Gus Dur doesn't need recognition as a hero

Pluralist Abdurrahman Wahid, popularly known as Gus Dur who died Dec. 30, does not need official state recognition as a national hero, a discussion says.

"Gus Dur became a hero a long time ago," close friend of Gus Dur and former aide Wimar Witoelar said at the House of Regional Representatives in Jakarta on Friday.

Wimar said that Gus Dur's hero status was evident in the way the general public affectionately paid respect to him after his passing.

"The public finally realized that they had taken a great man, who was often misunderstood, for granted," he said.

For days after Gus Dur's passing, thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims visited his last resting place in Jombang, East Java, to pay their respect and pray for him.

Gus Dur was also considered a moderate Islamic cleric with a high regard for pluralism and multiculturalism.

Therefore, he also has a special place in the hearts of non-Muslims for his advocacy for minority groups and their rights.

One of Gus Dur's most remembered feat toward pluralism was when he issued a regulation to recognize the Chinese New Year, commonly known as Imlek, as a national holiday.

A House member, Ferry Tinggogoy, said that Gus Dur's greatest achievement in maintaining Indonesia's pluralistic nature was when he played the role of the glue that kept the nation together in the midst of emergency political situation in 1998, the time when the New Order regime fell following the revolution.

"Back then, Indonesia's mosaic was crumbling, and Gus Dur played a leading role keeping it together," he said.

"So, for me, the debate about whether Gus Dur deserves to be named a national hero is no longer relevant.

"For me Gus Dur is the face of Indonesian unity," he added.

A social political expert from the University of Indonesia, Isbodroini Soejanto, said that Gus Dur's legacy also included asking Indonesians to honestly acknowledge the multi-dimension side of the country's communities.

"So far, we have yet to achieve this comprehension ... understanding that our diversity needs to be acknowledged not uniformed," she said.

Due to Gus Dur's well-known reputation and popularity as a defender of pluralism, a number of House legislators and human rights activists have proposed that he be named a national hero.

The new names of national heroes are usually announced on National Heroes Day on Nov. 11.

The initiative from the House to nominate Gus Dur as a national hero was initiated by the National Awakening Party (PKB) and was endorsed by the House Consultative Committee on Thursday.

Following the committee's approval, the legislators will take the proposal to a plenary session for approval next Tuesday.

However, a group called Petition-28 led by one of Gus Dur's closest associates, Adhie Masardi, recently said that it would reject the national hero status unless both the House and government officially cleared Gus Dur's name for his alleged involvement in the Bulog-Bruneigate scandal that led to his downfall as president in 2001.

Wimar, however, said that judging from today's public sentiments, Gus Dur did not need his name cleared. "Those who toppled are the ones who need public pardon," he said.