'Hatta's positive legacy should be revived'

'Hatta's positive legacy should be revived'

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After decades of living under and watching overindulgent and
untrustworthy politicians, Indonesians seem to have forgotten
that they once had a true gentleman leading this country.

The gentleman, who had indisputable integrity, was Mohammad
Hatta, or Bung Hatta, who passed away on March 14, 1980.

When his political rift with Sukarno became more intense, he
decided in 1957 to relinquish peacefully his position as vice
president after 12 years of service to the country.

Politicians these days would have concocted a plan to
overthrow their political rival instead of walking out as a
gentleman.

"We don't want people to forget that Bung Hatta was also a
founding father of the nation. We want to promote his legacy of
good values to present generations," Asbon Budinan Haza, a
chairman of Indonesian Artists Cooperative, said on Monday.

Asbon's cooperative initiated a stage performance in which
prominent figures from Governor Sutiyoso to veteran journalist
Rosihan Anwar recited poems and gave speeches.

"We are not forming a 'Hatta cult' here. We just want to
revive his ideas and virtues, like his integrity with respect to
people," Asbon added. "Besides, Hatta is the father of Indonesian
cooperatives, so it is as a cooperative that we want to honor
him."

In a five-minute speech, Rosihan told the audience that Hatta
was a man of his word.

"When he was a university student in the Netherlands he always
told his Indonesian compatriots not to drink alcohol and never to
fool around with girls," Rosihan said.

"One day his friends tried to test him by asking a beautiful
Polish student to have a date with him," he added.

The student reported the next day that nothing happened during
the date, he added.

"That was Hatta. He did what he said," said Rosihan.

Afterwards, Sutiyoso took the stage and recited, in his words,
"the shortest poem about Hatta that I could find."

Besides Rosihan and Sutiyoso, prominent figures like Hatta's
daughter State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Farida
Hatta Swasono, veteran lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution, writer Remy
Silado, and actor Deddy Mizwar took turns on the stage to recite
poems and give short speeches.

The artist cooperative will also organize a poetry-reading
contest for members of cooperatives in greater Jakarta.