Eligibility of Soeharto, nine other figures to get national hero status assessed

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 10/17/2010 2:03 PM

The government has proposed late former president Soeharto and nine other deceased figures to get national hero status to the Honor and Service Council, Cabinet secretary Dipo Alam said in Jakarta Sunday.

Dipo said that the proposal, made by the Ministry of Social Service, was being assessed by the Honor and Service Council before being decided by the President.

“It’s not true that one Pak Harto will get the national hero status. There are nine others who are being proposed by the Ministry of Social Service,” Dipo said as quoted by kompas.com.

The nine other figures, said Dipo, who is also the former student activist in the 1970s, include late noted ulema and former president Abdurrahman Wahid, former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin and J. Leimena.

Soeharto and nine other figures are part of 18 previously proposed by the Ministry of Social Service, Dipo said.

“Let’s think positively. The government will process them in line with the proposal from the public by taking into consideration their contributions to the country during their lives,” he added.

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