Eligibility of Soeharto, nine other figures to get national hero status assessed

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 10/17/2010 2:03 PM

The government has proposed late former president Soeharto and nine other deceased figures to get national hero status to the Honor and Service Council, Cabinet secretary Dipo Alam said in Jakarta Sunday.

Dipo said that the proposal, made by the Ministry of Social Service, was being assessed by the Honor and Service Council before being decided by the President.

“It’s not true that one Pak Harto will get the national hero status. There are nine others who are being proposed by the Ministry of Social Service,” Dipo said as quoted by kompas.com.

The nine other figures, said Dipo, who is also the former student activist in the 1970s, include late noted ulema and former president Abdurrahman Wahid, former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin and J. Leimena.

Soeharto and nine other figures are part of 18 previously proposed by the Ministry of Social Service, Dipo said.

“Let’s think positively. The government will process them in line with the proposal from the public by taking into consideration their contributions to the country during their lives,” he added.

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Gus Dur to Receive National Hero Honors: E. Java Official

Jakarta Globe, Amir Tejo & Candra Malik | October 05, 2010       

Jakarta. The government will soon declare late President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid a national hero in response to widespread demand from the people of East Java.

Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, seen in this file photo,
 will soon be named a national hero by the government
 in response to widespread demand from the people
of East Java. (JG Photo)    

Deputy Governor Syaifullah Yusuf said he had received verbal notification from the Ministry of Social Affairs and was now waiting for the formal letter to be issued as the province plans to officially announce the honor on National Heroes day on Nov. 10.

Gus Dur, much noted for his efforts in promoting pluralism in the country, was born in Jombang district, East Java.

“We are waiting for the president to sign the letter to be handed over in time for National Heroes day,” Syaifullah said. “We thank the government for its prompt response to our request.”

There were many spontaneous appeals to the government to grant Gus Dur the honor after he passed away in December.

However, Gus Dur’s family said it had not been notified by the government of the plan to declare him a hero.

“Our family has never proposed anything to the government to honor Gus Dur in any form. We did not request the government to renovate his grave, nor did we ask for a national hero title,” Annita Hayatunnufus, Gus Dur’s third daughter, told the Jakarta Globe.

The family said it would wait for formal notification before responding.

In addition to the national honor, the provincial government is planning to renovate the former president’s burial site by widening the access road to allow more visitors.

About 8,000 visitors make their way to the tomb for weekend pilgrimages, with 4,000 more coming during the week, according to provincial government data.

Gus Dur, known as a champion of democracy and moderate Islam, died at the age of 69.

He was Indonesia’s fourth president and was the first elected head of state after the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998.

Educated in Indonesia, Egypt, Iraq and Canada, Gus Dur had a reputation for religious tolerance and moderate politics.

Aside from his prominent political role, he was also leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, a Muslim organization with about 40 million members and one of the largest independent Islamic organizations in the world.

Emotional Scenes as Indonesian Court Rules in Favor of Elderly Woman

Jakarta Globe, Stephanie Riady, July 27, 2010

Soetarti Sukarno, right, has won her case — and evaded a jail sentence — after legal action launched by state pawnshop company PT Perum Pegadaian. (JG Photo/Safir Makki)

Jakarta. The elderly widow of one of Indonesia’s independence heroes has won a battle of David and Goliath proportions against state pawnshop company PT Perum Pegadaian.

To cheers of delight from an overflowing public gallery and cries of “merdeka” (“freedom”), the East Jakarta District Court “declares Soetarti Soekarno free of all charges” in a ruling that will allow her to live out her final years in the home she has been occupying for the last 20 years.

In wildly emotional scenes, members of the media and supporters rushed the woman, who is in her 70s, jumping the bar of the court to take photographs and offer their congratulations.

As police screamed at reporters to control themselves, others in the court started singing the Indonesian national anthem.

Similar scenes were replayed outside the courtroom, as news of the verdict traveled like the wind to supporters and demonstrators protesting outside.

Two other widows similarly prosecuted by Pegadaian are awaiting their verdicts in separate trials. The rulings are expected later today.

State prosecutors, led by Ibnu Suud, had been demanding a two-month jail sentence after Pegadaian accused the elderly trio of illegally squatting in the homes owned by the company.

Pegadaian wanted to tear down the homes and convert them to townhouses for its high-ranking officials.

The women have been attempting to take advantage of government subsidies and buy back the homes they have lived in for decades.

A 1994 law stipulates that petitioners can apply to buy the company-issued homes they live in, provided they can pay for half of the house in installments over a five- to 20-year period.

