The youngest daughter of the late president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid gave a wise response to the growing public demands that her father be declared a national hero. “What is important is not the granting of official national hero status from the government. It is the people who regard bapak as the nation’s hero,” Inayah Wulandari told reporters Monday.
Inayah is confident her father – like her grandfather Wahid Hasyim and great-grandfather Hasyim Asy’ari, who were both national heroes – is a great man because of his extraordinary services in promoting democracy, human rights and the true face of Islam to the world.
She is very right. Her father is a hero to millions of Indonesians, including victims of injustice, minority groups and those who want the predominantly Muslim nation to be a democratic, tolerant, peaceful and prosperous country. Even his fiercest opponents find it difficult to deny Gus Dur’s extraordinary contributions to the country.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is facing public pressure to immediately declare the country’s fourth president a national hero. And it is not impossible that Yudhoyono will use the momentum for his own popularity by complying with the emotional public outcry. However, we hope the President will not easily bow to such demands just for cheap popularity.
But should we hastily bestow the honor on the man who chaired the country’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), for 15 years prior to being elected president in October 1999?
Should we follow our emotions to grant him the title?
We need to remember that the nation has not given national hero status to founding president Sukarno, even today. Soeharto, Sukarno’s successor, grudgingly granted him the title of Independence Proclamation Hero – but only in pairing with Muhammad Hatta, the country’s first vice president – for declaring the country’s independence on Aug. 17, 1945.
The title was given in 1987, or 17 years after Sukarno’s death. But Soeharto was very quick to name his wife, Tien Soeharto, a national hero after her death in 1996. He was reluctant to honor Sukarno because he felt the latter, whom he toppled from power in 1966, continued to haunt him.
Who deserves the title of national hero more: Soeharto or Abdurrahman Wahid?
The question arises following the debate among legislators in the House of Representatives regarding the plan to recommend the government declare Gus Dur a national hero. Meanwhile, the Golkar Party has demanded the House also include Soeharto, the party’s founder, in the list along with Gus Dur.
Both former presidents had their own ups and downs. But Soeharto is much more controversial. He practically declared himself the father of development during his rule. Millions of Indonesian still remember him as the leader who gave them security, affordable food, jobs and welfare – a feat his predecessor and four successors were never able to deliver.
Besides, how about the gross human rights violation he allegedly committed and the massive corruption by his children and cronies during his 32-year rule?
We totally agree with Inayah’s assessment of her father. But according to law, there are procedures that must be undergone before granting national hero status to anyone. And we should follow the procedures. With or without the honor, Gus Dur is a great hero in the hearts of many Indonesians.
What is important is that we all preserve his legacy. The recognition of the state is only a formal nod.
