For me, it is that you should not wait until the last moment before jumping from a sinking ship. And you should learn how to adjust to a new situation. Other survivors of the disaster or the families of the drowned passengers or crews might blame you as a traitor who only cared about your own safety but with the passage of time, people will forgive you or have a better understanding of the circumstances of that time. Eventually you will be reconciled with them, especially when they remember you as a good man.

As a former member of then-president Soeharto’s Cabinet, Harmoko deserves his resting place at the Kalibata National Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta. Harmoko was one of Soeharto’s most trusted ministers, who led the much feared Information Ministry for 14 years. He was the first civilian to lead Soeharto’s Golkar Party, and later chaired the “rubber stamp” House of Representatives just to ensure the stability of Soeharto’s government.

May 18, 1998, thousands of students and antigovernment protesters were occupying the House and People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) building in Senayan, Central Jakarta. They demanded the immediate resignation of Soeharto who had ruled the country since 1966. Jakarta was gripped in a fearsome situation following the massive riots in the capital city and other cities, including Surakarta in Central Java, after security forces opened fire on Trisakti University students in West Jakarta and killed four of them. The country was enduring emergency economic treatment by the International Monetary Fund and international markets had lost trust in the rupiah.

The protestors demanded House speaker Harmoko, who could not leave the compound on that day, to hold a dialogue with them. They knew Harmoko was one of Soeharto’s most trusted men. He served as Soeharto’s information minister for 14 years until 1997, and never hesitated to flatter Soeharto in his press conferences or public speeches. Soeharto promoted Harmoko as the chairman of Golkar from 1993 until 1998.

Under Harmoko, Golkar claimed its biggest election win in 1997, regardless of alleged fraud, intimidation and vote rigging. Due to the success, Soeharto awarded Harmoko the speaker’s post.

Being a Soeharto loyalist, Harmoko was popularly known among government circles as Hari Hari Omong Kosong (empty talk every day). However, the veteran cartoonist and journalist often told journalists it was a beautiful nickname.

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