History of Life the second President of the Indonesia Republic Suharto Part 1

Suharto is often referred to as the "Smiling General" who is popular because of his always smiling expression. Even so, he is often referred to as a dictator. The second president after Indonesian independence was a strong anti-communist who made Indonesia closer to the West and led during the period of economic recovery in the country. However, his tenure was disrupted by negative publicity regarding the suppression of opposition and serious human rights violations, especially in East Timor, the former Portuguese colony which Indonesia had forcibly occupied starting in 1975.

Suharto was born in the village of Kemusu near Jogjakarta, Central Java, on June 8, 1921. His father was a lower-class agricultural technician, and Suharto's early life was very bad because, Soeharto often moved to his father or mother because his parents divorced when Soeharto was very young.

Wife and children

Suharto and R.A Siti Hartinah

Suharto married Raden Ayu Siti Hartinah, the son of KRMT Soemoharyomo. Soemoharyomo is a Wedana in Solo. Marriage Lieutenant Colonel (Lieutenant Colonel) Suharto with Siti Hartinah (later known as Tien Soeharto) was held on December 26, 1947 in Solo. At that time, Soeharto's age was 26 years old, while Siti Hartinah was 24 years old. The couple has six children, namely Siti Hardiyanti Hastuti (Tutut), Sigit Harjojudanto, Bambang Trihatmodjo, Siti Hediati Harijadi (Titiek), Hutomo Mandala Putra (Tommy), and Siti Hutami Endang Adiningsih (Mamiek).

Wedana is assistant to the head of the Regional Level II (district), in charge of several sub-district heads regent's assistant

Childhood and Youth

Suharto did not like village children who had to work in the fields. In a very young age, he was schooled by Kertosudiro. There were no news about Suharto's time at the People's School. Soeharto only struggled with grazing buffalo, far from the children's stories obtained from books that were often read by elementary school children. This is different from Soekarno's story as long as he is still in elementary school which is more about his school years and what he reads, as well as Hatta and Sjahrir who used to be very familiar with Karl May or stories from Charles Dickens novels.

When he began to grow, Soeharto lived with his grandfather, Mbah Atmosudiro, the father of his mother. Suharto compilation school ended the year, but moved frequently. Originally schooled at the Primary School in Puluhan Village, Godean. Then, he moved to Pedes Elementary School (Yogyakarta) because his mother and stepfather Pramono, moved to Kemusuk Kidul.

Kertosudiro then transferred Suharto to Wuryantoro, Wonogiri, Central Java. Soeharto was entrusted to his aunt's house who married a farmer named Prawirowihardjo. Soeharto was accepted as the oldest son and received the same as Prawirowihardjo's sons and daughters. Suharto was then sent to school and studied all subjects, especially counting. He also received a strong religious education from his aunt's family.

Farming penchant grew during Soeharto's stay in Wuryantoro. Under the guidance of his uncle, a peasant uncle, Soeharto came to understand and pursue agriculture. After school, Soeharto learned to recite with friends, even to the point. He was also active in scouting Hizbul Wathan and began to recognize heroes such as Raden Ajeng Kartini and Prince Diponegoro from a newspaper that reached the village.

After graduating from Low School for four years, Suharto was sent to school by his parents to a secondary school in Wonogiri. After being 14 years old, Soeharto lived in Hardjowijono's house. Hardjowijono is a friend who is a retired train employee. Hardjowijono was also a loyal follower of Kiai Darjatmo, a prominent religious figure in Wonogiri at that time.

Because he was often invited, Suharto often helped Kiai Darjatmo to prescribe traditional medicine to treat sick people. Suharto returned to his native village, Kemusuk, to continue his education at the Muhammadiyah Junior High School in Yogyakarta. That is why because in school the students can wear gloves and without shoes.

Graduated from junior high school, Soeharto wanted to continue to higher school. However, other fathers and families cannot afford to finance because of economic needs. Soeharto failed to find a side job there, but failed. He returned to his aunt's house in Wuryantoro. There, he was accepted as a servant at the Village Bank (Volk-bank). But Suharto soon asked permission.

One day in 1942, Suharto read the announcement of the acceptance of members of the Koninklijk Nederlands Indisce Leger (KNIL). KNIL is the Dutch royal army. He accepted himself and was accepted as a soldier. At that time, he only passed seven days with the rank of sergeant because the Dutch surrendered to Japan. Sergeant Soeharto then returned to Dusun Kemusuk. It was precisely here, his military career began.

Professional Soldier

Shortly thereafter, Suharto volunteered to serve in the Japanese police organization in Yogyakarta. He then joined the Japanese-sponsored PETA (Pembela Tanah Air) Volunteer Army, and, after receiving special military training in Bogor, Suharto rose to the rank of company commander. When the Japanese surrendered and the Dutch returned to the country to rebuild control of the Dutch East Indies.

PETA units and officers provided a framework for the People's Security Corps which was the forerunner of the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI). Among these officers, Suharto gained a reputation for his firm leadership and good strategy in opposing not only the Dutch military forces but also various Indonesian factions including Communists and Islamic extremists, who challenged the political leadership of the new Republic of Indonesia.

Indonesian independence was proclaimed in August 1945, and the Dutch finally returned to defend sovereignty four years later. As a new country, Indonesia is geographically very far away, many cultures, and the economy is still very bad which made the government led by Sukarno at that time having difficulty maintaining constitutional norms and procedures. The army must have been seen as the main political actor, especially when Sukarno declared martial law in 1957 and the struggle for succession was accelerated in the early 1960s.

