The New Order
Some last notes on Soeharto.
This begins the third week since Soeharto entered the hospital, his condition critical, and his family by his side. His team of forty doctors gave him a 50/50 chance of recovery or not. Then reports appeared that his condition was critical, near certain death.
A stream of dignitaries followed to his bedside- President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice president Joseph Kalla, then Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, followed by Matahir of Malaysia, and the third President of Indonesia, Habibie.
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie educated in Germany, a technocrat in the Soeharto regime, and a very unlikely candidate to assume the role of President after the troubles of 1997-1998. He and Soeharto were close, like father and son. Habibie tells a story in his memoirs something like this: when Soeharto resigned the presidency he expected Habibie to follow and do the same. But he didn’t. Habibie assumed the role of president. The two have not spoken since those events of 1998.
Habibie recently flew out from Germany, where he has a home, to pay his respects and pray at Soeharto’s bedside. When he arrived at the hospital he was refused entry. It was said that he could not see Soeharto because of doctor’s orders. Perhaps the feud between the two lingers on.
What strikes me about this is that Habibie may be a true hero of Indonesia. If he had resigned in 1998 it would have left only the Army generals to contest for power. This would likely have led to yet another Indonesian bloodbath. Perhaps even the return of Soeharto to power. Maybe this is the situation Soeharto was aiming for but prevented from by a most loyal subject. As events transpired there was a peaceful transition of power under the rule of constitutional law. Elections followed and Indonesia has now emerged as one of the most democratic nations of the region. A thought almost impossible to think ten years ago.
This is just small side story but then there appears to be many small side stories as Soeharto lay dying (or not).
If you go to Google News and type in “Jakarta News” there are (as of this writing) some 275 news articles about Soeharto. It would take too long to link them all here. First there is his condition. He’s sick, near death, the doctors do not give him a chance, he’s recovering, he has a blood infection, his condition worsens, he’s getting better, doctors amazed that that he is hanging on, the military prepare his family crypt in Solo for burial, the funeral has been planned, the grave is being readied, passes have been issued to the media, preparations made for an influx of world leaders… and it goes on and on. This is just what I can gather from the internet sitting here at my desk.
I am sure the Jakarta news is a daily Soeharto circus. It also must have put a crimp in some of the big news services as they have already written their Soeharto obituary and it now sits on a shelf somewhere ready to go to press but can’t go to press. Some stories I have seen appear to be edited obituaries which instead of speaking of Soeharto in the past tense must speak of him still in the present tense.
The kicker is that today the Associated Press header is “Doctor: Soeharto could recover”, Bloomberg, “Suharto is less Dependent on Respirator as Condition Improves”, Reuters, “Doctors treating Indonesia’s Soeharto more optimistic”.
Make of this what you will but apparently it is hard for Soeharto to die.
This leads me to yet other side stories.
When I told my wife about the news that Soeharto was about to die she told me not to say anything bad about him. It was not the Muslim way. Even if he did bad things you don’t readily trumpet the list of his evil deeds. You wait out of respect and then do it later after things have cooled down. Later, because it appears he can not readily die, either because he is plugged into all those medical machines or maybe for other reasons. It seems this state of affairs suggests that he has not lived a decent life, but rather has much to account for and that keeps him lingering on, dying this long death.
My wife had seen this before and tells the story of a local village leader who took advantage of his position, was corrupt, took land and money from the village, and enriched himself at the expense of others. When he lay dying he could not die. This was surely an indication that he had much to account for from his past and everyone in the village knew it and it bothered them. So, the village came together and discussed this problem and it was decided that they would just let it all go. Not to forget. Not to forgive. But just let it go. The man quickly died soon after their meeting.
As much confusion as all this seems to have raised in the minds of Indonesians it would be a good bet that the idea of a long death as being representative of a life not so well lived is more than apparent to everyone. Whether or not this is stated openly is another thing altogether.
Then there is all the debate going on about to forgive and forget, forgive and not forget, not to forgive and not to forget, and not to forgive and to forget. Who remembers what and when? Who benefited from the Soeharto regime and who were its victims? Should Soeharto be held accountable or not? Should there be a trial or not? Lee Kuan Yew comes and says something stupid like “what’s a few billion looted from the Indonesian people when so much was done to modernize Indonesia and raise the standard of living” and blah, blah, blah. Piss on Lee Kwan Yew.
All manner of talk is going on. I think if Soeharto had come to the hospital and simply died on the spot we would not get to see and read something of what people are thinking and saying. This discussion is valuable. And very interesting.
The Indonesia blogs and press are full these sorts of articles. The Aroengbinang Project has a blog titled “Forgive and Forget” with 19 comments, Jakartass has a blog tilted “An addendum to an obituary (which I haven’t beem able to post yet), and Indonesia Matters has a blog titled “Forgiveness” with 83 comments. If you want to see how this debate is going go there to take a look.
In fact, yet another side story comes to mind from a comment posted on that article in Indonesia Matters from a reader named Jamma which, in passing, mentions the following,
”…my husband says he [Soeharto] can’t die so easily cause he’s got too much ilmu, some designated person will have to cross a river with Soeharto’s underpants on their head so he can die”.
According to my bahasa dictionary ”ilmu” means “supernatural knowledge”, it may be a Javanese word, but I assume it can also mean something like “magic” or “power” or in Hawaii we say “mana”.
So, the side story is about “dukun”. I am surprised that “Culture Shock: Jakarta” has no mention of them. My dictionary defines “dukun” as an “indigenous medical practitioner, shaman”. But a dukun is far more than just that. Dukun can summon the essence of human beings, jinni, ghosts, demons, or any life force from a creature, natural or supernatural. They can borrow the souls of living people as they sleep. There are stories of disembodied heads floating through space or rolling along the ground, humans transforming into animals. Inanimate objects which speak. You laugh, but I assure you this is serious business.
