Soeharto Dies

Not too long ago, more than a few of prominent Indonesian bloggers posted about issues regarding Indonesian former president, Soeharto, who was very ill. A prominent (dated way back, August 16, 1994) writing by Seno Gumira Ajidarma titled Waiting for the death of Uncle Scrooge (in Indonesian only, the title is translated literally from “Menunggu Kematian Paman Gober”) is also spread across mailing lists.

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If you read this non-exhaustive list of blog posts, you may find that Indonesian bloggers have mixed views about the former president. Some say that he did good at the time of his ruling so now he must be at least respected (e.g: he is not a dictator), or more, pardoned. While others, hope that he would be tried for many still unsolved cases. The posts on this list are mainly in Indonesian, and are in no particular order:

• Adinoto: Pak Harto Dan Kualitas Mental Pemimpin Negeri Ini
• Masim Vavai Sugianto: Polemik Seputar Pak Harto
• Indra Pramana: Pak Harto Tidak Mendapatkan Penghargaan Yang Layak Dia Dapatkan
• Fitrasani: Jadilah Pahlawan
• Arif Widianto: Menunggu Kematian Lord Voldemort
• Boy Avianto: Amnesiac
• Yusril Ihza Mahendra: Ajakan Pak Amien Memaafkan dan Status Hukum Mantan Presiden Soeharto

I personally like Seno’s article, considering the time it was written, it feels that it’s very current and I think it summed up the negative sentiment on Soeharto recently. I also like the opinion of Adinoto, in which he opposed to use the word dictator for Soeharto (suggesting the word to be used to describe George W. Bush, Jr.), and said (mixed with Indonesian) Tanpa jasa seorang Pak Harto we’re nothing than a deep shit… Meanwhile, Boy Avianto reminded Indonesian to forgive, but definitely not to forget.

Soeharto is declared dead earlier today at 1.10 PM Jakarta local time (GMT+7) after being treated for several weeks in Pertamina Hospital, Jakarta. Here is the list news articles (written in obituary style) so far, released by distinguished news centres:

• Antara, Indonesia’s National News Agency: Obituary : Former president Soeharto passes away
• The New York Times: Suharto, Former Indonesian Dictator, Dies at 86
• Yahoo News (from Associated Press): Former Indonesian dictator Suharto dies
• Reuters: Indonesia’s former president Suharto dead

As for me, I don’t really know him, I only see him as the smiling picture on the wall of my primary school classrooms. Farewell Pak Harto. For the rest of us, let this be a reminder that we all will die. (Sounds so gloomy, eh?)