Remembering Sukarno after collective amnesia
Remembering Sukarno after collective amnesia
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
One of the greatest smear campaigns ever committed in the
country's modern history was the one that was waged against the
country's first president, Sukarno.
For more than three decades after he was removed from power
following an alleged coup attempt, the regime of president
Soeharto embarked on a massive campaign to erase Sukarno's name
from the history books and painted an otherwise dismal picture of
the country's founding father.
Imagine George Washington being written out of American
history and you would have some idea of the lengths successive
governments here went to discredit him.
During the Soeharto era, Sukarno's contribution to nation
building was rarely mentioned, and over time his name slowly
faded from the country's collective consciousness.
In general, a blackout on Sukarno left the country in the dark
over the work of the outspoken leader. Most school children
nowadays know him merely as the person who read the country's
Declaration of Independence on Aug. 17, 1945, at the side of
Mohammad Hatta, the country's first vice president.
Unfortunately, parents educated under the New Order curriculum
can do little to help their children, as forgetting Sukarno was
also part of their education.
Although a ban was never officially slapped on books penned by
Sukarno, not a single publishing house ever dared to publish his
books during the New Order regime and the country's younger
generation was stripped of the opportunity to learn about his
ideas, or from his experiences.
As a result, one of Sukarno's books Di Bawah Bendera Revolusi
(Under the Banner of Revolution) -- published for the last time
in 1965 -- became a collectible item and was one of the most
sought-after books during the New Order era, aside from the
banned Buru Quartet by Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
Whatever one's position on this admittedly controversial
figure, there is no doubt that the founding member of the
country's Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI), independence leader
and one of the authors of the nation's five principals, the
Pancasila, is far too important a figure to be ignored in
Indonesian history.
In an effort to bring Sukarno back into the country's
consciousness and dispel the New Order's decades of
disinformation, the Bung Karno Foundation (YBK), a political
Jakarta-based organization set up by Sukarno's children, has
began a campaign to reintroduce the country's flamboyant founding
father.
Part of this campaign is the publication of nine-volume
illustrated biography of Sukarno, Seri Biografi Bung Karno,
targeted at children.
The book's publisher said the illustrated biography was
designed for children aged 12 years and above. "We believe that
the pictures and the way the story was told will be more
interesting to children rather than presenting (the narrative) as
an historical text," the publisher of the book, Zamzani, said.
With limited resources at his disposal, Zamzani said a picture
book was also more cost-effective than a graphic novel.
"It took us four years to complete this series. How long would
it have took if we had decided to use a comic as our medium,
where we would have had to draw one sequence for one piece of
information," he said.
The illustrated biography depicts Sukarno as a regular person,
struggling for the freedom of a country he loved. "We shied away
from the controversial aspects of Sukarno's life," the book's
author, Sari Pusparini Soleh, said.
Researching the book took a long time, Sari said. "To tell a
balanced story I had to read dozens of books on Sukarno from all
parts of the political spectrum as my reference," she said.
However, Sari said Soekarno: An Autobiography: As told to
Cindy Adams, an uncritical tome written in 1965 where the former
president told his life story to an American journalist, served
as her main reference. "People could say that what Soekarno told
Cindy Adams did contradict the facts, but at least that was what
came out from his mouth, meaning that it couldn't have be far
from the truth," Sari said.
The books, which have been on bookstore shelves for the past
four years, have won an award from the Indonesian Association of
Book Publishers (Ikapi).
The public, however, has only given a lukewarm response to the
series. Despite being available at an affordable low price, Rp
27,000 (US$2.6) a volume, only a small number of parents have
bought it.
"There was a time when we only printed one or two runs per
year," Zamzani said.
YBK chairman Guruh Soekarnoputra, the son of Sukarno, said
that the publication of the illustrated book was but one of many
events held to celebrate Sukarno's 104th birthday this year.
The YBK also initiated the re-issue of Di Bawah Bendera
Revolusi and Bung Karno Sang Arsitek (Soekarno the Architect) and
unveiled a monument to the president in Berastagi, North Sumatra.