The Indonesian newspaper classifieds are full of advertisements for dukun offering love, wealth, power or protection from other dukun. Soeharto claimed that he himself was a dukun and there is real evidence that he studied under one. This was part of his mystique, a little more reason for him to be feared. This is not widely mentioned in the ongoing debate, but again, I am sure, this is yet another aspect which people are thinking about. Soeharto is the living dead, his magic so powerful as to be feared even from the grave. Another reason he cannot die a clean fast death.
A few last notes.
I am not Indonesian. I write as an outsider. From what I have seen there is nothing but good to be had by the ongoing discussions regarding Soeharto. Perhaps there may never be justice. Perhaps this will all be buried in some collective amnesia. I do not know. It is for Indonesians to decide and that is exactly the process they are in now. This will work itself out.
Through all this debate (an example is provided from 101 East video in the previous post below) there is no mention of the role the United States Central Intelligence Agency had in bringing Soeharto to power, their role in providing names of PKI, their continued role in supporting the Indonesia military. No mention of Henry Kissinger’s “realpolitik” and the rain of death which fell on the people of Timor. Soeharto is an amateur compared to Kissinger and his like (of which there are many). Perhaps the Indonesians are too polite to mention this, perhaps now too inward looking. So, I add this to the discussion.
I cannot speak for my government but as a citizen of the United States I wish to offer my most sincere and heartfelt apologies to the people of Indonesia for what these people have done.
At last, let’s see, just as an experiment of sorts, what would happen if we do not forget and do not forgive but simply let go.
January 20, 2008 at 2:08 pm
It is nice piece of writing, Tom. A bit compact though, a lot of information.
As for magical power, i presume this is shaped by superstitious culture in Indonesia. Most people in Indonesia believed that Kings have a supernatural power passed on to them from above. I think this belief was rather constructed by the kings themselves to justify their reigns.
Suharto imagined himself as sultan rather than a modern leader in a modern state. Somehow, his style of leadership (sultanate) made people think that he has some ilmu.
Forgive and forget is a tricky matter. It is more than ethical issue but it is rather a problem of dealing with memories. Should we forget what he has done and forgive him?
Press and Suharto. In this respect, i get amazed with how media represents Suharto and his illness. Suharto was, and is a big news for Indonesians. It is obvious if we see how crazy the media are trying to cover this. Even the progress of his recovery is so slow, media seemed to know more and will write something about it. Nearly everyday there is always a piece written in media about Suharto although the content is pretty much the same as two days ago headlines.
January 26, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Nice piece! I’m quite surprised that you know so much about Soeharto and Indonesian culture as a non-Indonesian.
As of now Soeharto just died, dunno for real or just for publicity. But I think now the problems that we have in Indonesia are the branches and twigs of the “KKN” tradition (Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism) that was left embedded deep in Indonesia’s mentality. I’ve never met anyone who did not live or grew up in Indonesia that understand how rotten are ways to get around in everything in Indonesia. Just for info I’ve been living in Perth, Australia since 1999 after the riot in Jakarta. So I have the advantage of knowing single handedly Indonesia both from the inside and outside.
You mentioned about “ilmu”. Ilmu in Indonesian literally means knowledge, but people use it in context to supernatural powers as well. To the skeptics I can assure you that these kind of things do exist in Indonesia and they are real.
I have to disagree with spew-it-all when he wrote that Soeharto lead like a sultan, I would say the opposite that he was very modern in his way of ruling. He was a dictator in a republican suit. Soekarno on the other hand is a very old fashioned leader. He leads as if he was a king and anyone would have to abide to his words, but like proper king that have gone before him, he loved his people. He fought for our independence. But he also adjourned his life like a king. Which is why I say he’s old-fashioned, think the British royal family.
Also the PKI, I do really believe that PKI was made up by Soeharto as a vehicle for him to get rid of anyone that has got anything to do with Soekarno’s government. Here’s the plot-
- Soeharto was one of the high ranked military personnel
- Plotted the killing of the 6 Generals that he saw as threats to his plan of coup d’état.
- Claiming that PKI commited the killing he hunted down the rest of Soekarno’s loyal follower and throning himself as the new ruler of Indonesia.
In conclusion, Soeharto = PKI. I’ve heard stories saying that during the execution of the so-called PKI members they shouted “HIDUP SOEKARNO” which mean “live Soekarno”, showing their loyalty to Soekarno up until their last breath.
September 11, 2008 at 12:09 pm
As an American Indonesian I’d just like to leave a comment on this interesting article. Bravo to the author, you have done your research well…
About the “dukun” part, I’d just like built on Mr. Tan’s comment. I heard of a book on sale in Indonesia titled “Soeharto and his 10 dukun”, written by an eyewitness of Soeharto’s last days. It said in the book that during the days of Soeharto’s critical condition, his condition became so complex that doctors had no medically-viable explanation for his condition. Soeharto was dying, and his team of doctors couldn’t do anything about it. Then the book said Soeharto’s family brought forth 10 men, clothed in black, into Soeharto’s hospital room, and prevented anyone from entering the premises for some time. These 10 men are the so-called “dukun of Soeharto”. Few days later, Soeharto was able to walk. Black magic, however, has its limits, as the health Soeharto enjoyed was short-lived.
So yeah, I don’t know if the author of this book is telling the truth, but it certainly is interesting no? As an Indonesian and a Christian, I can tell you that dark “ilmu” and dukuns really do exist, especially in Indonesia. But all of it is just a way of Satan to grasp us into sin, just like money and fame.