Suharto Epitaphs
Jan 14th, 2008, in Opinion, by Guest WriterSlightly premature epitaph poetry for Suharto.
Soeharto is about to move on people, in the spirit of celebration of what he meant to Indonesia we are now taking submissions for his epitaph to be written on his gravestone. I have started you off.
Suharto in 1965, at somebody else’s funeral.
May be in English or Indonesian.
Here lies Soeharto’s mortal remains.
His loss is our eternal gain.
For while he exercised his powers,
Whatever he gained, the loss was ours.
(Indonesian translation)
Disini berbaring almarhum Soeharto
Kehilangan beliau menjadi keuntungan kami, sebab,
selama beliau berkuasa, keuntungan beliau menjadi kehilangan kami.
20 Comments on “Suharto Epitaphs”
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Achmad Sudarsono says:
Dear Friend,
I offer you the following poem:
Suharto.
The defender of Pancasila
And builder of Indonesia
His critic are too Westernized
And do not know what it means to be a True Indonesia.
The End. -
TheWrathOfGrapes says:
Such a man – an officer and a gentleman
Under-appreciated and under-honoured
Harto, Pak, we are going to miss you
As sala’amu alaikum
Rest in peace
Take care
Omitofu -
Shorty says:
Suharto 1921 – 2008.
No more is needed. History, not populist blogs will make judgement. Remember we are the sum of our previous actions and experiences. Did suharto leave ri in a better state than when he took over in 1965? I think so.
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Janma says:
Or maybe just….
“He Died”
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Johan says:
To Achmad,
His “supporters” were American!!!! How much more westernized do you need to be. They plopped guns in the hands of the Sociopath’s hands, and gave the green flag to massacre alleged communists and anyone else who later posed a threat to his illegal entrance into politics….his self proclaimed 5 star general status.
Achmad, how far up your ass is your head? I think you’re being distracted by your irregular heartbeat!
Here’s an epitaph for the Godfather:
Avoider of justice…
Murderer of his own people…
Father to spoiled, arrogant children…
Husband of a mysteriously lost wife… (who knew too much)
Hypocrite who journeyed to Mecca…
Dead at last, to face a day in court that 12 lawyers could never protect him from.j
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nenek sihir says:
Yup, and Keating, Hawke and Whitlam will be pretty upset to see him gone too, while new PM Rudd here in Oz has sent his condolences…Western critics? LOL!!! Kopassus have been trained by the Australian military for years, both during and after the Suharto regime. Good riddance to him, but so many of his cronies and admirers remain-SBY and Bakrie are just a couple of examples, and don’t even start me on his vile family.
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It’s so bloody easy to blame those who came before for our problems.
Grow up, it’s 10 years since suharto stepped down. Corruption and crime is far worse now than then.
Maybe the epitaph should read ”a convenient scapegoat for our national immorality”.
Judge yourself with the following questions.
The cop wants rp20,000 for a real or imagined traffic infringement.
Do you pay, or do you have your day in court?
You need to do some official business.
Do you automatically try to speed things up by paying/offering some cash?
Theft is theft, bribes are bribes. the man who steals rp1000 is just as guilty as the thief who steals 1000 juta.
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dewaratugedeanom says:
The head of a nation is only as strong as the number of guns that support him.
The question is: Who paid for the guns?
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Thomas says:
The smiling general gone – thank god, now it is time to get his sh*tty family to trial
People who really miss him should read some real history – one of the most cruel
and corrupt of the last century. Indonesia still faces problems, but don’t
underestimate people can vote what they want, they can say and write what they think,
since Suharto stepped down – that is much more than any neighbouring South East Asian country
-be proud of it Indonesia! Now it’s time to make a new step in your history – don’t let your children down -
mata merem says:
Here lies a man
whose flaws one rather forget
for if those flaws are to be remembered
many from the ruling elite will have to be vindicated.
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History is written by the victors…
Yes, there were some real mess in some real history…
It is easy for us to be the judge sitting on out butts…
If there were no Suharto, would a Sukarno marque II be any better?
