a Suharto-loyalist, as vice-president. After General Moerdani voiced his objections on the Suharto family's corruption, the president dismissed him from the position of military chief. Suharto proceeded to slowly "de-militarize" his regime; he dissolved the powerful Kopkamtib in September 1988 and ensured key military positions were held by loyalists.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: In an attempt to diversify his power base away from the military, Suharto began courting support from Islamic elements. He undertook a much-publicized hajj pilgrimage in 1991, took up name of Haji Mohammad Suharto, started promoting Islamic values into society, and promoted the careers of Islamic-oriented generals (dubbed the "green generals"). To win support from the nascent Muslim business community, which resented dominance of Chinese-Indonesian conglomerates, Suharto formed the Indonesian Association of Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) in November 1990, and appointed his protégé B. J. Habibie, Minister for Research and Technology since 1978, as its leader. During this period of Suharto's cozying with Islamists, race riots against ethnic-Chinese began to occur quite regularly, beginning with the April 1994 riot in Medan.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: By the 1990s, Suharto's government came to be dominated by sycophantic civilian politicians such as Habibie, Harmoko, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, and Akbar Tanjung, who owed their position solely to Suharto. As a sign of Habibie's growing clout, when three prominent Indonesian magazines—"Tempo", "DeTIK", and "Editor"—criticised Habibie's purchase of almost the entire fleet of the disbanded East German Navy in 1993, despite most of the vessels having little value other than scrap, Suharto ordered the offending publications to be closed down on 21 June 1994 on the pretext that these critiques could "incite conflicts within the cabinet". This would lead to several of the closed publications' journalists to form the Alliance of Independent Journalists shortly thereafter; "Tempo" would later move to the then-largely-uncensored internet as "Tempointeraktif" (which still exists today as "tempo.co") for the rest of the New Order, and the owner of "DeTIK" would launch another magazine called "DeTAK".


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: By the 1990s, elements of the growing Indonesian middle class, created by Suharto's economic development, were becoming restless with his autocracy and his family's brazen corruption, fuelling demands for "Reformasi" (reform) of the 30-year-old New Order system. By 1996, Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Sukarno and chairwoman of the normally compliant PDI, was becoming a rallying point for this growing discontent. In response, Suharto backed a co-opted faction of the PDI led by Suryadi, which removed Megawati from the chair. On 27 July 1996, an attack by soldiers and hired thugs led by Lieutenant-General Sutiyoso on demonstrating Megawati supporters in Jakarta resulted in fatal riots and looting. This incident was followed by waves of arrests on 200 democracy activists, 23 of whom were kidnapped (some were murdered) by army squads called "Tim Mawar" ("Rose Team") led by Suharto's son-in-law, Major-General Prabowo Subianto. Regardless of these incidents, as late as mid-1997, Suharto's grip on power seemed as secure as ever with the military led by his loyalists, all opposition groups suppressed, and the economy in good shape.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: The 1997 Asian financial crisis began in July 1997, in Thailand, and spread into Indonesia as foreign speculative investors pulled out their investments, sucking U.S. dollar liquidity in Indonesia and causing severe depreciation of the Indonesian rupiah. In the private sector, many Indonesian corporations had been borrowing heavily in lower-interest U.S. dollars, while their revenues were mostly in rupiah; their debt rapidly increased as the US dollar appreciated, leaving many companies virtually bankrupt. These companies desperately sold rupiah and bought U.S. dollars, causing the rupiah's value to drop from Rp 2,600 per dollar in August 1997 to over Rp 14,800 per dollar by January 1998. Efforts by the central bank to defend its managed float regime by selling dollars had little impact and instead drained Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves, forcing the government to free-float the currency and seek liquidity aid from the IMF (International Monetary Fund).


