Politician Manai Sophiaan dead at 88

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Manai Sophiaan, 88, a veteran nationalist politician and the father of actor-turned-politician Sophan Sophiaan, was interred on Saturday at Tanah Kusir Cemetery, South Jakarta.

Politicians and figures from the entertainment industry gathered at Manai's home in South Jakarta to pay their last respects.

The mourners included Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, daughter of former president Sukarno, Arifin Panigoro, a senior politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), and Hendropriyono, head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).

Manai, who earned former president Soeharto's wrath after he published a book titled Menebar Angin Menuai Badai (Scattering the Winds, Harvesting the Storm), lost consciousness at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29, and was pronounced dead three hours later at Pertamina Hospital, South Jakarta.

He is survived by seven children and 16 grandchildren.

Sophan said his father's health had deteriorated very rapidly after his mother passed away on March 5, 2001.

In 1952, Manai was appointed secretary-general of the Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) under the leadership of the country's first president, Sukarno, and served as Indonesian ambassador to the former Soviet Union in the 1960s.

The veteran politician stunned the nation in the 1980s when he published Menebar Angin Menua Badai, which strongly criticized then-strongman Soeharto.

He spent much of his time at home after his retirement, accompanied by wife Munasiah and daughter Eri Sophiaan, who currently heads the Department of Politics at the School of Social and Political Sciences, the University of Indonesia.

Sukmawati said on Saturday that Manai was one of the few politicians with a high sense of integrity and honesty.