Adam Malik
Nov 26th, 2008, in News, by Patung
Adam Malik, former vice president in the Soeharto era, is accused of having been an American CIA agent.
The book by New York Times journalist Tom Weiner Legacy of Ashes, the History of CIA contains five pages on Indonesia and includes the claim by a former CIA official, Clyde McAvoy, that he had recruited Adam Malik in 1964, to promote the anti-communist cause in Indonesia.
Legacy of Ashes, the History of CIA.
Malik was a forthright anti communist, founder of the Preservation of Sukarnoism Body (BPS), an anti-communist grouping banned by Sukarno in 1965, and after Soeharto came to power held many senior positions in the government, including Foreign Affairs minister and House speaker, and finally served as vice-president from 1978-83.
Reactions
House Speaker Agung Laksono on Monday asked the Attorney General’s Office to ban the book Legacy of Ashes, the History of CIA.
The family of Malik are said to be preparing their own book, to counter the accusations. l6
Current vice-president Jusuf Kalla said it was impossible, because Malik, as the founder of Partai Murba, tended to the socialist side of the political spectrum. He said Malik simply liked being with and talking to lots of people, possibly including CIA agents in Indonesia. vivanews
Foreign minister Juwono Sudarsono said the western media were overly obsessed with the CIA and its supposed influence. He recalled that similar accusations were made against Muhammad Hatta (Bung Hatta) over the Madiun incident in 1948. detik
MT Arifin, said to be an intelligence expert, said the CIA approached many types of people in the 1960’s who they thought were anti-communist, and attempted to create networks of like-minded people, but such people, like Malik, should not necessarily be considered as “agents” or “spies”. inilah
11 Comments on “Adam Malik”
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EF says:
Ahh.. typical repressive, non-democratic move. You don’t like it, you ban it. So what if he was, and so what if he wasn’t? Would that matter now? We would always remember him as our national hero. Whatever role that he had, it’s what he contributed to this country that really matters. No need to ban the book.
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shorty says:
Adam Malik wanted the best for ri as he saw it. He was anti communist. The usa was paranoid about the spread of communism in south east asia. It’s only natural to talk to their diplomats and agencies.
This doesn’t make you an agent.
The claim is not new. Google Adam Malik/cia and you’ll find many links. Strangely the only ones pushing the agent link seem to be those who’ve just published a book.
On the realistic side? In a 400+ page book (which is already being discounted) there are 5 pages on RI/Malik. Most americans wouldn’t know who he was, and most Indonesians are unaware of the book and couldn’t care.
What’s the point of banning a book no-one knew about or would want to read?
What’s the point of publishing a book no-one would want to read? -
Gary says:
People should visit the Adam Malik Museum in Jakarta to find out the true motivations of AM, which were not those of the USA/CIA.
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Purba Negoro says:
No, I sincerely doubt very much he was an agent.
If anything more likely a source of advice as he knew Sukarno and Suharto very well.
Hatta was also not an agent.
Suharto was not an agent- although he had a very close American friend who was then saw the light and became very wealthy businessman.Both of their actions were for Indonesian interests rather than the American ones.
Adam Malik was first and foremost a patriotic Indonesian Nationalist who loved Indonesia and saw the massive potential for our people and nation.
Malik was an anti-communist- he did not wish to see Indonesia into devolve into mindless slaughter, cultural gencide and idol worship like Mao’s China.I lived through this time and I am constantly amazed by the Western Romanticism of both Sukarno and the Communist threat.
It was a very worrisome era, inflation was rampant, food was scarce- Indonesia was like a barrel of gunpowder and Sukarno was the one filling it by candlelight. UK and Australia were very worried- there was even talk of Australia and UK using nuclear wepon against us.
Then Konfrontasi- yes theoretically we all wanted Malaysia- and perhaps the Irian Selatan- but not at the expense of being another Hiroshima.Sukarno became very foolish and very vainglorious toward the end- he was fooled by JFK’s charm- but he lost almost all support from the original Nationalist cause- the Sembilan had all abandoned him. Former best ally Hatta now frequently criticised him.