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: In exchange for US$43 billion in liquidity aid, Suharto was forced to sign three letters of intent from October 1997 to April 1998 with the IMF. The letters of intent promised reforms, which included closing banks owned by Suharto's family and cronies starting in November 1997. Plans to close unhealthy banks resulted in a bank run that drained liquidity; depositors knew of the poor regulations and risky related-party credit extensions of Indonesian banks. In January 1998, the government was forced to provide emergency liquidity assistance (BLBI), issue a blanket guarantee for bank deposits, and set up the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency to take over management of troubled banks to prevent the collapse of the financial system. Based on IMF recommendations, the government increased interest rates to 70% in February 1998 to control spiralling inflation caused by the higher price of imports, but this action killed availability of credit to the corporate sector. Suharto's foot-dragging in undertaking reforms demanded by IMF in relation to his children's business further weakened public confidence. According to American economist Steve Hanke, invited by Suharto in February 1998 to plan a currency board system, President Bill Clinton and IMF managing director Michel Camdessus deliberately worsened the Indonesian crisis to force Suharto to resign.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: Economic meltdown was accompanied by increasing political tension. Anti-Chinese riots occurred in Situbondo (1996), Tasikmalaya (1996), Banjarmasin (1997), and Makassar (1997); while bloody ethnic clashes broke out between the Dayak and Madurese settlers in Central Kalimantan in 1997. After violent campaign season, Golkar won the heavily rigged May 1997 MPR elections. The new MPR voted unanimously to re-elect Suharto to another five-year term in office in March 1998, upon which he proceeded to appoint his protege BJ Habibie as vice-president while stacking the cabinet with his own family and business associates (his daughter Tutut became Minister of Social Affairs). The government's decision to increase fuel prices by 70% on 4 May triggered anti-Chinese rioting in Medan. With Suharto increasingly seen as the source of the country's mounting economic and political crises, prominent political figures spoke out against his presidency (notably Muslim politician Amien Rais), and in January 1998 university students began organising nationwide demonstrations.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: In West Kalimantan there was communal violence between Dayaks and Madurese in 1996, in the Sambas conflict of 1999, and the Sampit conflict of 2001, all of which resulted in large-scale massacres of the Madurese. In the Sambas conflict, both Malays and Dayaks massacred Madurese.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: The crisis climaxed when Suharto was on a state visit to Egypt in May 1998. Security forces killed four student demonstrators from Jakarta's Trisakti University on 12 May 1998, which was followed by anti-Chinese rioting and looting across Jakarta and some other cities on 13–15 May that destroyed thousands of buildings and killed over 1,000 people. Various theories exist on the origins of the racial pogrom against the ethnic-Chinese. One theory suggested rivalry between military chief General Wiranto and Prabowo Subianto, while another theory suggested deliberate provocation by Suharto to divert blame for the crisis to the ethnic-Chinese and discredit the student movement.


title: New Order (Indonesia)

