section_path: History/Indonesian National Armed Forces Law of 2004 (Law No. 34 of 2004)/Background
section_name: Background
paragraph_text: Background
  
  The Armed Forces Personnel Law's function was retained until the fall of Suharto in May 1998. Popular pressure on the armed forces dwifungsi doctrine prompted the armed forces commander Wiranto to reform the armed forces paradigm and role, as stated in his Armed Forces Day speech of 5 October 1998. A new doctrine, which was named the new paradigm, dismantled the non-military functions of the armed forces. In light of the new paradigm, a number of new legislations were made to enforce the new doctrine. These legislations, according to Director-General of Defense Resources Rear Admiral Darmawan, mandated the existence of an armed forces law.
  
  As early as December 2000, University of Indonesia international relations scholar Kusnanto Anggoro proposed four separate bills regarding defense on security—in which the armed forces bill was included. According to Kusnanto, the bills were necessary to implement the reforms that had already been declared by the armed forces in the previous year. Similar demand was voiced by military observer Ikrar Nusa Bhakti in 2001, who argued that the bills must be drafted immediately after the national defense bill was submitted to the House of Representatives. On that year, in response to the demands, discussions regarding the law began between the armed forces and the department of defense.