The widows were encouraged by earlier cases in which residents were able to buy back their company-issued homes.

However, the three women’s requests have been turned down.

The women and their families have been living on Jalan Cipinang Jaya, East Jakarta, since 1979. Their husbands all worked for Pegadaian.

Idham Khalid declared "guru of nation"

Antara News, Monday, July 12, 2010 19:18 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The death of noted former Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) leader and Muslim politician, Dr.K.H.Idham Chalid, was well remembered by various Indonesian figures.

A.M Fatwa. (ANTARA News/
Fanny Octavianus)

Former deputy chairman of the People`s Consultative Assembly (MPR) AM Fatwa was among the figures who gave his opinions about the late Idham Chalid.

Speaking to reporters when paying his last respects at the deceased`s home before his burial in Cisarua, West Java, on Monday, Fatwa declared the late Idham Chalid as a guru of the nation who firmly held the philosophy of water in his political practices.

"I have known him since 1960s. He looks like water, the source of life."

"Like the flexible water, he is good at making self-adaptation but he remains to have his own stand point because water itself has extraordinary power," Fatwa explained about the late Idham Chalid.

The late Idham Khalid also had wise views in practicing politics, he said.

After being laid in state at his residence in Cipete, South Jakarta, from Sunday to Monday morning, late Idham Khalid`s body was buried at the family cemetery inside the Darul Qur`an Islamic Boarding School`s complex in Cisarua, West Java, on Monday afternoon.

His burial at the school`s complex had met his own choice, Head of the Darul Qur`an Islamic Boarding School Hasanudin said.

"He had ever stated his will to be buried at the compound of this boarding school," he said.

Idham Chalid, second deputy prime minister in former President Soekarno`s administration, passed away at the age of 88 at 08.00 a.m. on Sunday after suffering ailment in the past 10 years.

The Darul Qur`an Islamic Boarding School itself was founded by the former Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader for orphans in 1969.

Before the deceased was brought to the Islamic boarding school, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also paid his last respects at the late Idham Chalid`s home in South Jakarta.

In his remarks, the head of state said Idham Chalid was a great national figure with equally great ideas.

Indonesia had lost one of its best sons."We know him as a great figure with equally great ideas who has made tremendous contributions to the state and nation," he said.

Born in Setui, South Kalimantan, on August 27, 1922, Idham Chalid was survived by a wife, children and grandchildren.

During his life, besides ever leading NU from 1956 to 1984, he was also chairman of MPR/DPR from 1972 to 1977.

The late Idham Chalid was also known as the founder of the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP). During the Soekarno era, he served as deputy prime minister twice.

He continued to serve the country under Soeharto by holding several ministerial posts, and chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA).

The late Idham Chalid was also known as a polyglot with fluent Arabic, English, Dutch, and Japanese languages. His honorary doctorate degree was given by prestigious Al-Azhar University.

A farewell prayer: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (second right), Nahdlatul Ulama chairman Said Aqil Siradj (right), cleric Zainuddin MZ (second left) and relatives of late Idham Chalid pray for the deceased in Darul Maarif, Cipete, South Jakarta, on Monday. Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf

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Activists demand national heroine status for Marsinah

The Jakarta Post , Sun, 05/09/2010 10:35 AM

Never forget: Activists rally to commemorate slain labor activist Marsinah at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Saturday. They demanded the government to declare May 8 Women Workers’ Day. JP/Ricky Yudhistira

Activists demanded Saturday that Marsinah, a labor activist found dead in 1993 in East Java, be honored as a national heroine.

“Given the current socioeconomic climate, Marsinah’s sacrifice and achievements can inspire Indonesia’s oppressed people,” they said in a statement read out during a discussion.

The discussion also heard a statement that activists claim was issued by Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, in which the government apologized for Marsinah’s murder, with the minister expressing support for labor activists’ campaign to make her a national hero.

“On behalf of the government, I want to apologize for all that has happened, which eventually caused Marsinah’s [death]. I also apologize to her family, who has suffered all this time because of their loss,” the text read. The authenticity of the text could not be verified.

The discussion was held by the Indonesian People’s Opposition Forum (FOR Indonesia) at the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) to commemorate Women Workers’ Day. They are demanding that the government declares May 8 as Women Workers’ Day.

Marsinah was a worker at a watch factory in Sidoarjo, whose murdered body was found on May 8, 1993.

She had led a 500-strong labor action to press worker demands for allowances. All protest leaders were told to resign from the company by the local military command.

Marsina’s body, discovered in a hut inside a forest in Nganjuk, East Java, indicated she may have been raped and tortured before being killed. (JP/dis)

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