text: On 16 May, tens of thousands of university students occupied the parliament building, demanding Suharto's resignation. Upon Suharto's return to Jakarta, he tried to defend his presidency by offering to resign in 2003 and to reshuffle his cabinet. These efforts failed when his political allies deserted him by refusing to join the proposed new cabinet. According to military chief Wiranto, on 18 May, Suharto issued a decree which provided authority to him to take any measures to restore security (similar to the 1966 Supersemar), however Wiranto decided not to enforce the decree to prevent conflict with the population. On 21 May 1998, Suharto announced his resignation, upon which vice-president B. J. Habibie assumed the presidency in accordance with the constitution.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsylvania by land area, after Montour County. Philadelphia County is one of the three original counties, along with Chester and Bucks counties, created by William Penn in November 1682.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Since 1854, the county has been coextensive with the City of Philadelphia which is also its county seat. Philadelphia County is the core county in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Combined Statistical Area (PA-NJ-DE-MD, also known as the Delaware Valley), located along the lower Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, within the Northeast megalopolis. Philadelphia County is the economic and cultural anchor of the Delaware Valley, the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States with an estimated population of 6.096 million as of 2020.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Native American tribes of Lenape were the first known occupants in the area that became Philadelphia County. The first European settlers were Swedes and Finns who arrived in 1638. The Netherlands seized the area in 1655, but lost control to England in 1674. William Penn received his charter for Pennsylvania from Charles II of England in 1681, and in November 1682 he divided Pennsylvania into three counties. During the same year, Philadelphia was planned and was made the county seat and the capital of the Province of Pennsylvania.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Penn wanted Philadelphia, meaning "love brotherly", to be a place where religious tolerance and the freedom to worship were ensured. Philadelphia's name is shared with an ancient city in Asia Minor mentioned by the Bible's Book of Revelation. It was William Penn's desire, as a Quaker, that his "Holy Experiment" would be found blameless at the Last Judgment.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: When established, Philadelphia County consisted mainly of the area from the Delaware River west between the Schuylkill River to the south and the border with Bucks County to the north; the western boundary was undefined. Two counties would be formed out of Philadelphia County, Berks County which was formed in 1752 (from parts of Chester, Lancaster, and Philadelphia counties), and Montgomery County established in 1784. From these separations, as well as other border changes, was created the present-day boundaries of the county.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: The City of Philadelphia, as planned by Penn, comprised only that portion of the present day city situated between South and Vine Streets and the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. Other settlements were made beyond the boundaries of the city, and in the course of time they became incorporated separately and had separate governments.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Several of these settlements were situated immediately contiguous to the City of Philadelphia, such as Southwark and Moyamensing in the south, the Northern Liberties District, Kensington, Spring Garden and Penn District to the north, and West Philadelphia and Blockley to the west — which combined with the City of Philadelphia formed practically one continuously urban area, the whole group being known abroad simply as Philadelphia.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Besides these, there were a number of other outlying townships, villages and settlements throughout the county. Over time, as the population expanded out from the City of Philadelphia, those closer to the City of Philadelphia became absorbed into Philadelphia.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: During this period, the city government of Philadelphia and the county government of Philadelphia acted separately. By the mid-19th century, a more structured government bureaucracy was needed. A reform charter, on February 2, 1854, defined all the boroughs, townships and districts of the County of Philadelphia as being within the City of Philadelphia, thus abolishing the patchwork of cities, boroughs, and townships that had comprised Philadelphia County since its founding.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: The city-county consolidation was a result of the inability of a colonial-type government by committees to adapt to the needs of a growing city for new public services, for example, better streets, police, transportation, sanitation and schools.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: The newly integrated districts had marked characteristics between them, but over time, after the consolidation, these characteristics were generally integrated into the City of Philadelphia. Presently, the names of some of these old districts survive as the names of neighborhoods in the city, with their boundaries roughly matching their historic boundaries.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: In 1951, a new law known as the Home Rule Charter merged city and county offices completely. This new charter provided the city with a common structure and outlined the "strong mayor" form of government that is still used.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: The county offices were merged with the city government in 1952, effectively eliminating the county as a government. Even though the county no longer has a government structure by law, in both the Unconsolidated Pennsylvania Statutes and The Philadelphia Code and Charter, the County of Philadelphia is still an entity within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is thus subject to the provisions and laws of the Commonwealth concerning counties. Exceptions include restrictions stated in the Home Rule Charter of Philadelphia, Act of Consolidation, 1854, and subsequent legislation. The county also is the only First Class County, meaning it had a population of 1.5 million or more at the last census, in the Commonwealth.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Philadelphia has become racially and ethnically diverse over the years, and this process continues. Since 1990, (the year that immigration began increasing), thousands of immigrants from Latin America, Asia and Europe have arrived in the county. Presently, the city has some of the largest Irish, Italian, German, Polish, Puerto Rican, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, Ukrainian, Jamaican, Chinese, Arab, Thai, and Cambodian populations in America. The county has the fourth largest concentration of African Americans in North America, including large numbers of Liberians, Nigerians, and Sudanese. The Northeast section of the city, and more significantly the suburbs of Philadelphia, contain large numbers of Indian Americans and Mexicans.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: At the 2010 census, the city was 41.0% White, 43.4% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 6.3% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 2.8% two or more race, and 5.9% were some other race. 12.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Philadelphia County has a total area of , of which is land and (6.0%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Pennsylvania by area. Bodies of water include the Delaware River, Schuylkill River, Cobbs Creek, Wissahickon Creek, and Pennypack Creek.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: The lowest point in the county is 10 feet above sea level near Fort Mifflin in Southwest Philadelphia, at the convergence of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. The highest point is in Chestnut Hill, at 432 feet above sea level, near Evergreen Place, just north and west of Evergreen Avenue.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: At the 2000 census, there were 1,517,550 people, 590,071 households and 352,272 families residing in the county. The population density was 11,233.6/square mile (4,337.3/km). There were 661,958 housing units, with an average density of . and the racial composition of the county was 45.0% White, 43.2% African American, 5.5% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 5.8% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.5% of the population. The five largest ancestries include Irish (13.6%), Italian (9.2%), German (8.1%), Polish (4.3%), and English (2.9%).


