J

span class="caption" style="width: 398px;">JP/Arief SuhardimanTheo Syafei, a prominent politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), also known as the key player behind Megawati Soekarnoputri’s candidacy for the 2009 presidential election, died on Friday morning.

He was 69 years old.

Media reported that he died of brain cancer. He had been hospitalized in Singapore for months before he was taken home, Theo’s son, Andi Widjajanto, told tempointeraktif.com on Friday.

The remains of Theo will be buried today in a military ceremony since he was a retired member of the Indonesian military.

Maj. Gen (ret) Theo was a top official in the Indonesian military before he retired and embraced a new career as politician.

The military burial will be held at Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in East Jakarta, East Jakarta Military District Command (Kodim) Lieut. Col. Ketut Hadi said.

Theo’s family left his remains at the Bambu Apus funeral home in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, so mourners could pay him their final respects before the memorial service.

Theo, who was born in Makassar, South Sulawesi on June 30, 1941, graduated from military school in 1965. He started his military career in 1967 in the army’s special forces.

His reached the top of the career ladder when he was appointed as the commander in the army.

He decided to turn to politics after he retired. He was a member of the House of Representatives between 1995 and 1997, representing the armed forces in the parliament.

He served as legislator back in 1999, representing the PDI-P. Once he stepped down as a legislator, he continued to play important role in the party, serving as the head of Megawati’s campaign team in 2009, otherwise known as a strategic planner and intelligence gatherer.

The head of PDI-P national executive board, Andreas Pareira, lauded him as a strong military figure,
an intelligent politician and a good leader. Apart from his military
and political career, Theo was also known as a Christian figure, who was actively engaged in numerous religious activities.

He was the founder of the Christian Communication Forum, an organization aimed at encouraging and optimizing people’s contribution to the nation’s development.

Theo was also a key player behind the establishment of the Indonesian Christian Intelligence Union, which gave birth to numerous strategic studies supporting pluralism.

He is survived by one wife and four children.