Mahfud MD Denies President Jokowi Eliminates Suharto's Name From History

Mahfud MD/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD denied the allegation that the Presidential Decree (Keppres) regarding the March 1, 1949 General Offensive omitted the name of General HM Suharto.

"The presidential decree is not a history book, but rather the determination of a crucial historical point," wrote Mahfud MD on his Twitter account @mohmahfudmd quoted in Jakarta, Thursday, March 3.

The names of HM Suharto and the names of other figures were not omitted at all.

"The presidential decree does not eliminate the names of Suharto and others in the March 1, 1949 SU," explained the former chairman of the Constitutional Court.

The role of Pak Harto - the nickname of the 2nd President of the Republic of Indonesia HM Suharto - in the history of Indonesia's struggle for independence is still listed in the academic paperwork of the presidential decree.

"Soeharto's name and role are mentioned in the academic presidential decree whose sources are comprehensive," he said.

Mahfud reiterated that Pak Harto, Nasution, and the others were still listed in the academic text even though it was not in the Presidential Decree of 1 March 1949.

It is the same with the text of the proclamation of 1945 which only lists Soekarno-Hatta's name, while there are many other founding fathers of the nation that are not included in the text.

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

In the preamble, he continued, several names have been written as movers and initiators.

"In the preamble the names of HB IX, Soekarno, Hatta and Sudirman, as the initiators and movers," said Mahfud.