Could Indonesia have been plunged into anarchy if a weak leader had taken over?
Could a weak leader hold an archipelago of 17, 508 islands together?
Would “Indonesia” be better off being broken up into many countries like Russia disintegrating into the Commonwealth of Independent States?Questions, questions, and more rhetorical questions. We will never know the answers…
We will never know the possible outcomes of what could have been… -
soeharno says:
Germany has the soul, acknowledged holocaust
Japanese has no soul ignoring Nanking massacre
US has no soul ignoring all its foreign policy’s death- Vietnam, Japa, Iraq.
Indonesia (Soeharto) has no soul how they explain the killing of million innocent people. -
I’d like to share a poem by the famous Indonesian poet, WS Rendra which he wrote in 1998 :
Because we have to eat roots
while grain piles up in your storeroom…
Because we live crowded together
and you have more space than you need…
Therefore we are not on the same side.Because we’re all creased and crumpled
and you’re immaculate…
Because we’re crowded and stifled
and you lock the door…
Therefore we are suspicious of you.Because we’re abandoned in the street
and you own all the shelter…
Because we’re caught in floods
while you have parties on pleasure craft…
Therefore we do not like you.
Because we are silenced
and you never shut up…
Because we are threatened
and you impose your will by force…
therefore we say NO to you.Because we are not allowed to choose
and you can do what you like…
Because we wear only sandals
and you use your rifles freely…
Because we have to be polite
and you have the prisons…
therefore NO and NO to you.Because we are like a flowing river
and you are a stone without a heart
the water will wear away the stone. -
dragonwall says:
Who was he referring to then?
I will say what you commented on the poems were from someone that shows clearly he’s dissatisfied with what he gets during the Soeharto era.
But what are you getting now? Care to comment? Like more democratic! More freedom of speech! More security! More money! Is this reform? More like deform to me. The whole country is in a haywire stockpiled with twisted metals and remnants of the past revolution.
It simply does not make sense when people aork hard gets discriminated and targeted and people that does not work were looking for handouts.
I do understand the poverty problem but water does not mix with blood because water will gets tainted and blood will become thinner.
So comparing to that many President, is he a man without a heart and had he worn away by water?
Now a days everyone is reminiscing the gloroius days of Soeharto comparing to what Indonesians are facing right now. Walk the street and ask this question and see what their answers are.
Has Rendra got even more famous with this poem? No he didn’t. So to me it make Rendra’s poem to be of absolute absurdity.
Your reminiscence also show that you were among the part that he mentioned.Many beggars were once rounded up a place into shelters but they got back to the street. Why?
Didn’t you know that some of these beggars were in fact rich!
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Burung Koel says:
Thanks Lina, great poem.
Ah, W.S. Rendra. Thirty five years on, still sticking it to The Man.
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If I am not mistaken I had a posting but seemed to haven been deleted, and I am trying to figure out why.
Or perhaps….
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diego says:
Yes, you’re right again dragie, it’s a form of discrimination against (indo)chinese.
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it’s a form of discrimination against (indo)chinese.
This time you scumbags have got it all wrong. Next time try walking straight instead of twisitng like a bencong. It might make you feel better with your 101 logic or perhaps think with more positive perceptions.
Try and dissolve the whole poem into your stomach and then you start to comment.
Is that not discriminating your ex-President as well as the people at that time working to secure Indonesia?
How was the condition of Indonesia’s security like during his rule? Compare to now. I suppose you opt ed now is because the condition will enable you to instigate others on perhaps a riot and start attempting to enrich yourself!
He should have directed that to those corrupt officials instead of the person ruling Indonesia.
Tell me honestly. How much was a kilo of egg, rice, sugar even a tank of LPG cost before and now?
We will see what have you got to say. perhaps another dragie kind of 101?
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Tell me honestly. How much was a kilo of egg, rice, sugar even a tank of LPG cost before and now?
You forgot to add that under Soeharto, the trains ran on time.
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Here lies Soeharto, former dictator of Indonesia. Catch me if you can!