Ahead of National Heroes Day on Nov. 10, our people are discussing and debating the proposal of the presidential council in charge of designating nominees for honorary titles of heroes. Among the 10 short-listed candidates it has proposed, one much-debated name is that of former president Soeharto.
Does he deserve to be an Indonesian national hero? Some people believe he was indeed a hero, while others say he was a despot. Some people praise him for the development of Indonesia during his 32 years in power, while others point to him as the culprit of our country’s current troubles because of his corruptive mentality and its influence on the nation.
“We were in a better state during Soeharto’s rule than today,” some say. “So we must be grateful to him by honoring him with a national hero’s title”.
But others disagree, saying instead that he should have been dragged into the international tribunal and charged for human rights violations related to 1965 genocide, the invasion and massacre in East Timor (now Timor Leste), kidnapping and persecution of political opponents, etc.
A figure will always have two faces, and to be a hero or not is really subjective. This is the same as Kim Jong-il, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Osama bin Laden; their loyal followers adore them as heroes, but America regards them as enemies.
Do we need a hero? Most Jakartans would say perhaps that a hero for them is simply someone who can solve the severe traffic congestion and flood problem. If we ask Suciwati, the widow of the slain human rights campaigner Munir, a hero may be someone who can capture her husband’s murderer, and whoever dares to hand down punishment. And if the same question was addressed to victims of the Lapindo mudflow in Sidoarjo, they would pick someone who could restore their vanished homes.
Everybody can be a hero, but one thing is for sure, as wise men say, a hero is someone we can admire without apology.
Soeharto was not Nelson Mandela, who served 27 years in prison for his anti-apartheid movement. Soeharto was also not Kim Dae-jung, the man who was called the “Nelson Mandela of Asia” for his similar spirit to Mandela, who fought against authoritarian power.
Is Soeharto a hero? Sadly, Soeharto has been rejected by his own people, until now. If today public have been debating whether to bestow or deny him of the hero title, it is the government’s fault, because cases related to Soeharto have continually ended in uncertainty, and verdicts were never handed down.
The four consecutive presidents after him, i.e. B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, Megawati Soekarnoputri and now Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono have seemed reluctant to touch him. Thus, it was never stated formally by the courts whether Soeharto was innocent or guilty.
Now the hero title for Soeharto is being discussed and whatever is decided will remain controversial.
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Serpong, 25 Oct 2010
Titus J.
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