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View all search resultsIn memoriam: Gen. Rais Abin, one of Indonesia’s finest soldiers
Rais Abin was bright, optimistic and well-read, and was keen on issues of foreign policy and diplomacy.
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t. Gen (ret.) Rais Abin passed away on March 25. A few weeks before his death, he called me to help him translate a book into Indonesian. It was a book written by Cecil B. Currey, about general Vo Nguyen Giap of Vietnam, whom he considered one of the most brilliant strategists, and who had beaten the French at Dien Bien-Phu. This was typical of Rais Abin. He was one of Indonesia’s most learned soldiers, and he loved to read.
The first time I met him was when we were in the 1965 “revolution”, when he accompanied his wife, Ibu Dewi Asiah, to political meetings. His wife worked as a correspondent for the Pedoman daily and came from a political family, as her mother was the chairperson of the Independence Vanguard Party (IPKI), and her father was an important officer, one of the highest in the hierarchy, Lt. Gen. Hidajat Martaatmadja, who several times held a Cabinet post under then-president Sukarno.
Rais Abin and Dewi Asiah were a very harmonious couple with three children: Radianti Lukman, Radimita Manusama and Andy Achmad Hidayat.
Rais Abin was bright, optimistic and well-read, and was keen on issues of foreign policy and diplomacy. Such characteristics proved beneficial for him to excel when he was appointed first as the commander of the second United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) from 1976 until 1979 and later as Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia in 1981-1984 and Indonesian ambassador to Singapore from 1984 to 1988.
He used to come to lectures, conferences and studies on international relations and diplomacy. Most of all, he joined many discussions on Indonesian politics, because, at the end of the day, he was a real patriot and served the Indonesian Military in 1945-1981.
After his retirement, he was elected by the Veteran Legion of Indonesia, first as head of the Veteran’s Legion Politics and Security Affairs, and in the ninth congress in 2007 and the 10th congress in 2012, he was elected as the chairman of the organization. He was elected to lead the legion for the third time when his successors Ari Sudewo and Sukotjo Trjokroarmodjo passed away before the succeeding congress was held. In the end, he announced his resignation in 2017 and eventually passed on the chief post to Syaiful Sulun in 2019. After his resignation, he was made the honorary chairman of the organization, which he served until he passed away.
He served also in politics. He was a member of the People’s Consultative Assembly, representing the now-defunct Armed Forces (ABRI) faction. He also served the ABRI command as assistant to then-ABRI chief Gen. Mohammad Jusuf for politics, strategy and planning (1980-1981).
