TNI Commander General Agus Leads Doni Monardo Funeral Ceremony

TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto (left) walked along with the coffin convoy of Lt. Gen. TNI (Ret.) Doni Monardo at Kalibata Heroes Cemetery (TMP), Jakarta, Monday (4/12/2023). (ANTARA)

TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto led the funeral ceremony of Lt. Gen. TNI (Ret.) Doni Monardo at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery (TMP), Jakarta, Monday, December 4.

The funeral procession took place militarily, consisting of a convoy of bodies from the entrance of the Kalibata TMP to the grave, then the shooting of honors - also known as salvo shots and direct respect from the TNI commander, Army Chief of Staff (KASAD) General TNI Maruli Simanjuntak, and other high-ranking TNI officers.

"Hopefully the path of service he takes will become a role model for all of us and his spirit will have a proper place in the afterlife," said Agus when accompanying Doni Monardo's death to the grave.

In the funeral procession, especially after the body was buried and the grave was buried again, several retired and officials laid a wreath directly on the grave of Doni Monardo, such as the 6th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, General TNI (Ret.) Try Sutrisno and Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy.

Several officials and figures who attended the funeral ceremony were the 11th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Boediono; Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini; eldest son of the 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono; Deputy Head of the State Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. I Nyoman Cantiasa; as well as officials from the TNI and TNI AD Headquarters, especially from the Kopassus "Baret Merah" Corps.

The funeral procession lasted for approximately an hour. The call to prayer also closed Doni Monardo's funeral series.

Doni Monardo, who was born in Cimahi, West Java, on May 10, 1963, died at the age of 60 in the ICU room at Siloam Semanggi Hospital, Jakarta, Sunday afternoon.

Special Staff to the Head of BNPB for the 2019 period, Egy Massadiah, shared the sad news shortly after the late Doni passed away. Doni died after illness and his health condition continued to decline since September 22, 2023 and was treated intensively at Siloam Semanggi Hospital.

During those times, Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited the hospital and met Doni Monardo's family. During his lifetime, Doni Monardo devoted most of his time as a TNI soldier and as the head of BNPB until he finally retired.

Doni started his career as a soldier in 1985 after graduating from AKABRI.

Doni started his career in the infantry fighting unit and joined the Special Forces Command (Kopassus) since 1986-1998. Several important operations also involved Doni, including in Timor-Timor and Aceh during the conflict.

Some of the strategic positions that Doni Monardo had held include Battalion Commander (Danyon) 11 Group 1/Kopassus (1998-1999), Danyonif 741/Satya Bhakti Wirottama (1999-2001), Dandenma Paspampres (2001-2003), Head of Team (Katim) Intel Kolakops TNI Analyst (2003-2004), Deputy Assistant Operations Commander of Paspampres (2004-2006), Commander of Civil Aviation 3/Tri Budi Mahasakti (2006-2008), Commander of Group A Paspampres (2008-2010), Danrem 061/Surya Kencana (2010-2011).

Deputy Commander General of Kopassus (2011-2012), Commander of Paspampres (2012-2014), Danjen Kopassus (2014-2015), Pangdam XVI/Pattimura (2015-2017), Pangdam III/Siliwangi (2017-2018), and Secretary General of the National Resilience Council (2018) also became his last position in the military environment.

Then, during his tenure as a three-star general, Doni served as Head of BNPB for the 2019-2021 period. Assignment of Doni in BNPB was certainly not an easy time, because at that time the world, including Indonesia, faced the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Joko Widodo since April 13, 2020, has designated Indonesia as an emergency for COVID-19 and Doni has carried out an important task as head of the COVID-19 Task Force.