Forgive, but forget not

The debate about whether or not President Megawati Soekarnoputri should use her prerogative to halt the corruption investigation into former president Soeharto misses the point of the exercise: The search for truth.

When Soeharto stepped down in May 1998, there was widespread agreement about the need to investigate the more than three decades of his misrule. Questions were being asked about the way he rose to power, the way he held onto power for 32 years, and the way he stepped aside. All were characterized by bloodshed.

There is also the biggest legacy that his ruthless regime left behind: Massive corruption that brought this nation to the brink of bankruptcy, while his family and cronies continue to live in abundance.

The current criminal proceedings against Soeharto that President Megawati is considering halting -- on compassionate grounds because of his age and deteriorating health -- is but one, a very minor one, of his many misdemeanors.

As sick and frail as Soeharto is, this is the man who brought untold misery to people, the man who brought this nation to near self-destruction, and the man who rose to power and then held on to it through lies, deception and probably even murder.

For President Megawati to order that the corruption investigation be halted amounts to intervention in an inquest into Soeharto and his sins. Abdurrahman Wahid, whom Megawati replaced in July, had more statesmanship when he said that he would issue a presidential pardon if Soeharto was convicted by a court.

The whole point of the exercise is not to exact revenge, certainly not on an old and sick man, but to get to the truth. And it would help the economy, the impoverished people and the debt-laden government, if the court could retrieve part of the billions that Soeharto's children and cronies plundered.

Idul Fitri and Christmas have certainly brought about this forgiving mood, but in Soeharto's case, there is nothing to forgive yet because he has not been proven guilty in court. The truth has yet to come out before anyone, most of all the President, can be so forgiving. Neither Soeharto, nor his family members or lawyers, has ever publicly admitted his guilt.

For what it is worth, this controversy has made more urgent the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission to look into the entire misdeeds of Soeharto's New Order regime. The legal approach is cumbersome, piecemeal, time-consuming and -- as the tiny corruption case against Soeharto has proven -- ineffective. An alternative approach is needed.

A truth and reconciliation commission would expand the investigation beyond Soeharto for it would also include other key members of his regime. Such a commission could help the entire nation come to terms with our dark past, and put it all behind us once and for all.

Let us be forgiving by all means, but never forget history.