Zakharov Anton

National Hero of Indonesia: A History of the Title, 1984–2023

ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ: АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ, 2024, №2(63), 253-274

 
Annotation: The National Hero of Indonesia—Pahlawan National Indonesia—instituted in 1959 has a long but a relatively unknown history outside Indonesia. The article brings together the official decrees and news reports about the bestowal of the title since 1984 till nowadays. It was dormant in 1977–1984 but then-President Suharto revived its awarding. There were few awardees in 1984–1993 but since 1995 there is an ongoing process. Presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo bestowed the title every year. The title is awarded posthumously. Its main recipients were fighters for the Indonesian Independence and/or against colonial powers, including the Dutch East India Company and the Netherlands. About 10 per cent of awardees are Christians. It reflects a place of the Christian population in contemporary Indonesia which is the biggest Muslim nation in the world. There are many National Heroes who were Eastern Indonesian natives. It seems a means to establish loyalty of multinational elites to the Government. There are six Balinese princes claimed national heroes that gives Hinduism 2.9 per cent in the total list of national heroes. The widow and children of the national heroes have an annual pension which increased from 22,5 million rupiahs to 50 million rupiahs in 2015. It also serves a means to ensure loyalty of the elites. One would expect that former Presidents Suharto and Abdurrahman Wahid will be promoted to National Heroes by the elected President Prabowo Subianto in the future. Another possibility is the growth of the deceased military high officers among the national heroes.

Keywords: Indonesia, personal title, national hero, Indonesia, award system, Suharto, “New Order”, Yudhoyono, Widodo