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Of the 590,071 households, 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.1% were married couples living together, 22.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.22.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: 25.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 25, 29.3% from 25 to 45, 20.3% from 45 to 65, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males. The median household income was $30,746 and the median family income was $37,036. Males had a median income of $34,199 compared with $28,477 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,509. About 18.4% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Currently, Philadelphia County has no government structure. Prior to the Act of Consolidation in 1854, a Board of Commissioners governed the county in accordance with the law of Pennsylvania at the time. The origins of the Board of Commissioners are found in the office of Tax Assessor of Philadelphia County, established by an Act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly on November 27, 1700. Tax Assessor was an office of six persons, elected annually to estimate the county's fiscal needs, to make an assessment and levy a tax to meet them, and to appoint its collectors and the County Treasurer.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: On March 28, 1710, the Assembly approved an act that created an appointed Board of County Commissioners, which was changed to a notable elected board in 1725. The Commissioners were empowered to demand accountings of the Assessors and Collectors and to appoint new collectors if necessary. Subsequent acts passed by the Assembly in 1715, 1718 and 1722 increased the power and the scope of the Board, granting the Commissioners authority to share with the assessors in the assessment process and in the allocation of tax receipts among the various county projects, to participate in the appointment of the County Treasurer, and to issue warrants and levy fines against delinquent taxpayers and collectors. Other Acts passed during the eighteenth century gave the Commissioners regulatory powers and maintenance functions in regard to county lands, roads, bridges, wharves and landings, courts and the county prison.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: In 1780, the Assembly passed an Act that abolished the Board of County Assessors and left its functions with the Commissioners alone, who continued to appoint the assessors and collectors of each of the county's boroughs, townships and districts. Further legislation in 1799 and 1805 formally established the Commissioners' functions of furnishing lists of voters to election officers and aiding the Sheriff in the selection of jurors, as both were based upon lists of taxpayers. During the first half of the nineteenth century, the Commissioners' duties were further increased to include the leasing of polling places, the provision of ballot boxes, and related duties.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: The consolidation of the City and County of Philadelphia in 1854 abolished the Board of County Commissioners, with most of its functions transferred to the popularly elected City Commissioners who, although retaining their original title and duties, were thenceforth considered County officers. Because the City Commissioners were considered County officers, they were still regulated by state laws concerning County Commissioners. The City Commissioners should not be confused with the City Council, as these are two separate entities.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Even though the governments of both the City and County were effectively consolidated by the Act of Consolidation, not all offices and agencies, such as the Board of Inspectors of the County Prison (Philadelphia Prison System), Coroner, Recorder of Deeds, and Sheriff, that were controlled by the county prior to the consolidation were transferred to the city, though their oversight and regulation were now managed by the City Commissioners. Other offices and agencies, like that of Offices of City Tax Collector and County Tax Collector were reduced to that of clerk in the new office of Receiver of Taxes. Both Commissioners' (City and County) powers in regard to streets and City property were transferred to the city's Departments of Highways and City Property. From 1854 until 1867, the Commissioners also served as members of the Board of Revision of Taxes. In 1867, the City Assessors were made appointees of that Board.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: The powers left to the Commissioners were chiefly accounting ones concerning county institutions, regulatory duties regarding weights and measures (given them by an Act of 1895) and administrative functions in association with elections, which culminated in complete control of their conduct with the formation of the County Board of Elections under their direction in 1937.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Although not mentioned in the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, the City Commissioners' Office became part of the City government by way of the 1951 City-County Amendment to the State Constitution. Additionally, the 1963 amendment to the First Class Cities Home Rule Act gave City Council the power to pass legislation with regard to operations of the City Commissioners' Office. The 1965 City-County Consolidation Ordinance of City Council further enabled these enactments.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: Philadelphia County is overwhelmingly Democratic, having given the Democratic presidential candidate their largest percentage of any county in Pennsylvania in every election since 1968. The county has voted for the Democrat in every presidential election since 1936. In 1972, it was the only county in the state to vote for George McGovern over Richard Nixon. Even Republican Senator Arlen Specter, a Philadelphia resident, did not receive one third of the Philadelphia vote in the 2004 U.S. Senate election, which he won easily. In his first election, 1980 U.S. Senate election he did win the county, this was the last time a Republican won the county in a statewide election); however, Specter switched to the Democratic Party in 2009 and was defeated in the 2010 Democratic Primary.


