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“Hey guys, how’s life today?
It was better in my era, wasn’t it?”
The Javanese
phrases that accompany a color portrait of the smiling strongman Soeharto
is emblazoned on posters of all sizes and put up on public vans, becak
(pedicabs) and public places in his ancestral province of Yogyakarta.
The poster
has a simple artistic design, but the late five-star general’s legendary
smile and the message conveyed are both captivating, probably even to
Soeharto critics. It is propaganda, but the choice of words can hardly
fail to make viewers smile.
Soeharto’s
propagandists and fans mean to revoke the memory of the glory of his 32
years of iron-fisted rule when development and harmony had to be defended
at all costs.
Forget about
widespread rights abuses, authoritarian rule and state corruption;
instead ask what made the Soeharto regime “better” than those of his
predecessors, from B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, Megawati
Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono?
Chances are
that most people would answer something along the lines that under
Soeharto, basic commodities were affordable, sectarian conflict was
properly managed and communal violence was rare.
Apparently,
the self-righteous smile was just one of Soeharto’s tactics to polish his
image as the “Father of
Development” who deserved a place in history.
A new
monument park in Kemusuk, a remote village in Godean district, just west
of Yogyakarta where Soeharto was born, perfectly illustrates all his
admirers’ and relatives’ efforts to present the heroic side of the
dictator, who died in 2008, 10 years after his downfall.
The
benefactor is business tycoon Probosutedjo, Soeharto’s half brother who
fiercely believes that people unfairly portray the general as a corrupt
dictator while they forget his great service to the country and that he
did “more than any hero has done”.
Probosutedjo,
who was convicted of corruption in a reforestation project in 2005,
(in)famously said that only “foolish
Indonesians would believe that Soeharto was a dictator”.
Built on
1,000 square meters of family land, the Soeharto memorial stands out for
its shiny new tiles, high-quality teak framing and a 3.5-meter bronze
statue of Soeharto in his supreme military commander uniform.
He stands
right in front of a typical Javanese house that opened to the public on
March 1 to coincide with the 64th anniversary of the historic March 1,
1949 General Offensive against the Dutch troops. He was the field
commander.
The next
thing that Probosutedjo wants visitors to see is Soeharto as a pious
Muslim, as depicted in a life-size electronic image near the entrance of
the display room. This particular profiling seems to disprove the
perception that Soeharto was anti-Muslim, which resulted from his
relentless crackdown on political Islam.
Inside is a
range of video footage, documentaries and photos – all presented to show
Soeharto as a commanding soldier, the Father of Development, a statesman,
a populist leader, an affectionate father and in his early years as a
humble peasant’s son.
And don’t
even think of seeing anything remotely concerning the ramifications of
his authoritarian rule.
Particularly
nostalgic is a documentary about Soeharto meeting with farmers and him
harvesting paddy and lifting a bunch of ripe stalks high for
photographers to snap. President Yudhoyono has been seen trying to copy
this great general’s style, but with dismal results.
Probosutedjo
was not entirely wrong when he said that what Soeharto did for this
country was so great that he deserved a positive note in history.
What is
important is fairness in writing it.
The great
general may have had a hand in the various past human rights abuses
against his political foes, and corruption may have been rampant among
his family and cronies, but who can deny the great things he did to
revive Indonesia from virtual bankruptcy when he took power from his
flamboyant, ultra-nationalist predecessor Sukarno? One can make an
endless list of great services he did as a statesman.
Aided by
Western-educated technocrats, Soeharto began to pick up the pieces,
smartly devising five-year development plans (Repelita). Then he broke
the plans down to annual programs in every sector of development. And the
policy was made a mandatory subject in schools.
These days,
we do not see any of the subsequent democratically elected presidents
care to make such systematic, detailed plans of which everybody can
monitor and assess the outcome!
His
commitment to upholding Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution and the Unitary
Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) was unwavering. Things such as a regency
adopting sharia-inspired bylaws or any moves toward secession were hardly
ever heard of, and if they were, they were harshly dealt with.
His principle
as a leader at the time was well reflected in one of his statements
quoted by Habibie, “Indonesian people’s demands are simple. What’s most
important is that you can meet their basic needs, with their security and
future guaranteed — that’s it, they will stay calm. So what’s the use of
revolution?”
Back then,
the press was firmly muzzled, democracy was nonexistent and human rights
were regularly abused. But prices were affordable and security was in
place.
Now at a time
when corruption is only worsening, security is lousy and living costs are
forever climbing, who knows, perhaps public approval of Soeharto being
nominated as national hero is also ascending.
In 2011, Indo
Barometer found in a survey — conducted in conjunction with the 13th
anniversary of the reform movement and the eighth month of SBY’s second
term administration — that Soeharto was the most popular president that
Indonesia ever had. Also, most respondents viewed Soeharto’s New Order
regime as better than Sukarno’s Old Order and Reform Order.
There is even
a Soeharto fan club called “Paguyuban
Rindu Soeharto (Longing for Soeharto)”, which is on Facebook, too.
So, how’s
life treatin’ you under SBY, guys? ●
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