A portrait of Indonesia’s second president, Soeharto, who was crowned as a national hero on Tuesday (10/11). (Source: Tribun News)

Warta Kema — On National Hero’s Day this Tuesday (10/11), Soeharto, the second president of Indonesia, reigned victorious as the national hero of Indonesia on top of the wound he tore in history.

The title was given by the current president of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, to Soeharto’s beneficiaries Bambang Trihatmodjo and Siti Hardijanti Hastuti Rukmana in Istana Negara, Central Jakarta. He was proclaimed as a national hero alongside several others, including activist Marsinah and Indonesia’s fourth president, Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur. 

Based on the narration delivered by the master of ceremony, the reason behind this title is due to Soeharto’s enormous efforts leading to the disarmament of Japanese soldiers back in 1945. Indonesia Minister of State Secretary, Prasetyo Hadi, stated that ​​awarding the title of national hero to Soeharto was part of respecting the nation’s previous leaders, stating that those who were given this title had given outstanding services towards the country. 

The news of this coronation reached a few international media outlets such as Al Jazeera, The Guardian, and Reuters. Highlighting how he received the title despite the many allegations of violating human rights against the previous president, and how this news enraged citizens and activists alike.

Third Time’s the Charm

According to Tempo, while the coronation ceremony for Soeharto happened just recently, his name was recommended to be included in the national hero list at least three times: once two years after he died in 2010, proposed by the Governor of Central Java at the time Bibit Waluyo and the Regent of Karanganyar Rina Iriani and once in 2016, which was recommended by the Golkar Party during the National Assembly meeting (Musyawarah Nasional Luar Biasa). The third and final time Soeharto’s name was recommended was in 2024, when Bambang Sadono, the founder of the Bambang Sadono center and a member of the Golkar Party, yet again recommended that Soeharto be named a national hero, specifically from the Central Java region. 

The reason why it took three times for the recommendation to succeed was that Soeharto’s name was rejected multiple times. On the first attempt in 2010, his nomination was rejected under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration because the recommendation was deemed “too early,” as a lot of other national heroes took years to be eventually finalized as a nominee. 

On the second attempt during President Joko Widodo’s term, his name was once again rejected. The reason behind this rejection was that the government abided by the 1998 People’s Representative Council Decree (TAP MPR) number 9, which mentioned Soeharto as a corrupt and collusive head of government, and concluded that his 32-year reign was unlawful. 

However, this decree was erased by the People’s Representative Council in 2024, a decision made in one of their council meetings on September 23rd after the Golkar Party urged for it to be removed. Not long after, his name was recommended again by Bambang Sadono. This recommendation was deemed a success after the Minister of Social Affairs, Saifullah Yusuf, proclaimed that Soeharto checked out all the boxes on the criteria of receiving the national hero title. 

A few months later, on the National Hero’s Day of 10th November 2025, Soeharto was officially named a national hero during the Inauguration Ceremony at the Presidential Palace alongside ten other people through the establishment of the 2025 Presidential Decree (Keputusan Presiden Republik Indonesia) number 116.

Indonesia’s current president, Prabowo Subianto, inaugurated Soeharto as a national hero with the former president’s beneficiaries in attendance. (Source: The Aceh Post)

Anger and Backlash All Around 

Despite the successful ceremony, many social media platforms burst with outrage at the news. Hashtags such as #SoehartoBukanPahlawan had gone viral for weeks on the social media platform X. One account, @/marjinkiri, garnered over 14 thousand likes for simply tweeting the hashtag, while a vast majority of other Indonesians expressed their disappointment and anger towards the issue.

“Remember when people cheered and clapped after Soeharto declared his resignation from the office? Ironically, today Soeharto will be declared as a national hero by the current government,” user @/BuruhSiluman tweeted. 

A number of human rights organizations and academics also voiced their concern about this inauguration, one of which being the official account for Amnesty International Indonesia. In a thread of tweets posted by their account, the organization highlighted five reasons why Soeharto should not have been declared a national hero in the first place. These reasons include the former president’s record of authoritarianism and repression, unlawful natural resources exploitation and most importantly, his corruption. The organization mentioned him as one of the most corrupt leaders in the world during his reign, with the World Bank estimating his corruption at about 15-35 billion U.S. dollars. 

According to INAnews, more than 500 activists, academics, artists, and alike sent a letter to Prabowo Subianto, rejecting the hero title designation plan towards Soeharto as a response to this declaration. The letter was read aloud by Usman Hamid, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, at a press conference held in the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation on the 4th November 2025.

The letter, archived on Legal Aid Foundation’s official website, highlighted the unresolved allegation of severe human rights violations, the systematic corruption, collusion, and nepotism, and the suppression of democracy as the three main reasons why Soeharto does not deserve that title. The letter insists that the continuity of this plan would not only betray the victims who suffered from the events back in his reign and towards democratic values, but also be a dangerous distortion of history for the younger generation.

A portrait of Usman Hamid, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, reading the letter rejecting Soeharto’s title designation. (Source: YLBHI)

In addition to the letter, some notable figures and groups directly expressed their disapproval of the declaration through a protest on November 6th, held in front of the Ministry of Culture in Jakarta. These figures include the Civil Society Movement, whose representative Axel Primayoga directly condemned Soeharto and his role in corruption, violence, and nepotism during the New Order. Other figures, such as Philosophy expert Franz Magnis-Suseno, proclaimed that Soeharto should not be a national hero because “he only sought to enrich his family and the people close to him,” during the discussion outside the Legal Aid Foundation’s office two days prior to the protest. 

Considering the serious allegations, the outrage, and the lengths taken by many members of civil society, the backlash received from Soeharto’s recent coronation is not surprising. The declaration not only seemingly erased the former president’s records of heinous acts, but it was deemed even more atrocious because his name was put alongside Marsinah. She was an activist who was killed at her factory job during the time of his reign in 1993. Inaugurating both her and Soeharto, which many believed to be the root cause of her death, made the declaration a show of irony at heightened levels. 

The Response from Saan Mustopa as the Vice Head of the Indonesian House of Representatives

Quoted from Kompas, as of Tuesday, the 11th of November, the Vice Head of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Saan Mustopa, gave out his response regarding the backlash. He stated that the public should graciously accept the government’s decision to coronate Soeharto with the title of National Hero. He also insisted that the debate should have ended the moment the issuance of Soeharto’s new title bestowment as a national hero was announced. 

“So, once again, regardless of the pros and cons, of course, when the government has made a decision, we must all accept it gracefully. The debate is over now that the decision has been made,” he stated when interviewed by Kompas at Nasdem Tower, Gondangdia, Central Jakarta.

While Mustopa proclaimed that the citizens should accept this decision wholeheartedly, the opposite is actually happening. The fury of the people is growing every day from the proclamation and many are now considering the possibilities of revoking the decree and his title overall. With the absurdity of the declaration and the increasing opposition, it will be a matter of time and ignorance: how long will it take for the government to realize the aftermath of this declaration, and how will they dodge the consequences of painting crimson over gold? 

Penulis: Andrea Hillary Gusandi, Aisyah Kayla Syadina

Editor: Syafina Ristia Putri, Ammara Azwadiena Alfiantie