JAKARTA: The children of former president Suharto have offered an apology for his past mistakes, in a gesture made after a controversial People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) decision to remove his name from a decree on corruption, a decision that triggered concerns over attempts to absolve the authoritarian leader of past crimes.
On Saturday (Sept 28), the MPR invited Suharto’s family, represented by his two daughters, Siti “Tutut” Hardijanti Rukmana and Siti “Titiek” Hediati Hariyadi (pic), to receive a document that removed Suharto’s name from MPR Decree No. 11/1998.
The decree, issued right after the downfall of Suharto’s New Order regime, mandated firm and fair eradication measures for corruption, collusion and nepotism against everyone, from former and current public officials to their cronies and conglomerates.
It previously contained the phrase “including former president Suharto”. In her remarks during the letter handover ceremony, Titiek apologised to the public on behalf of Suharto and his family.
“Throughout his time leading the country, there are things that do not sit well with the hearts of the people. For that, we would like to apologise. But, we must not forget all the good things he did while leading this country for 32 years,” Titiek said, as quoted from a news clip.
She did not elaborate on the specifics of what she was apologising for, but went on to list some of Suharto’s policies, such as the development of integrated health services posts (Posyandu) and state elementary schools (SD Inpres) throughout the country.
“Don’t let these [policies] be erased just because there are people who don’t like him, since these [policies] have proven to be useful for the country,” said Titiek, who is a Gerindra Party politician.
The MPR decided to remove Suharto’s name from the decree following an assembly last week, citing the Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) decision to drop all corruption charges against Suharto in 2006 after he was declared medically unfit for trial and his eventual death just two years later.
The gesture followed a suggestion by the Golkar Party, which was Suharto’s political vehicle during his 32-year reign. It was one of several decisions the MPR made on past presidents as its term neared its end on Monday.
Last week, the MPR annulled a decree mandating the impeachment of the country’s fourth president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, a decision made based on a request from the National Awakening Party (PKB), a party Gus Dur helped found.
MPR Speaker Bambang Soesatyo of Golkar said at the time that the assembly also wished for Suharto and Gus Dur to be awarded national hero titles in respect of their legacies.
A few weeks before, the MPR annulled a 1967 decree that stripped former president Sukarno of his presidential authority over allegations of protecting the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), which was accused of masterminding a coup attempt in 1965.
Activists were quick to criticise the MPR decision on Suharto, calling it an opening to absolve the past ruler of his sins and a betrayal of the Reform movement that led to the downfall of Suharto in 1998.
“It’s a bad precedent,” Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said.
“The country has not finished solving all cases of corruption, environmental destruction and human rights violations that occurred during Suharto’s regime.”
Activists also described the MPR’s suggestion of awarding Suharto a national hero title as an insult to victims of past human rights abuses committed during the New Order regime.
As with the corruption charges, the allegations of human rights abuses were never brought to court until his death in 2008. Suharto also never admitted any wrongdoing. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
