Being a holdover from the authoritarian New Order era, BJ Habibie was a much-loathed figure during his short stint as president. Students and pro-democracy activists saw him as an accidental president who would steamroll any opposition to prolong the New Order regime. But after his bid for reelection and his attempt to control Golkar failed in 1999, Habibie was quick to realize that his time was gone and decided to step away from the limelight. Today, he is a muchrespected figure in the country, playing the role of an elder statesman, often solicited for political wisdom.

While in office, Megawati Soekarnoputri was widely seen as an impulsive politician, someone who could put so much emotion into the job of running the country that her memoir was titled Menangis dan Tertawa Bersama Rakyat (Crying and Laughing with the People). Early in her retirement, Megawati began to display another trait, a vindictive streak that led her to continue to gripe over her defeat in the 2004 presidential election. But over time she started to wise up. She buried her political ambitions for good and the 2014 presidential election was the moment when she decided to choose what was best for the country, if not the party.

Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid was already a statesman before he became president. He was a cultural leader who engaged in a fight against the New Order, a struggle that had taken its toll on the well-being of his family. His ouster in 2001 only helped to cement his status as a heroic figure in the country’s political history. Now, there is a growing call from the public to make him a national hero.

Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, however, is in a league of his own. His life after relinquishing the country’s highest office has been hectic, busy and incredibly loud. Soon after stepping down, he decided to take over the Democratic Party leadership after the erstwhile chairman Anas Urbaningrum was arrested for corruption. In early 2016, Yudhoyono and his wife set off on a journey around Java in a trip called “Tour de Java”, which was billed officially as a meet-and-greet with his party rank and file. Many, however, saw the outing as a means of testing the water for a possible presidential run for his wife, former first lady Ani Yudhoyono.

In the past two years, Yudhoyono appears to have made no effort to avoid the spotlight and has relished any opportunity to return to the news cycle. In the past few weeks, Yudhoyono has been back in the headlines for his back-andforth spat with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, especially in his effort to clear his name of the allegations that he was behind the massive rallies against Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama over charges of blasphemy late last year.

Last week, Yudhoyono decided to up the ante by accusing the Jokowi government of eavesdropping on his private conversations. In manic Trump-like mode, Yudhoyono threw a fit on Twitter last week, a telltale sign for all of us that despite leaving office two years ago, the former president will not go gently into that good night.

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