Politician Manai Sophiaan dead at 88

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.