He played straight into the hands of his worst enemies and played the USA against the Soviets, against the Chinese and all 3 got as sick of his bellicose grandstanding as the Rakyat.
Malik was fully supported by the Indonesians- only a small handful of the privileged: intellectuals and academics were pro Communist.
The Rakyat- the farmer and the bakso seller wanted nothing to do with a Sukarno little red book and even less to do with the hated ‘godless’ Chinese (which they did not differentiate between Colonial legacy Chinese and innocent mainland Chinese).Shorty excellent points.
Tim Wiener = funny name. -
Ross says:
It’s hardly new -a brief glance at Ricklefs history book tells us that Sukarno himself tried to tag Malik’s ‘Sukarno Supporters Group’ as a CIA plot.
Kalla’s comments are pretty simple-minded. The CIA would be a bit dim if they only suborned or promoted blatantly ‘capitalist’ people and parties. Socialist infiltration would be a lot smarter.
But I tend to agree with those who say the guy was honest. He and that Murba Party were patriotic leftists, not lackeys like the PKI.
If the reds had taken power in 65, Malik and co would likely have shared the fate of decent socialists in post-war Eastern Europe, who disappeared into local gulags or got shot. Same would have gone for any communists with a conscience, rather than a readiness to be progammed by The Party.
As for banning the book, not just anti-democratic but dumb, since everybody now knows the story. -
True or not, banning the book only feeds into the idea that the only ‘history” permissible in Indonesia is that history that meets the requirements of the state and is then approved by the state.
Malik would have undoubtedly been approached by the CIA and most probably was asked to be a supply of information. This is how secret and not so secret agencies operate.
Mountain out of a mole hill.
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Rob,
exactly- it’s an open secret.
Suharto was close to he CIA too- as was Sukarno- the US embassy is barely a stone’s throw from the Presidential palace and Cendana suburb.Many books are banned as many people are often too intellectually feeble to question the validity of the arguments of books which may not be peer-reviewed- especially as the printing and publishing industry is owned by the ethnic Chinese who have vested interests in pursuing their anti Indonesian agendas.
One should always ear in mind the vast bulk of Indonesians are still very intellectually immature compared to their Western counterparts and lacking adequate analystic skills.
This maturity must be cultivated without undue unnecessary influence.I also point to Rob the hypocrisy of the West by making the Holocaust sacred and beyond and analysis- including the gnashing of teeth and tearing of clothes due to that silly Iranian congress on Holo-Hoax- how the sky was to fall on our heads and the end of days about to dawn.
Is David Irving- frequently banned?
Is Holocaust denial a thought crime in Germany?
Is the film “Die Eternal Jude” banned in all European nations?Not to mention the sordid involvement in the West regarding the history of Est Timor and its’ cynical manipulation of events for its major corporations.
So one can see- the West is yet again guilty of application of arbitary double standards.
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Odinius says:
MT Arifin, said to be an intelligence expert, said the CIA approached many types of people in the 1960’s who they thought were anti-communist, and attempted to create networks of like-minded people, but such people, like Malik, should not necessarily be considered as “agents” or “spies”
there’s the answer
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Faust the Man says:
Laksono, you ask the Attorney General’s Office of Indonesia to ban the book. Why ? Because it’s true ? You are house of representatives member. You know exactly what the Indonesian’s constitution say about information rights ? You got it, man ? What Tim Weiner say was open to be critized. But not banning his book from Indonesian circulation. It’s not right, man. I think you understand. Just write a book to counter it. Can you write ? Not ? Ask some people to do that … and pay it.
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… sorry I forgot to state : I agree with Odius. Peace man.
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Ban the book? Sure, that’s the way to show the world that Indonesia is a mature democracy with nothing to hide. Great move, pak Agung