Social Affairs Ministry to Proceed with Soeharto's National Hero Proposal Despite Outcries

April 16, 2025 | 08:15 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Social Affairs has announced that it will continue to process the proposal for the national hero title to be awarded to Indonesia’s second president Soeharto, amidst waves of vehement rejection. Minister of Social Affairs Saifullah Yusuf said that the ministry will work based on normative mechanisms, as long as no rules are violated.

"If there are no violations, we must process the proposal and bring it to the Council for the Titles of Heroes, Decorations, and Honors," said Saifullah Yusuf, or familiarly known as Gus Ipul, to Tempo, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

The plan to award Soeharto with a national hero title has sparked sharp criticism from human rights activists and the families of victims of severe human rights violations during the New Order regime. The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) previously stated that the awarding of such a title denigrates the values of justice and brings harm to the victims.

However, Gus Ipul mentioned that the Ministry of Social Affairs is only running the established mechanism. He explained that the proposal began at the district level before being brought up to the province to be discussed and disseminated. After being deemed sufficient, the candidate’s name will be forwarded to the ministry and evaluated by a team of historians, academics, and community figures.

"Pak Harto's is one of those names discussed by the team. It wasn’t a new proposal, as it was floated about since several years ago," he said. He also refuted claims that the proposal was made by a single party, such as politicians. "Anyone can propose, as long as it complies with the mechanism. It cannot be from one person only."

Gus Ipul also mentioned that in the past, the proposal for Soeharto's title was hindered by the existence of an MPR Decree, which has since been revoked. "So the proposed names include Pak Harto (Soeharto), and Gus Dur, too," he said.

The process of awarding national hero title to Soeharto, he reaffirmed, will proceed, but Gus Ipul He said people are welcome to disagree. “Agreeing or disagreeing is allowed. It's called democracy," he said.

Until now, there is no final decision from the Council for the Titles of Heroes, Decorations, and Honors regarding the Soeharto proposal. The Ministry of Social Affairs ensures that it will continue the process according to the applicable provisions, despite the growing public rejection.

Member of the Impunity Monitoring Division of KontraS, Jessenia Destarini, called the proposal very problematic because it is the same as whitewashing dark history and erasing the traces of crimes committed by the New Order government.

"Awarding the hero title to Soeharto is a disgrace to the dignity of the victims and hurts their feelings," said Jessenia when contacted on Saturday, April 12, 2025. "More than two decades after the Reform, the victims still have to continue demanding justice and have not yet obtained it, but the individual most responsible for the crimes is being discussed to be given the hero title."

According to KontraS, the Soeharto era was marked by severe human rights violations, repression of civil liberties, land grabbing, exploitation of natural resources, militarization of people's lives, and rampant corruption, collusion, and nepotism (KKN). All of these, said Jessenia, should be strong reasons to reject the proposal.

She emphasized that awarding the title also contradicts the spirit of the 1998 Reform which demands change towards a democratic government and respect for human rights. 

Kontras also sees the awarding of the title as a dangerous form of impunity. "The government seems to condone that Soeharto is responsible for various human rights violations and abuses of power. This builds a pattern of condoning state crimes," said Jessenia.

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