Two decades into the reformasi era, the military and the police are still engaged in tussles over business interests-something of a normalcy in the New Order era. In Kotabaru, South Kalimantan, when two companies were entangled in a coal mine and oil palm plantation dispute, both armed institutions were involved all the way to their top-level commanders.

The dispute began with Sebuku Iron Lateritic Ores's (SILO) and Multi Sarana Agro Mandiri's (MS