During this period Suharto advanced through the ranks of the Indonesian National Army. As a lieutenant colonel he participated in 1950 on an expedition which succeeded in suppressing the incipient rebellion in South Sulawesi. Most of his rare command assignments were in Central Java. In 1957 Suharto was promoted to the rank of colonel, in 1960 he became a brigadier general, and in 1963, as a major general, he took command of the Army Strategic Command.

Leadership in the "New Order"

Although he was not very visible among the military elite, Suharto had developed close associations throughout the army and especially supported and protected his staff. In addition, he fostered persistent anti-Communism along with strong economic endeavors by military units under his command. These qualities were especially characteristic of the Indonesian army in the years leading up to 1965, and they were increasingly associated with the state under Suharto's presidency.

Ironically, Suharto would not be in such a position of influence if the organizers of the "Gerakan 30 Sepetember PKI (G30SPKI)" were a dramatic coup attempt, even politicians had considered it important enough to be included in the list of generals targeted for execution.

When six generals were kidnapped and killed the night of September 30, 1965. Suharto gained military control in Jakarta and succeeded in describing the murder of the generals as an operation of the Indonesian Communist Party.

On March 11, 1966 Indonesia was still in a state of extreme shock and chaos. On that day President Soekarno was pressured to sign a decree in which Suharto's military officers received full power to guarantee security, calm and stability in the country.

Supersemar Event

This decree was known as the Supersemar  (Surat Perintah Sebelas Maret) document and meant the effective transfer of executive power from Soekarno to Suharto. Suharto then quickly banned the Communist Party of the PKI, began to clear the army from the left elements and began to expand the political role of the army in Indonesian society.

Although still president, Soekarno's power diminished more and more until Suharto was officially appointed as interim president in 1967 and was installed as Indonesia's second president in 1968. This marked the emergence of a new era called the 'New Order'. Policies quickly changed the direction rather hard from the start of Suharto's New Order. The new government emphasis is put on economic development.

Relations with the West, broken by Sukarno, were restored which enabled the much needed foreign aid flow to reach Indonesia. Wise fiscal management was introduced by hostile and expensive economic and political technocrats confronting Malaysia was stopped.

Suharto's next step was to depoliticize Indonesia. Cabinet ministers are not allowed to make their own policies but must implement a higher formulated policy. Golkar (Golongan Karya) was used as a powerful Suharto parliamentary vehicle. It contains several hundred smaller functional groups (such as trade unions, farmers and businesses) that ensure that the Indonesian people can no longer be mobilized by political parties.

Golkar was developed into an election machine to produce a majority for the government, and Golkar has a network up to the village district and is financially sponsored to promote the central government. Civil servants must support Golkar while the village head receives the Golkar vote quota to be filled. These policies produced a big victory for Golkar during the 1971 general election.

To expand his grip on politics further, Suharto 'encouraged' nine existing political parties to join in two. First, the Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP) consisting of Muslim parties and, secondly, the Partai Demokrasi Indonesia (PDI) consisting of nationalist and Christian parties. However, political activity was very limited in the short campaign period before national elections.

Suharto and Sri Sultan Hamengkubowono IX

On July 3, 1971, the president appointed 100 DPR members from the Armed Forces and gave 9 seats to the representatives of West Irian Province for representatives from Golkar. After combining the forces of political parties, Suharto was re-elected as president by the MPR General Session (Tap MPR No. IX / MPR / 1973) on March 23, 1973 for the second term. At present, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX is accompanying him as vice president.

At the age of 55, Suharto retired from military service. The peak achievement in the political world helped complete his life story as a ruler. After reaching the top position in the republic, his power began to show his fangs.

On January 20, 1978, President Soeharto banned the publication of seven newspapers, namely Kompas, Sinar Harapan, Merdeka, Pelita, The Indonesian Times, Sinar Pagi, and Pos Sore. Some of them later apologized to Suharto.

Adam Malik

On March 22, 1978, Suharto was reinstated by the president for the third time and Adam Malik as vice president. MPR General Session March 1, 1983 decided to re-elect Suharto as president and Umar Wirahadikusumah as vice president. 

Through the MPR Decree No. V of 1983, the MPR appointed Suharto the Father of Development of the Republic of Indonesia. On March 16, 1983. President Soeharto announced the composition of the Development Cabinet IV which consisted of 21 ministers, three coordinating ministers, eight young ministers, and three ministerial level officials. On January 1, 1984, President Soeharto filled out a Golkar membership form and since then he has officially become a member of Golkar.

Umar Wirahadikusumah

Some political observers both domestically and abroad said that Suharto cleared parliament from the communists, eliminated trade unions and increased censorship. He also severed diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and established relations with western countries and the United Nations. He became a determinant in all political decisions.

General Soeharto was said to be increasing military funds and establishing two intelligence agencies: the Komando Pemulihan Keamanan dan Ketertiban (Kopkamtib) and Badan Koordinasi Intelijen Nasional (Bakin). About 2 million people were executed in mass cleansing and more than 200,000 were arrested only on suspicion of being involved in the coup. Many communists, communist suspects and so-called "enemies of the state" were sentenced to death (although some sentences were postponed until 1990).

It was alleged that the list of communist suspects was given to Suharto by the CIA. In addition, the CIA tracked the names on this list when the Suharto regime began looking for them. This unspoken support from the United States Government for the Suharto regime remained silent until the invasion of East Timor, and continued until the late 1990s.