Is National Heroes Day still dignified?

JAKARTA (JP): What should one expect during a ceremony to commemorate National Heroes Day? Ideally, a solemn and serene atmosphere where everyone reminisces about the days of violent combat and the sacrifice made by those who died to found the country.

But such an atmosphere now is hard to find, and the solemnity of National Heroes Day has faded.

"There are too many days to be commemorated now, and this has shallowed the meaning of National Heroes Day," said Umar Kayam, a noted intellectual and novelist.

"In fact, 'commemoration days' are held so frequently, they inflate the importance inherent in the day's original purpose," he said.

The government designates at least seven days in a year as "national commemoration days". These historically significant days are Kartini Day (April 21), National Education Day (May 2), Independence Day (Aug. 17), Pancasila Sanctity Day (Oct. 1), Armed Forces Day (Oct. 5), Youth Pledge Day (Oct. 28) and National Heroes Day (today).

While he felt the observance of some of these "days" have inflated their original meaning, Kayam has nothing against commemorating National Heroes Day.

"The commemoration of National Heroes Day in and of itself is a good thing, as long as it is conducted within the historical context of the event and signifies honoring the people who stood up for the nation's dignity," he said.

Kayam was referring to the incident in Surabaya, East Java, 51 years ago today when hundreds of young Indonesians died in a battle against British-led Allied forces attempting to reimpose Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia shortly after the end of World War II. Indonesia had declared its independence the previous August.

During the combat, the blue part of the Dutch red, white and blue flag was torn off by an Indonesian freedom fighter, leaving only a red and white banner resembling Indonesia's national flag.

The commemoration of National Heroes Day, Kayam said, is important to remind people of the brave acts by these devoted young fighters. But the frequency of such commemorations should be observed so they are not viewed as misleading "propaganda".

"People need only to be reminded there have been individuals who were so selfless they were willing to start a fiery revolution without thinking about it, at the spur of the moment," he said.

Flattery

But the observance of this special day -- and other days, for this matter -- can be blown out of proportion when it is taken out of its historical context and used only to flatter those involved in present-day ceremonies, Kayam said.

"The historical context of National Heroes Day is narrowed once certain groups claim credit for the event," Kayam said.

"The Armed Forces, who often think the military was the only one involved in the struggle for this country's independence, are among those who should refrain from claiming all the credit," he said.

In fact, Kayam said, no one better deserves credit for the Surabaya flag-ripping incident than the city's residents themselves.

Kayam felt it is important to keep a low profile when it comes to appreciating national events, alluding that the numerous commemoration days are much ado about nothing.

"If it's not too important, we need not commemorate it," Kayam said, referring to all sorts of "days" held to revere various professions, such as farmer's, fishermen's or teacher's day.

"Can you tell me what added value a ceremony can do to improve the welfare of fishermen, for example?" he asked.

Though he refused to rank the importance of commemoration days, he named Independence Day and National Heroes Day as the two days most worthy of celebrating.

Sukarno

Kayam, who was born in 1932, is probably one of the few Indonesians to revive, in a unique way, one of Indonesia's national heroes.

This happened when he played the part of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, in the movie Pengkhianatan G-30S PKI, which was released in 1984.

Until now, he says with amusement, many people still recognize him as "Bung Karno" -- as Sukarno was affectionately called -- because the movie is shown on Pancasila Sanctity Day every year by all TV stations.

When it was first released, it became compulsory viewing for elementary to senior high school students.

Kayam acknowledged the frequency at which the public views the movie as an example of "inflating" commemoration days.

"(The movie) should have been played only once, in the year it was released. After that, there should have been more movies on that theme, but with different versions by different directors," he said.

Nonetheless, the movie has brought him enough fame to be recognized as "Sukarno" by a very proud taxi driver; freedom to pass airport customs one time after the customs official said: "We would never think of searching Sukarno" and countless handshakes from "Sukarno" (the movie version) admirers on the streets.

"What has not happened is being told that, as Sukarno, I don't have to pay at a restaurant," he said with a chuckle.

What does he think about heroes himself?

Kayam, who is a professor at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, defined a hero as a person that has made a performance "rated above average" which is acknowledged by others.

Now that there is no longer a fight for independence, the title of "hero" takes on a new meaning to honor those with various achievements, such as in the fields of environment and development.

Kayam expressed his indifference toward the term "hero" and the repercussion of the term's aura.

Hero

"I'm not so much amused by the word 'hero' itself, though I don't object to people being termed so either," he said lightheartedly.

What Kayam is concerned about, however, is what he sees as the young generation's apparent ignorance and lack of respect towards national heroes.

But he acknowledged it is unfair to say this attitude is due to the fact that the younger generation did not experience history firsthand.

"History's quality and trustworthiness depend largely on how it is taught, told and passed on through the years," he said.

Kayam said history teachers should be able to act and bring history alive for their students, as it is most likely the only way to keep them interested in the subject.

History teachers, he said, should ignite appreciation and emotion and provide students with angles with which they can understand history, not treat it as a subject that merely involves the memorization of dates, names and places of the past.

"I remember my class was emotionally moved when my history teacher told us how Diponegoro was tricked into being captured by the Dutch colonialists," Kayam said, referring to Prince Diponegoro, a national hero from Central Java.

Kayam blamed the low quality of history teachers on their "poor general knowledge". In turn, they teach "boring history courses ... which sound more like propaganda".

The low-quality history text used in the education system certainly does not brighten the gloomy condition of "boring history" that students have conditioned themselves to accept.

"Those books are badly written and shallow. (The books) can only afford to exercise the "bla, bla, bla" rhetoric, which touches only the tip of the history iceberg," Kayam said.

"Such a depreciation of history is made worse because no one has ever criticized these bad writings," Kayam said. People are either afraid or lazy to provide criticism, because there is no good example of good social control, he said.

"Even the press fails to create public opinion or provide examples of how social control must occur. Perhaps nowadays is the era in which people put safety before everything else," he said. (pwn/14)