The late Abdurahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur, does not need official state recognition as a national hero, a discussion hears Friday.
"For me, he has already been a hero for a long time," one of Gus Dur's closest aides, Wimar Witoelar, said during the event at the House of Regional Representatives (DPD) in Senayan, South Jakarta, on Friday.
Wimar said Gus Dur's factual hero status was evident in the way the general public affectionately paid their respects to him upon his death on Dec. 30.
A DPD member, Ferry Tinggogoy, said Gus Dur's greatest achievement for the nation was when he managed to play the role as the glue that kept the nation together in the midst of the emergency political situation in 1998, the time when the New Order regime fell following a people's revolution.
"Back then, Indonesia's mosaic was looking very ugly, and Gus Dur played the leading role in keeping it from crumbling," he said.
The consultative committee of the House of Representatives agreed Thursday to take the proposed national hero title for the late former president issue to the House plenary session for approval next Tuesday.
Gus Dur was considered a moderate Islamic cleric and a scholar in the Muslim community, especially to members of the Nadhlatul Ulama (NU), for his role in reforming the largest Muslim organization during his leadership. He was the grandson of the NU’s cofounder, Hasjim Ashari.
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