President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, along with other country leaders and thousands of citizens, attended on Thursday the funeral of former president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, who is remembered as a “genius” and “selfless” leader who broke the shackles that had chained the country during Soeharto’s authoritarian rule.

Habibie, who died at the age of 83 a day earlier, was taken from his home in Patra Kuningan, South Jakarta, to his final resting place at Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta after midday, where he was buried next to his wife Ainun.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) were also present with Habibie’s two sons, Ilham Akbar Habibie and Thareq Kemal Habibie at the funeral.

“Rest well, Mr. Crack. Rest in peace, Indonesia’s technology pioneer. We will always remember your teachings. Ever since he was young, everything Habibie did contributed to Indonesia. From his time as aerospace manufacturer PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara’s [IPTN] chief executive officer, as research and technology minister to his tenure as president” said Jokowi during his speech at Kalibata.

An aerospace engineer who studied in Aachen, Germany, Habibie became an internationally acclaimed technocrat for his inventions, including a theorem in crack propagation for airplanes, for which he earned the moniker “Mr. Crack” from his international colleagues.

He was appointed vice president director at Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, an airplane manufacturer in Hamburg, before former president Soeharto, who had been fond of his intelligence, called him home in 1974 to develop industrialization in the country.

Habibie continued to serve as research and technology minister for two decades before he was appointed vice president and later became president when Soeharto stepped down in 1998.

During his tenure as president, which lasted less than two years, he made prominent contributions to the country, including the deliberation of the Press Law and two laws to implement decentralization and regional autonomy.

At the funeral on Thursday, former president Yudhoyono, expressed his best wishes to Habibie who he considers a “good friend”.

“Pak Habibie was a genius, visionary and a genuine president who led the country to democracy after Soeharto’s long era,” said Yudhoyono.

Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim delivered his eulogy shortly before the burial process was completed. “Please forgive all of Pak Habibie’s mistakes and sins and give him your blessings,” said Lukman.

Former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahmud MD complimented Habibie’s unselfishness and policy-making during his presidency. “Habibie could’ve remained Indonesia’s figurehead until 2003 if he had stood by the constitutional law during his time as president. However, he authorized the country’s first free general election in three decades to enable the population to choose a leader they truly desired. His selflessness paved the way to a better Indonesia,” said Mahmud.

Mahmud also commented that some of Habibie’s revisions of the law resulted in greater freedom of speech for the press and a higher tolerance toward the country’s minorities. “Habibie possessed a German engineer’s mind and moderate Islamic values that were highly respected by his colleagues in Germany and the public here. He will be greatly missed.”

Separately, the president director of state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (the current name of IPTN), Elfien Guntoro, said the death of Habibie was a profound loss for Indonesia’s aerospace industry.

“Besides founding the company, he was also an industry pioneer, starting with the BPPT [Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology] and LIPNUR [Nurtanio Aviation Industry Agency],” Elfien said at the company’s office in Bandung, West Java.

Elfien said that Habibie’s legacy was clearly apparent in the aircraft that were currently being produced by the company, such as its flagship NC212i plane.

“That 24-person capacity plane is one of his legacies,” he said.

The last aircraft model of Habibie’s tenure was the N250, which had its certification stalled by the monetary crisis that struck the country in 1997. (bry)

— Arya Dipa contributed to the story from Bandung.

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