Historians: It Doesn't Matter That Suharto's Name Is Not Listed In Presidential Decree 2/2022, Other Figures Also Do Not Appear

The 1st President of the Republic of Indonesia Soekarno and the 2nd President of the Republic of Indonesia Suharto (right). (doc of the National Library of Indonesia)

JAKARTA - Presidential Decree (Keppres) Number 2 of 2022 concerning the Day of Enforcement of State Sovereignty has become controversial. The reason is that the Presidential Decree does not include the name of the 2nd President of Indonesia, Suharto as a figure who played a role in the events of the March 1, 1949 General Offensive.

The presidential decree signed by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on February 24, 2022 only contains four names, namely Soekarno, M Hatta, Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX and General Sudirman.

According to historian Hendi Jo, the absence of Suharto's name in Presidential Decree 2/2022 is not a problem and does not need to be debated. The reason is that a number of names of figures who were instrumental in the March 1, 1949 General Offensive were also not written in the presidential decree.

"It doesn't matter, the General Offensive of March 1, 1949 is called a 'gang project'. It's not only Mr. Suharto who has contributed there, there is Sri Sultan, there are initiators Mr. Dirman, Mr. Simatupang, (TB Simatupang) Mr. Wiliater Hutagalung, and many other officers- officers and high-ranking republicans who were instrumental in initiating the March 1, 1949 General Offensive," said Hendi to Voi.id, Friday night, March 4.

Hendi explained that in the General Offensive on March 1, 1949, Suharto acted as the executor of orders from the Commander of Division III, Colonel Bambang Sugeng. He said Suharto was just an ordinary officer.

"Why was Pak Suharto there (in the General Offensive on March 1, 1949)? because Pak Harto was ordered by his commander at that time, Bambang Sugeng to lead the battle. So it was not Pak Harto's initiative, but it was Bambang Sugeng's initiative who handed over the operator or the leader of this operation to Pak Hart," he said.

According to him, Bambang Sugeng had an important role in the March 1st General Offensive, 1949, but his name was not listed in Presidential Decree 2/2022. In addition, he said, there are still a number of names of other figures involved in the history that are not listed.

"So if you want to include (in Presidential Decree 2/2022), also include the names of Colonel Bambang Sugeng, TB Simatupang, Wiliater Hutagalung, also include other names," he added.

Presidential Decree 2/2022 is known to be controversial because it does not include Suharto's name as a figure involved in the General Offensive of March 1, 1949. It has also been accused by several parties of obscuring history.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD denied the accusations. According to Mahfud, Suharto's name is still listed in the academic presidential decree.

"The presidential decree is not a history book, but the determination of a crucial historical point. The presidential decree does not eliminate the name of Suharto and others in the March 1, 1949 SU," wrote Mahfud MD via his Twitter account @mohmahfudmd, Thursday, March 3.

Mahfud said, in a number of other historical events, the names of the figures involved were also not written in full. He gave an example, the preparation of the Proclamation of 1945 which only listed a few names as the movers and initiators.

"Same as the text of the Proclamation of 1945. Only mentioning Soekarno-Hatta from dozens of other founding parents," said Mahfud.