Rizal Ramli Rejects Suharto To Become A National Hero

JAKARTA - The Soeharto government and the New Order (Orba) are remembered as repressive regimes. Those who oppose will be pushed back. Activists can be imprisoned. Officials can be exiled abroad as ambassadors. This narrative is not easily forgotten by activists opposed to the Suharto regime.

Take for example when Suharto's name was proposed to get the title of national hero. Rizal Ramli became the most opposed person. The economist and activist who had been in New Order prison saw Suharto as unfit to be a national hero because he had many past sins.

Indonesia was once in the absence of the President of Indonesia who was appointed as a national hero. At least this happened in the era of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) government. President Yudhoyono has not considered giving the title of pahlawahan to his predecessor to have urgency. Moreover, only Soekarno has died.

Everything changed when Suharto died on January 27, 2008. The wishes of the Golkar Party and Suharto sympathizers proposed his benefits as an unbearable national hero. They hope Suharto will become the first Indonesian leader to be designated a hero. Even though Suharto had only died a few days.

Moreover, people's memories regarding the greatness of Suharto and the New Order are still clearly remembered. The proposers consider Suharto's achievements to the nation and state to be piled up. Moreover, Suharto is considered to have been in power for very long, for 32 years.

The program is a five-year Development Plan (Repelita) until now has received praise. In fact, none of his successors have a development plan as clear as Rapelita. Suharto's superiority in terms of food self-sufficiency, development, and national stability is also an added value.

A series of achievements made Suharto have a great opportunity to become a national hero. This wish was not heeded by many parties. They felt Suharto's proposal to become a hero was too forced. Moreover, Suharto himself just passed away.

Criticism also arose because Suharto was repressive. Suharto was considered a human rights violator. This condition was due to the militaristic and repressive New Order government. There is nothing that the New Order cannot secure.

Once noisy, the New Order will take a stand by silencing its political opponents. Silence can go through prison until it is exiled politically. Both things make a person no longer noisy.

'Security is guaranteed because at that time anyone could be 'secured' at any time without having to go through a legal process. School buildings are growing everywhere but what is missing is the student's ability to learn, because indoctrination has broken through the ditactics and methodics of teaching.

"Political stability is guaranteed because political parties have been reduced to only three, with Golkar having to be the winner in every general election. Economic growth does occur but general prosperity increases with very dragging, because the growth results are immediately eroded by uncontrolled corruption, collusion, and nepotism," said Ignas Kleden in his writing in Tempo magazine entitled Belawan, Jasa, Sacrifice (2008).

The desire to smooth Suharto to become a national hero brings polemics. The harshest criticism arises from activists who have experienced the walls of imprisonment in the New Order era. Take for example Rizal Ramli. He felt Suharto had great past sins.

The former Coordinating Minister for Economic, Finance and Industry in the era of 2000-2001 considered Suharto to have achievements. However, the Indonesian people cannot ignore the bad effects of repressive and corrupt New Order.

Rizal gave an example of himself being detained by the New Order regime because he was critical. He opposed Suharto's election for the third time as President of Indonesia in 1978. Rizal also issued a book to criticize The Smiling General.

As a result, Rizal was imprisoned. The narrative was corroborated by another ulcer of the Suharto government human rights violations to corruption. Rizal also considered giving the title the same as forming Suharto's perception of meritorious people, while those who demanded Suharto resign in 1998 as a traitor.

Rizal also believes that Suharto's issue of being a hero is intentional. He smelled another political deal from Suharto's appointment. He asked the Indonesian people to also have suspicions. Rizal's opposition is a valuable input for the SBY government.

As a result, Suharto was not appointed as a national hero in the SBY government era. President Yudhoyono instead chose to appoint Soekarno as president of Indonesia who first became a national hero in 2012. This determination was stated by the birth of Presidential Decree No. 84/TK/UND 2012.

"That Mr. Harto has a positive side, we have to admit. But what must also be considered is the human cost, the social cost should not be ignored. We-we have also been victims. It seems that there are deals or something like that. We have to look at it in a balanced and fair manner. In my opinion, the proposal must be questioned what it means, "said Rizal as quoted by sambuks.com, January 30, 2008.