Politician and publisher Soegeng given a hero's burial
Politician and publisher Soegeng given a hero's burial
JAKARTA (JP): The late Soegeng Widjaja, a retired Army
brigadier general who went on to become a politician and
newspaper publisher, was given a military burial at the Kalibata
heroes' cemetery in South Jakarta yesterday afternoon.
Soegeng, whose was a member of the House of Representatives
and the chief editor and publisher of the Army's Berita Yudha
newspaper and chairman of the association of newspaper
publishers, died at his Jakarta home on Friday night.
According to relatives, Soegeng collapsed after complaining of
a headache. He was hosting a post-Idul Fitri gathering with his
family at his residence in Cipinang, East Jakarta.
Soegeng is survived by his wife, Sri Kasiani, nine children
and seven grandchildren. He was 67 years old.
Yesterday morning, his body lay in state at the House of
Representatives building to allow his colleagues in the House to
pay their last respects. From there, the body was driven to
Kalibata for the burial.
Soegeng served in the House from 1982 representing Golkar, the
ruling faction.
He was active in the House to the last day of his life, a day
which his colleagues are sure to remember for a long time.
On Friday morning, he stole the limelight during a hearing
between the House's Commission I, to which he belonged, and
senior officials of the Ministry of Defense and Security.
During the hearing, Soegeng made an impassioned plea for the
government to pay greater attention to the fate of military
veterans.
He was particularly critical of the recent report that dozens
of veterans had been forced to leave their homes to make way for
a golf course in south Jakarta. The veterans concerned were
members of a militia unit that took part in the independence
struggle in the late 1940s.
Soegeng called for a review of the 1967 law on veterans,
especially as pertaining to their financial circumstances, to
enable former servicemen to lead a decent life.
As chief editor of Berita Yudha, Soegeng chaired the
Association of Indonesian Journalists (PWI) between 1989 and
1994.
Born in Malang, East Java, on Oct. 23, 1928, Soegeng joined
the Japanese-founded PETA militia in 1943. The militia was later
one of the forces that led the independence struggle against the
Dutch, who tried to reimpose their rule after the war.
After independence, Soegeng opted for a military career. He
took part in the operations to quash, first a communist
rebellion, in 1948, and then a rebellion by separatist Permesta
in North Sulawesi, in the late 1950s.
His last position before retiring from active service in 1982
was as director of the Armed Forces' Center for Mental Guidance.
Soegeng received the Guerrilla Star, Kartika Eka Paksi from
the military and the Yudha Dharma Nararya from the government
for, respectively, meritorious service and dedication to the
nation. (rms)