TheJakartaPost
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A tale of two political clans: The Marcos and Soehartos
Unlike the Marcos clan in the Philippines, the Soeharto family in Indonesia remains political pariah two decades after its downfall.
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In this photograph taken on March 9, 2014, a poster bearing the portrait of the late Indonesian dictator Soeharto with a slogan, "Hi, how are you? It was better in my time, eh?", is seen in Karanganyar, Central Java. (AFP/Anwar Mustafa)
T
he landslide victory of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the namesake son of the Philippines’ late dictator, in the May 9 presidential election has prompted questions over the fate of the Soeharto clan in Indonesia, 24 years after the late president was toppled.
Soeharto family members have made repeated attempts in the past to get into politics, often seeking to tap into nostalgia about the perceived security and political order under Soeharto’s military regime.
These attempts, however, have been fruitless – and all other things being equal, it is unlikely that the family will regain its former clout in Indonesian politics, analysts say.
“After Soeharto was removed from office, almost all of his supporters surrendered, and were unable to re-establish a political footing. Despite many attempts to convince the public, it was, and is still, very hard to defend Soeharto’s family name. Therefore, up to now, they have been unable to occupy key positions,” Firman Noor, a senior researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) told The Jakarta Post recently.
Read also: After Philippines, Indonesia too is ripe for return to authoritarianism
Cendana swan song
During his last days in power, Soeharto appeared to groom his children for political leadership. In 1988, when he was appointed president for the fifth time by the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), his children were seen at the inauguration ceremony, an event regarded as symbolic of the family’s attempt to consolidate its power.
