Maleo's National Car History: Habibie's Initiation Thwarted By Suharto And The New Order

Maleo, a national car prototype initiated by Menrisket B J Habibie in 1994. (Special)

JAKARTA - The popularity of Bacharuddin Jusuf (BJ) Habibie as the Father of Indonesian Technology is unquestionable. His success in building the Indonesian aerospace industry booms everywhere. Indonesia can make its own aircraft.

This condition made Habibie challenged by a national car project. He accepted the challenges and struggled to build a national car prototype. He collaborated with local and international industries. Habibie also named his national car design: Maleo.

The governments of Suharto and the New Order (Orba) have been attracted to develop the aerospace industry. The owner of the power wants the project to be held by a genius child of the nation. The choice finally fell on Habibie's figure.

At that time, Habibie changed the role of Indonesian aviation figure, Nurtanio Pringgoadisurjo, to build an Indonesian aerospace industry. Habibie was then given the role of leading the Nurtanio Aircraft Industry: IPTN (now: PT. Dirgantara Indonesia).

Habibie was also given the task of overseeing other strategic industries. As a result, Habibie's intelligence is well known throughout the country. In fact, many ideals of children from the 1970s to the 1980s wanted to become and have smart brains like Habibie.

Suharto did not waste the opportunity. Habibie was appointed Minister of Research and Technology (Menristek) in 1974. This position was given by Suharto because there were no more right figures besides Rudi (Suharto's akrap greeting to Habibie).

Suharto then gave Habibie three instructions. First, Habibie was allowed to advance the aerospace industry. Second, build the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology. Third, the development of the Center for Science and Technology Research (Puspiptek).

Habibie accepted this challenge. He slowly began to build Indonesia's dream of building his own aircraft. Habibie's existence, which is considered to master technology, makes him a versatile figure in the field of technology.

Habibie finally planned to build a prototype for the national car in 1993. That wish was welcome. All politicians in Senayan instead asked Habibie to hurry up to realize the national auto industry in 1994.

Habibie was challenged. He moved to realize the desire for the national car industry which was later named Maleo to be built. A name he got from the name of a rare bird from Sulawesi Island. Habibie collaborated with domestic and foreign indicators at that time Australia to realize Maleo.

Australia offers quite large grain products and livestock and meat seeds for consumption, while Indonesia offers IPTN-made aircraft such as CN-235 Desk 300, known as the Phoenix Program.

Namun lebih lanjut belum ada kesepakatan antara kedua pihak. Menristek, BJ Habibie, Indonesia akan berikut tender pada akhir tahun 1997. Selain pesawat C-235, disiapkan juga proyek mobil Maleo yang mengintegrasikan 4000 item. Mobil Maleo adalah mobil nasional yang dencanakannya disiapkan Badan Penkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi (BPPT) dengan pihak Australia yang selama ini dikenal sebagai produksi mobil merektor trujuk, tertulis dalam laporan Magazine Dharmasena, edisi Oktober 1996.

Habibie takes the Maleo national car project seriously. He racked his brains to present a sedan with a 1,300 cc engine. The narrative made him collaborate with local industries such as Pindad, IPTN to Inka. Dozens of domestic engineers were also involved.

Habibie also collaborated with footage from Australia. Habibie tried to use 80 percent of the local components for Maleo. The national car prototype project went smoothly. Sedan design certainly adopts the European model.

That said, Habibie plans to make a Maleo sedan with two versions of fuel. One fuel is gasoline. The only one is hydrogen fuel. The discourse is that the car will be priced at IDR 20 million. The car is continuously predicted as the work of the nation's children because it involves dozens of Indonesian engineers.

A car prototype was successfully made in 1994. Habibie has also planned to publicly introduce Maleo in 1995. Habibie has even imagined the car will go on sale in 1998.

Dream of living a dream. Suharto had other plans. Instead, he chose the Timor car to have his child, Tommy Suharto became a national car in 1995. A car that many doubt is made by the nation's children.

The car is claimed to only change the name/wear of a sedan made in South Korea, KIA Sepia. As a result, the Maleo project did not get support and stalled.

A design team from IPTN in collaboration with a melbourne-based design company was tasked with creating Maleo and bringing it off the image board to the production plant. Habibie had planned the launch of Maleo in August 1995.

The launch was carried out as part of Indonesia's 50th anniversary. However, Maleo never appeared in public after Suharto mistakenly decided to end the project and transfer the national car project to his own son, Tommy Suharto," said Sulfikar Amir in the book The Technological State in Indonesia (2012).