Remembering 'Bung' Karno

Remembering 'Bung' Karno

From Media Indonesia

The commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sukarno (Bung Karno) was extremely touching, since his name has been so seldom heard for many years. In fact, we all may agree that his name was purposely covered, or only the bad sides of it exposed. But very recently all of a sudden Bung Karno's name, for reasons we do not know, has been repeatedly heard.

His biography was aired on TV and the mass media wrote lots of nice things about Bung Karno. There were numerous discussions about his struggles and achievements. Even Gelora Senayan, the nation's largest sports stadium, was renamed after Sukarno.

I am extremely touched by the fact that we are now beginning to appreciate Sukarno's struggles. But are we really doing this from the bottom of our heart? Or are we just caught up in some kind of mass euphoria? That is something each of us must answer and answer honestly.

Megawati Soekarnoputri and the rest of her family must also be deeply touched. Let us hope that all of this is a true recognition of Bung Karno's struggles and love for this country. At any rate, let our children hear about the great things Bung Karno did for this country; the correct history of this nation. Let bygones be bygones. For now we can understand that at least Bung Karno was a very important and great figure in the history of this country, and that he performed great services for his beloved Indonesia.

MH JONI

Jakarta