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: The following districts, townships, and boroughs existed in Philadelphia County before the Act of Consolidation of 1854:


title: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

text: According to the Köppen climate classification system, Philadelphia County has a humid subtropical climate.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: Over the Edge is an American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Jonathan Kaplan and released in May 1979. The film, based on actual events, had a limited theatrical release but has since achieved cult film status. It was Matt Dillon's film debut.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: In the fictional isolated planned community of New Granada, east of Denver, Colorado, Carl Willat and his friends Richie White, Claude Zachary, and Claude's younger brother Johnny hang out at "the Rec" (Recreation Center), the only place for adolescents to recreate together, supervised by Rec counselor Julia Vogel.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: Atop an overpass, Mark Perry and his friend shoot a BB hole in the windshield of a passing patrol car and flee on their bikes, passing Carl and Richie and telling them to hide. Sergeant Ed Doberman arrives shortly, spots them and finds a pocket knife on Richie. He apprehends them and notifies Carl's father Fred, a local businessman. After questioning the pair about the BB gun, Doberman lectures Carl about potential imprisonment in "the Hill", a juvenile detention facility.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: The next day, during an assembly in the school's cafeteria about the previous day's events, Carl meets and befriends Cory. That evening, Carl asks about the land opposite the Rec, and Fred explains that Homeowners Association president Jerry Cole wants wealthy landowner Mr. Sloan to buy the land and build an industrial park there instead of the planned twin cinema and roller rink and bowling alley, infuriating Carl.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: At the playground, Claude buys a gram of hash from Tip. The group relocates to a nearby house after notification about a party there. Carl witnesses Cory making out with Mark, who warns him against mentioning his name to the cops. After Doberman arrives and announces the 9:30pm curfew, Carl walks home alone, unknowingly followed and assaulted by Mark and his friend. His parents catch him, interrupting their meeting with Cole.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: The next day, Doberman visits the Rec; ignoring Julia's objections, he finds drugs on Claude and apprehends him. He emerges to find Richie atop the patrol car, who escapes. Richie and Carl encounter Cory and her friend Abby, who have just stolen a pistol from a house. At a half-finished townhouse that the boys call their condo, they plan a 'picnic with a gun' the next day. Noticing Mr. Sloan's car at his house, Carl plants firecrackers under the hood, which detonate as the men are departing, sabotaging Sloan's plans.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: At the picnic, the teenagers alternate shooting until the ammunition runs out. Later, Claude explains that Tip sold him the hash, and Cory reveals Tip's recent arrest. Under interrogation, Tip confesses he told Doberman about giving Claude hash. When Carl gets home, his mother Sandra forbids him to see his friends and explains that the Rec will be closed until a new replacement counselor is found, further angering him.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: The next day, after overhears Tip's mother naming her son's assailants, Carl grabs Richie and they run to Richie's house, where Richie grabs the pistol and the keys to his mother's Bronco. Doberman chases them; they flip the Bronco and split up. After Doberman fires a warning shot, Richie points his unloaded pistol at him and Doberman kills Richie. Carl escapes to the condo, and Cory later meets him there and they spend the night together. The next morning, en route home to grab money, Carl spots and shoots Mark in the shoulder with the BB gun, causing him to crash his dirt bike; the pair argue, then reconcile. Carl goes home, sneaks in and after seeing his mother on the phone discussing a community meeting about the adolescents at the school occurring that night, flees to the Rec, meeting up with his friends.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: Deciding to confront the parents during the meeting, the adolescents chain the doors and begin lighting fireworks and trashing the school. After beginning to destroy cars in the parking lot, they break open a patrol car and pull out guns, eventually blowing up several cars and starting fires. Police later arrive and the teenagers disperse, with Doberman apprehending Carl. Waiting down the road, Mark shoots Doberman's car, causing it to crash into the Rec and catch fire. Carl escapes, leaving the unconscious Doberman inside the car to perish in a massive explosion.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: The next morning, Carl boards a bus bound for the Hill with the other adolescents involved in the vandalism. As the bus clears an overpass, Carl smiles upon seeing Claude, Johnny, and Cory waving down to them.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: The film was inspired by events described in a 1973 "San Francisco Examiner" article entitled "Mousepacks: Kids on a Crime Spree" by Bruce Koon and James A. Finefrock, which reported on young kids vandalizing property in Foster City, California. The middle class planned community had an unusually high level of juvenile crime. Screenwriters Charles S. Haas and Tim Hunter began work shortly after the article's publication, including field research in the town itself where they interviewed some of the kids. Hunter said that the script accurately reflected the article with the exception of a more violent ending.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: Orion Pictures helped finance the film; producer George Litto borrowed an additional $1 million. Director Jonathan Kaplan, who was just 30 when hired, took a documentary approach to filming and hired unknown actors. Among them was Matt Dillon, then age 14, whom the filmmakers discovered in a middle school in Westchester County, New York. This was Dillon's feature film debut. Shooting took place over 20 days in 1978 in the Colorado cities of Aurora and Greeley.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: Due to the negative publicity surrounding a wave of recent youth gang films such as "The Warriors" and "Boulevard Nights", "Over the Edge" was given a limited theatrical release in 1979. It debuted on May 18, 1979 in eight cities in the United States on a test run basis, with the biggest release in Charlotte, North Carolina.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: In a 1978 interview between Eddie Van Halen and journalist Steve Rosen where the Van Halen guitarist discusses the song "Light Up the Sky," he explained, "Warner Bros. is financing some movie, and they wanted us to write the theme song for it and we were thinking of using that song." While not mentioning the movie by name, Van Halen later describes it as "A neat movie - everyone's going to relate to that. It's high school kids up north in New Granada, some new housing development. They destroy everything, they lock it...they had a PTA meeting, because all the parents were getting together to talk about their problems they were having with all the students and kids destroying the town. And then while all the people were in there, they lock them in, they chain the doors with all the cops inside and stuff. They went out and started smashing the cars and blowing everything up - it was insane...It was supposed to be a true story. So I think maybe the title of that kind of sprung from that. Because it was a real trippy movie, and it would be a good title calling it 'Light Up the Sky.' Because the last scene of the movie was heavy, boy - it’s just a big flash of flame type of thing." Ultimately, the band opted not to give the song to the film, because Van Halen says in the same interview, "We went and saw a screening of the flick...and it ain't gonna win no Academy Award or nothing." Instead, the song was included on the album "Van Halen II".


