Suharto is being considered for the title of National Hero? Does he deserve it?

pantaiema

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MPR Proposal to Give Soeharto the Title of National Hero, How Did the Government Respond? Emerge again Kompas Sep 30, 2024

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasion...golkar-dukung-soeharto-jadi-pahlawan-nasional Golkar Elite Supports Soeharto to Become a National Hero.

Let’s break it down:
  • He was responsible for the disappearance and death of half a millions of suspected PKI members, whose bodies were later found in rivers and rice fields.
  • In his final years before being ousted, he was also accountable for the disappearance of many activists who were critical of his regime or involved in protests against him.
  • He manipulated general elections using his political vehicle 'golkar' and MPR, to maintain his grip on power. In other thread it has been highlighted that more than half of MPR member are not voted by the voters but appointed by him.
  • During his presidency, Indonesia is either the most corrupt or ranked among the most corrupt countries globally.
  • His immediate family acted as if they owned the country. A prime example is his son, Tommy Suharto, who orchestrated the assassination of Supreme Court judge Syafiuddin Kartasasmita. Where is justice to the family of this supreme court judge who made this decision ??
  • He also manipulated history textbooks, making them mandatory for school children to be used in the schools during his rule. No wonder many millennials and Gen-Z especially those who are too naive, lack of critical analysis,too lazy to read other sources other than the one they have learned from manipulated history books in school, still believe he deserves to be recognized as a national hero.
Does anyone actually believe he deserves to become a national hero?

The real issue here seems to be that his children still have the wealth for campaign, promotion, manipulation of the history, influence the decision-makers, like members of the MPR, through bribery. So the issue to nominate him as a National Hero never subside but come almost every single year.

Guess who propose Suharto to become a National Hero. It is 'Golkal' and the person the chairman of MPR Bambang Soesatyo who is also is from 'Golkar' party. This is his track record from ICW (Indonesian Corruption Watch)
  • Bambang Soesatyo was once mentioned by Miryam S. Haryani as having pressured her not to admit to the distribution of money in the e-KTP case.
  • The testimony was later retracted by Miryam and became the forerunner to the use of the DPR's Right of Inquiry for the KPK.
  • Bambang Soesatyo was also questioned several times by the KPK in the corruption case of the driving license exam simulator at the National Police Traffic Corps in 2013.
 
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The title of this article
"Removal of Soeharto's name from KKN (Collution, corruption, nepotism) based on the MPR Decree and proposing the title of national hero, survivor of serious human rights violations: 'That is an insult. He is not a hero but a criminal"

This is yet another example, another warning of how unpredictable things can be in Indonesia. Someone expected to be labelled as a criminal might instead be hailed as a hero.

This bbc article is in Indonesian, but use google translate for unofficial translation.

Literally his family is using the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), again from Golkar Party to remove the name Soeharto's name from 'Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism (KKN) which was accompanied by the proposal of giving him the title of national hero. Keep in mind unlike the true parliament DPR (House of Representatives), many of MPR members are not voted by the voters in the general election.

By many people including the victim of his regime, reform activists, human right activists called this an insult to the families of survivors of past gross human rights violations.

Ini dia eyang oembantai.jpg


This is the tile of this Poster:
"This is the god grandfather of mass murderer, Indonesian mass graves"
 
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Does anyone actually believe he deserves to become a national hero?
Absolutely. He is the symbol of what is the country striving to become these days. According to the country are their heroes made.
 
Absolutely. He is the symbol of what is the country striving to become these days. According to the country are their heroes made.
How can you say he should be made a national hero, after reading about how he plundered the countries wealth, killed, murdered, disappeared thousands, and left all those families without a husband and father.
 
How can you say he should be made a national hero, after reading about how he plundered the countries wealth, killed, murdered, disappeared thousands, and left all those families without a husband and father.
I do not believe centurian is agreeing he should be a national hero, only that the course the nation has been heading he would fit right in as a hero.
 
I do not believe centurian is agreeing he should be a national hero, only that the course the nation has been heading he would fit right in as a hero.
If that's true, then the nation is heading for a heap of trouble.
 
Does anyone actually believe he deserves to become a national hero?
There are certainly arguments against it but there are also valid arguments for it. I suppose there'd be a comparison of his term compared to his predecessor's, and his accomplishments before he assumed office. But then it's hardly up to a bunch of foreigners on a message board to decide.
 
There are certainly arguments against it but there are also valid arguments for it. I suppose there'd be a comparison of his term compared to his predecessor's, and his accomplishments before he assumed office. But then it's hardly up to a bunch of foreigners on a message board to decide.
Run those valid "arguments for" past us if you will.
 
But then it's hardly up to a bunch of foreigners on a message board to decide.
Completely agreed. It is none of our business.
Would you be OK with a bunch of Mexican immigrants critizing the Senat awarding a medal or honorary title to a American citizen ?
We can have (discreetly) our personnal opinion but nothing more.

And by the way, over the last 50 years, the American presidents are responsible for several million deaths. I don't think they lose any sleep about it...
 
And by the way, over the last 50 years, the American presidents are responsible for several million deaths. I don't think they lose any sleep about it...
Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot have 100 million+ killed under their belt and their sleeping was quite ok.
 
There are certainly arguments against it but there are also valid arguments for it. I suppose there'd be a comparison of his term compared to his predecessor's, and his accomplishments before he assumed office. But then it's hardly up to a bunch of foreigners on a message board to decide.
True, but please distinguish between making decisions from individuals (e.g like official voting to decide the outcome) and the general expression of opinions by the public.

In today’s interconnected world, discussing global issues is common practice. Even if a situation doesn't directly affect you, your family, close relative, friends, etc it can still have indirect impact on your lives.

This forum frequently addresses global affairs, especially when they have a direct impact on those residing in the relevant countries. A prime example is the extensive discussion of the U.S. elections like in this thread

Similarly, a discussion about how Bali has become a refuge for Ukrainians and Russians, but later it evolved into a broader conversation about immigration and citizenship in the U.S.
https://www.expatindo.org/community...fuge-for-ukrainians-and-russians.6977/page-16
https://www.expatindo.org/community...fuge-for-ukrainians-and-russians.6977/page-17

Take a closer look at who are getting heavily involved in those discussions?

Participants in this forum are diverse, including foreigners, Indonesian citizens, spouses of Indonesians, children from mixed marriages, Indonesian diaspora, etc. Not to mention this is an open forum where anyone could access the information presented in this forum.
 
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It's local politics so there's probably a lot more going on than any of us will ever know about.
I'm unable to offer any educated comments on the situation.
I suspect most foreigners are roughly the same.
 

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