Independence fighter Roeslan Abdulgani dies

One of the last men standing after the independence struggle, Roeslan Abdulgani, died on Wednesday morning at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital, due to lung infection and a stroke.

He was 91 years old and is survived by five children, one of whom was a member of the presidential medical team who had been treating him for almost the last two weeks, Hafild Abdulgani.

Roeslan's wife Sihwati Nawangwulan died several years ago.

"He once stopped breathing for some time but later his condition returned to normal, before he finally died," medical team head Brig. Gen. Mardjo Subiandono said.

Defying the effects of the stroke he suffered a year ago, Roeslan managed to attend a discussion held in conjunction with the birth of state ideology Pancasila on June 1.

Two weeks later, he was admitted to the hospital after passing out at home and was then ushered to the Intensive Care Unit until he died.

His remains will be buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta on Thursday in a military ceremony led by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Adm. (ret.) Widodo Adi Sucipto.

Many VIPs were seen paying their last respects on Wednesday at his house in Jl. Diponegoro 11, Central Jakarta, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

"Pak Roeslan was a fighter, a diplomat, a statesman. Everyone must follow his position of never speaking ill of anyone," Susilo said.

Also paying homage were Cabinet ministers, former ministers, and former long-time ruler Soeharto, who had visited Roeslan twice at the hospital.

Roeslan, or Cak (brother) Roes as he used to be affectionately called, was born in Surabaya, East Java, on Nov. 24, 1914.

He first entered the political world at the age 17 when he joined the Indonesia Moeda youth movement, which was an amalgamation of youth organizations. He was elected chairman of the Indonesia Moeda Central Board in 1936.

As a result of his activities, Roeslan was arrested several times by the Dutch police, and was dismissed from the European Training Institute (Europese Kweekshool).

He then came into close contact with Indonesian political leaders, joining Angkatan Muda (Youth Generation) which was aimed at gaining freedom from Japan.

He was also part of an underground movement against Japanese rule in Surabaya in 1945 when Soekarno proclaimed Indonesia's independence.

Roeslan played a key role in the success of the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung in 1955, in which 29 leaders from the two continents participated. He even lived to recount the moment as the Asian-African Summit was held last April.

His last political role was an advisor to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). He later joined the chorus of demand for internal reform within the party following its defeat in the legislative and presidential elections last year.

People from all walks of life felt a deep loss with Roeslan's death with condolences pouring into local radio stations.

"Cak Roes' passion and spirit must be passed on to our children," Nany Bachtiar, a Surabaya resident, told a radio program.