Remembering Soeharto as he was
Regardless of how the Indonesian public perceives him, soybean and rice prices were low during Soeharto’s days and I think we should all remember him that way: the Father of Indonesia who realized that Indonesia’s true potential is in Agriculture. Few of his successors seem to realize that.
An uncle of mine (who used to work for religious NGOs) is a close acquaintance of the Soeharto's Cendana family; he even had Mbak Tutut’s (Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, Soeharto’s daughter) cellphone number. He elaborated just now on how he came to know Soeharto in person and how he knew his children’s personality. Soeharto was truly a nice, warm, humble, and down-to-earth kind of guy, and so were his children. Most of the Indonesian public seem to blame that Soeharto’s name was tainted by his children’s use of the public money and how bad a father he was for bringing up such children. Well, according to my uncle, that wasn’t true. His children were duped into that world of glamour as they were too naïve to realize what kind of world their friends were leading them to.
I just took a look at this link and realized how much resemblance does the Young Soeharto bears with Tommy (Hutomo Mandala Putera, his son)! They look almost like twins!
I sincerely hope with all my heart that Soeharto would rest in peace and may the Almighty God pardon his sins for he had done a great job in leading Indonesia.
Terima kasih banyak, Pak!
Soeharto memorial links:
Soeharto’s lifetime photo collection
PS: In order to honour the National Mourning Week that the incumbent Indonesian President SBY had recently declared, most of my blog posts this entire week would have to be put on a waiting list, in exchange for Soeharto's memorial posts, until a more appropriate time.
