Remembering Indonesia's 'Smiling General' Soeharto

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Indonesian former President Soeharto was a man with global prominence. He was well- known for his ruthless method of governing the country which many referred in the past as akin to that of a dictator. In spite of varying form of comments being placed on him, the archipelago state still owes very much to the ‘Father’ who brought up the notion of and actualized the commencement of ‘national development’.

It has been 8 years since his passing-away. The man who was given proper medical treatment before died at the age of 87 was ‘regarded as a sound man, loyal for sensitive assignments’, as cited in The Guardian.

Singapore’s former leader Mr. Lee Kuan Yew previously dubbed the Indonesian former President who reigned the country for 32 years as ‘a man who could be trusted’. According to Strait Times, Mr. Lee’s decision to put a credible amount of trust to Soeharto was based on the fact that Indonesia was able to repay some important dealings in kind in due course. This was shown through Indonesia’s ability to repay the rice on time and with better quality than initially given after Singapore accepted Soeharto’s message in his early years seeking for thousands of tons of rice to meet emergency domestic needs due to failure of rice crop at home.

Former Australian Diplomat Public Servant Richard Woolcott wrote in The Australian back in 2008, claiming that he had the time to assess Soeharto’s leadership qualities and grandiose contributions to his country’s national development and shared neighborhood to nations surrounding the archipelago state.

“I always found Suharto polite and congenial. While cautious about expressing views until he had reflected on a situation and shaped them in his own mind, and regarded by many as taciturn, I found that once he knew you, he was friendly, relaxed and willing to listen. He also articulated his own views clearly, especially his vision for Indonesia,” he wrote.

The ‘smiling general’ may be popularly known during 1997 APEC summit by other leaders as rigid and “tough as old boots”, but such was compensated by his earlier modest decision to choose civilian Berkeley University educated economists to address the nation’s 1965 economic chaos. As someone to talk to, Soeharto had been viewed as a nice man who practiced the Javanese dictum ‘mikul, dhuwur, mendhem jero’, meaning to look for the best in others and to forgive the trespasses of those whom we respect; but when he made decisions, his tone immediately changed into a relatively firm one.

Claims about Soeharto being a reliable leader also heard in many part of the world as he worked hard in maintaining regional stability in Southeast Asia during the volatile 1970s and 80s. A surge of both positive and negative comment about him continue to pour as year progresses, one thing that everyone would come to terms with each other is the fact that Soeharto was a big contributor to the nation’s progression towards the modern era.