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, "Over the Edge" has an approval rating of 83% based on 12 critics' reviews.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" gave the movie a positive review, stating, "It's to Mr. Kaplan's credit that he makes New Granada look just as boring and alienated to us as it does to the unfortunate children who live there." Roger Ebert said the film's "violent climax is particularly unconvincing," but the movie captures the "feeling of teen-age frustration and paranoia...and the rhythms of teen-age life...how kids talk and feel and yearn, about the maddening sensation of occupying a body with adolescent values but adult emotions." Ebert concluded the film "does an uncanny job of portraying these kids in a recognizable, convincing way." Both Ebert and Gene Siskel were mixed on an episode of the movie review series "Sneak Previews". The performances of Dillon, Michael Kramer, and Pamela Ludwig were also praised by critics.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: Richard Labonté of the "Ottawa Citizen" wrote, "The strength of "Over the Edge", and what set it apart...from most of the gang films of the late '70s, was Kaplan's ability to portray more than merely juvenile violence: his kid actors trash their school with the best of them, but the seething reasons for their behavior is discussed and explored and assessed, rather than merely exploited...capturing with discretion and with discernment the anger of suburban sterility and the dependence on the deadening effect of dope."


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: The film has since gained cult film status. In late 1981, it was shown at "Film at Joseph Papp's Public Theater" as part of "Word of Mouth", a program devoted to films that had been overlooked because of poor marketing or distribution. This screening led to it being listed on critical top-10 lists, and it was favorably reviewed by Vincent Canby at "The New York Times". The film then re-emerged in the 1980s with showings on cable, including HBO and a videocassette release in 1989.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: In a 2000 review for the "The" "Austin Chronicle", Mike Emery said the film is "a vibrant depiction of confused teen life." The "Chicago Reader" wrote, "Director Jonathan Kaplan has a fine feel for the crushing blandness of 'planned communities'—the anger that possesses his underage heroes proceeds from a physically oppressive emptiness, represented by rows of hollow town houses and vast, blasted fields. Part wish fulfillment and part social moralizing, the film never resolves its point of view, but a few of the apocalyptic images stay in the mind."


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: A novelization of the film by Charlie Haas and Tim Hunter was published by Grove Press aongside the film's release. Included in the book are 32 pages of photographs from the shooting of the film. The book is long out of print.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: Director Richard Linklater has said "Over the Edge" influenced his 1993 film "Dazed and Confused". "Over the Edge" also partly inspired the music videos for the songs "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana and "Evil Eye" by Fu Manchu.


title: Over the Edge (film)

text: In 2021, entertainment website "Yardbarker" named "Over the Edge" the “signature film” of the city of Denver.