Tyrant or Hero? Plan to Name Jakarta Road After Suharto Stirs Controversy

Tyrant or Hero? Plan to Name Jakarta Road After Suharto Stirs Controversy

By Markus Junianto Sihaloho on 9:31 am August 31, 2013.
A plan to name a main thoroughfare in the heart of Jakarta after former President Suharto has drawn both support and muted criticism, with Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo conceding it could be a hard sell. The plan, conceived by a group calling itself the Council of 17 and led by Jimly Asshidiqie, a former chief justice of the Constitutional Court, would see the four roads encircling the National Monument (Monas) park renamed in honor of former leaders, as part of what Jimly called a push to boost the public’s sense of nationalism. Joko, who met with the Council of 17 on Friday, said he foresaw no problems in renaming Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, on the southern edge of the Monas square, to Jalan Sukarno, in honor of Indonesia’s founding president.He also said that renaming Jalan Medan Merdeka Utara, marking the park’s northern border with the State Palace, after Sukarno’s deputy, Mohammad Hatta, should not be a problem.

“We can expect to change the names of these two streets sometime in September, but the other two are a bit more controversial,” Joko said.

Jimly’s team has proposed renaming Jalan Medan Merdeka Timur, on Monas’s eastern periphery and bordering Gambir Station, after Ali Sadikin, a former Jakarta governor, and renaming Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat, on the west, running past the National Museum, after Suharto.

Jimly said there were certain rules on renaming main thoroughfares after public figures, including a requirement that the person in question be officially recognized as a national hero.

Both Sukarno and Hatta were proclaimed national heroes last year, while Ali has not; and repeated attempts by Suharto’s supporters to get him honored have been scuppered by the debate over whether he deserved recognition in light of his human rights record.

In addition, renaming the Medan Merdeka roads specifically requires a presidential decree.

Joko said he fully supported the plan to rename all four streets, adding that the proposal would be submitted to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for approval. He said he hoped to ring in the changes in time for National Heroes Day, which falls on Nov. 10.

Others who have expressed support for the proposal include politicians from the Golkar Party, which for decades was Suharto’s political vehicle.

Muhidin, a Golkar legislator, said that even though Suharto was not technically a national hero, he should still be honored for the role he played in guiding the country’s development.

“He did a lot for this country and its people,” Muhidin said as quoted by Detik.com.

“We can’t belittle his services, because if it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

He added it was the proper thing to do to rename the four streets after the former leaders, regardless of their personal shortcomings or national status.

“For all their strengths and weaknesses, they still served the people of this nation,” he said.

However, other politicians expressed wariness over the proposal, saying the plan to rename Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat after Suharto should be put on hold.

“If there was already public consensus about naming Suharto a national hero, then I don’t feel there would be a problem [with naming a road after him],” Yudi Widiana Adia, a legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said as quoted by Detik.com.

“But without such consensus, there will only be more controversy. We’ll get proposals to name roads after people who aren’t heroes.”