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Gerindra chairman laid to rest at UGM cemetery
The body of the late Gerindra party chairman, Suhardi, was buried at Gadjah Mada Universityâs (UGM) burial ground in Sawitsari, Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Friday afternoon
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he body of the late Gerindraparty chairman, Suhardi, was buried at Gadjah Mada University's (UGM) burialground in Sawitsari, Sleman, Yogyakarta, on Friday afternoon.
Suhardi, who passed away due to lung cancer on Thursday, was also a professor at the university's forestry school and was an intellectual who specialized in food security.
His body was laid forth in the university's main hall before his scheduled burial, giving the chance to mourners to pay their last respects to the late politician.
The university's main hall was reportedly filled with written tributes to Suhardi and the number of mourners reached the hundreds.
'He was regarded as a simple man. He liked to bike and did not like air-conditioned rooms,' said UGM rector Pratikno on Thursday.
According to Pratikno, Suhardi's love of the simple life was what made him a standout academic and politician in terms of food security and green issues.
One of Suhardi's achievements was the planting of pine shrimp trees across Yogyakarta's southern coast, where hundreds of trees now form a green barrier in the area.
Meanwhile, National Mandate Party (PAN) politician Amien Rais said Suhardi was an 'ethical politician who held to his principles and was against corruption'.
Amien noted that Suhardi was very nationalistic in terms of food security, adding that he never ate wheat, which was considered a staple of western food.
Another of Suhardi's aspirations was to acquire an uninhabited island for farming purposes and livestock herding, so that Indonesia would not be concerned with beef imports.
Suhardi was the chairman of the Association of Indonesian Farmers (HKTI) in Yogyakarta between 2002 and 2008, also becoming an advisor for the national food security unit of the Agriculture Ministry.
He also played pivotal role in the development of Gerindra. (dyl/dic)
