DILI - The history of East Timor's Restoration of Independence will never escape the participation of the Third President of the Republic of Indonesia, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, who is often known as BJ Habibie.
Habibie will always live in the history of Timor Leste, said a resident of Timor Leste Octavio Matos who now works as a Supervisor at the Coco Pertamina International Timor SA gas station.
The figure of Habibie is not only remembered by the people of Timor Leste who were living witnesses of the independence referendum of Timor Leste in 1999. The younger generation also learns about the figure of Habibie through their history books.
Thus, Octavio continued, the new generation of Timor Leste can know how much BJ Habibie has had invaluable services for the establishment of Timor Leste. The figure of Habibie will always live in the outline of the story of Timor Leste.
The people of Timor Leste even perpetuate their love for the figure of Habibie through a bridge called the President BJ Habibie Bridge or Ponte Presidente BJ Habibie.
The President BJ Habibie Bridge is located in Dili and can be crossed when you want to visit Cristo Rei or the Christ the King statue which is one of the tourist icons of Timor Leste.
The Habibie Bridge was inaugurated on August 29, 2019, just a few days before the death of President BJ Habibie, namely September 11, 2019. At that time, President BJ Habibie did not even have time to attend the inauguration of the bridge due to his declining health condition.
Habibie's figureHabibie is not only famous as a figure who gave the option of a referendum to Timor Leste.
Octavio remembers Habibie as a leader who had a high sense of sympathy and humanity. Not only judging from Habibie's policy of giving Timor Leste the choice to hold a referendum, the humanist side of Habibie that most attracted Octavio's attention was his loyalty to his wife, Hasri Ainun Besari.
When watching the story of Habibie and Ainun which was immortalized through the film, Octavio revealed that he not only saw the figure of Habibie as a president, but also as an ordinary human being. This side makes Octavio feel close to Habibie.
That humanist side made Octavio feel that Habibie's figure was so close to the community.
On the other hand, a citizen of Timor Leste named Celito described Habibie's figure as intelligent, genius, and good at making decisions. In fact, said Celito, there are a number of East Timorese people who are big fans of Habibie.
Habibie is a very, very good person with extraordinary intelligence, said Celito when he remembered Habibie. Therefore, he believes that BJ Habibie will always have a place in the hearts of the people of Timor Leste.
The real evidence of Celito's words is the presence of the President BJ Habibie Bridge which is located in Dili, Timor Leste.
President BJ Habibie BridgeAll the people of Timor Leste support the name of President BJ Habibie to be immortalized on a bridge. Marcellino Jeronimo, who is a visitor to the Habibie Bridge, said that no one voiced his refusal when the Habibie Bridge was inaugurated.
In fact, for him, the Habibie Bridge is a symbol of the close relationship between Indonesia and Timor Leste, and is a source of pride for the people of Timor Leste.
Although Habibie is not a figure with Timorese citizenship, the public still sees Habibie as a national hero of Timor Leste. Thus, this bridge is a form of respect for the citizens of Timor Leste to Habibie.
As quoted from the official website of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR), the Habibie Bridge has a length of 540 meters and a width of 8 meters. This bridge was built by the State-Owned Enterprises of Timor Leste and spent a budget of 3.9 million US dollars.
In the afternoon, especially on weekends, local people will spend their time at the playground which is located near the Habibie Bridge. The location is one of the people's favorite places to spend time with their families.
Not only filled with children and their families, the playground at Habibie Bridge is also filled with street vendors and volunteer organizations. This location is not only a place of recreation, but also a means to improve the people's economy and a place to develop themselves.
Unfortunately, when the bridge was inaugurated, Habibie was unable to attend to an invitation from former Timor Leste President Xanana Gusmão due to Habibie's declining health condition.
Then, the thing that became painful for Marcellino was the death of Habibie before Habibie could see the bridge that was intended to be his honor.
Deep sorrow does not only come from Habibie's homeland, Indonesia. Although it has been two decades since the Timor Leste referendum, local people still feel sad when they hear the sad news about Habibie's death.
Moreover, Habibie died less than two weeks after the inauguration of the Habibie Bridge. This made Marcellino really feel sad.
In line with Marcellino, Celito also felt deeply when he heard the news regarding the death of the Third President of the Republic of Indonesia.
He said that although Timor Leste did not hold a collective prayer when the news spread, the community remained in an atmosphere of mourning and prayed for Habibie to rest in peace.
As Celito has said before, Habibie always has a place in the hearts of the people of Timor Leste.
The story of a Habibie will always live in the midst of the people of Timor Leste and his figure will always be remembered as a hero.
Even though Habibie is now gone, his presence remains eternal.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
