November 11, 2025
JAKARTA – Twenty-seven years after his fall from power, President Prabowo Subianto has moved to restore his former father-in-law’s reputation by declaring Soeharto a national hero, reigniting debate over the late strongman’s repressive three-decade rule.
At a ceremony at the State Palace on Monday to mark National Heroes Day, Prabowo bestowed the National Hero title on Soeharto, with his eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti “Tutut” Rukmana and son Bambang Trihatmodjo receiving the honor on his behalf.
Soeharto was among ten figures granted the distinction, joining nationalists and activists recognized for their service to the country, such as late president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid who was known as a champion of pluralism and moderate Islam and slain labor activist Marsinah.
During the ceremony, Soeharto, who held the rank of five-star general-was described as a figure in Indonesia’s independence struggle.
“As deputy commander of the People’s Security Agency [BKR] in Yogyakarta, he led the disarmament of Japanese troops in Kotabaru in 1945,” an announcer said, referring to the BKR, the precursor to the Indonesian Military (TNI).
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Prabowo later emphasized that the 10 posthumous awardees had “sacrificed everything for the independence, sovereignty and honor of the Indonesian nation”.
Monday’s ceremony capped a years-long effort to secure Soeharto’s elevation to national hero status, a push that dates back to at least 2010.
Prabowo, who was married to Soeharto’s second daughter Siti Hediati “Titiek” Soeharto, succeeded where previous presidents had not, after lawmakers last year removed Soeharto’s name from a 1998 People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree that had called for an investigation into his alleged corruption.
While Soeharto took part in the independence struggle, his rise to national prominence came after the failed 1965 coup blamed on the now-disbanded Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
Mass arrests and killings of PKI members and suspected sympathizers followed, as Soeharto consolidated power, sidelined founding president Sukarno and became Indonesia’s second leader in 1967.
During his three-decade New Order rule, Indonesia experienced rapid economic development that earned Soeharto the moniker “father of development” for his push to build infrastructure and boost agricultural output.
But this progress came at the cost of repression. Under the dwifungsi (dual function) doctrine, the military entrenched itself in civilian and political life, from the national legislature down to remote villages, to suppress dissent.
Soeharto’s rule was also marked by numerous human rights abuses, including the summary execution-style killings between 1982 and 1985, known locally as penembakan misterius (mysterious shootings) or Petrus, the Talangsari massacre in Lampung in 1989 and torture at Rumoh Geudong in Aceh between 1989 and 1998. In his final years in power, at least 23 activists were kidnapped or forcibly disappeared between 1997 and 1998, amid mounting unrest.
Under the weight of the Asian financial crisis and a nationwide pro-democracy movement, Soeharto resigned on May 21, 1998, ending what was widely regarded as one of the world’s most corrupt and authoritarian regimes.
Efforts to prosecute him for graft were made but never came to fruition after he was deemed medically unfit to stand trial. He died in January 2008 at the age of 86.
Reform era undone
Rights groups and academics have condemned Prabowo’s decision to bestow the national hero title, calling it “a distortion of history, a betrayal of the reform ideals and an insult to the millions of victims of human rights violations” during Soeharto’s New Order regime.
“The state should stand with victims, not perpetrators of human rights violations. The hero title for Soeharto must be revoked immediately as a moral and political responsibility to the nation’s history and future,” said Amnesty International Indonesia and the Indonesian Historical Transparency Alliance (AKSI) in a joint statement on Monday.
Egi Primayogha of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said Soeharto’s designation signaled not only the death of the Reform Era, the movement that ended Soeharto’s rule, but also the resurgence of the New Order.
“The Reform Era agenda was to hold Soeharto and his cronies accountable and dismantle corruption, collusion and nepotism,” he said. “Yet the systemic corruption that took root in that era endures, with many political and business elites today still tied to the New Order.”
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Gadjah Mada University (UGM) historian Ody Dwicahyo noted that the government’s emphasis on Soeharto’s wartime service showed a deliberate attempt to sidestep his controversial presidency.
“This shows how far back the government must go to highlight Soeharto’s noncontroversial side in Indonesian history,” Ody said.
Meanwhile, Hendardi, chair of the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, also pointed out the irony that Soeharto was honored alongside labor activist Marsinah, who was abducted and murdered under his rule.
“Political elites may overlook history, but they must not manipulate it simply because they hold power,” Hendardi said. “[By recognizing Soeharto as a national hero], Prabowo’s leadership will be remembered as one that disregarded human rights and set back democracy.”
Critics say hallmarks of the New Order era have returned since Prabowo assumed office. The President has increasingly involved the military in his priority programs, while his coalition in the House of Representatives recently passed a controversial amendment that formally expanded the TNI’s role in civilian affairs.
A project to publish new history textbooks led by Culture Minister Fadli Zon has also stoked concerns of history revisionism, given that Fadli has publicly questioned reports of Soeharto-era rights abuses.