Guruh said the foundation had declared 2005 the Year of
Soekarno and had written to all government institutions,
political parties and the media asking them to observe it by
flying banners or running public service announcements
commemorating the late Sukarno's 104th birthday, which would have
fallen on Juni 21.
"However, so far we have learned that only one newspaper has
run the ads, which we had to pay for," Guruh said.
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
One of the greatest smear campaigns ever committed in the
country's modern history was the one that was waged against the
country's first president, Sukarno.
For more than three decades after he was removed from power
following an alleged coup attempt, the regime of president
Soeharto embarked on a massive campaign to erase Sukarno's name
from the history books and painted an otherwise dismal picture of
the country's founding father.
Imagine George Washington being written out of American
history and you would have some idea of the lengths successive
governments here went to discredit him.
During the Soeharto era, Sukarno's contribution to nation
building was rarely mentioned, and over time his name slowly
faded from the country's collective consciousness.
In general, a blackout on Sukarno left the country in the dark
over the work of the outspoken leader. Most school children
nowadays know him merely as the person who read the country's
Declaration of Independence on Aug. 17, 1945, at the side of
Mohammad Hatta, the country's first vice president.
Unfortunately, parents educated under the New Order curriculum
can do little to help their children, as forgetting Sukarno was
also part of their education.
Although a ban was never officially slapped on books penned by
Sukarno, not a single publishing house ever dared to publish his
books during the New Order regime and the country's younger
generation was stripped of the opportunity to learn about his
ideas, or from his experiences.
As a result, one of Sukarno's books Di Bawah Bendera Revolusi
(Under the Banner of Revolution) -- published for the last time
in 1965 -- became a collectible item and was one of the most
sought-after books during the New Order era, aside from the
banned Buru Quartet by Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
Whatever one's position on this admittedly controversial
figure, there is no doubt that the founding member of the
country's Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI), independence leader
and one of the authors of the nation's five principals, the
Pancasila, is far too important a figure to be ignored in
Indonesian history.
In an effort to bring Sukarno back into the country's
consciousness and dispel the New Order's decades of
disinformation, the Bung Karno Foundation (YBK), a political
Jakarta-based organization set up by Sukarno's children, has
began a campaign to reintroduce the country's flamboyant founding
father.
Part of this campaign is the publication of nine-volume
illustrated biography of Sukarno, Seri Biografi Bung Karno,
targeted at children.
The book's publisher said the illustrated biography was
designed for children aged 12 years and above. "We believe that
the pictures and the way the story was told will be more
interesting to children rather than presenting (the narrative) as
an historical text," the publisher of the book, Zamzani, said.
With limited resources at his disposal, Zamzani said a picture
book was also more cost-effective than a graphic novel.
"It took us four years to complete this series. How long would
it have took if we had decided to use a comic as our medium,
where we would have had to draw one sequence for one piece of
information," he said.
The illustrated biography depicts Sukarno as a regular person,
struggling for the freedom of a country he loved. "We shied away
from the controversial aspects of Sukarno's life," the book's
author, Sari Pusparini Soleh, said.
Researching the book took a long time, Sari said. "To tell a
balanced story I had to read dozens of books on Sukarno from all
parts of the political spectrum as my reference," she said.
However, Sari said Soekarno: An Autobiography: As told to
Cindy Adams, an uncritical tome written in 1965 where the former
president told his life story to an American journalist, served
as her main reference. "People could say that what Soekarno told
Cindy Adams did contradict the facts, but at least that was what
came out from his mouth, meaning that it couldn't have be far
from the truth," Sari said.
The books, which have been on bookstore shelves for the past
four years, have won an award from the Indonesian Association of
Book Publishers (Ikapi).
The public, however, has only given a lukewarm response to the
series. Despite being available at an affordable low price, Rp
27,000 (US$2.6) a volume, only a small number of parents have
bought it.
"There was a time when we only printed one or two runs per
year," Zamzani said.
YBK chairman Guruh Soekarnoputra, the son of Sukarno, said
that the publication of the illustrated book was but one of many
events held to celebrate Sukarno's 104th birthday this year.
The YBK also initiated the re-issue of Di Bawah Bendera
Revolusi and Bung Karno Sang Arsitek (Soekarno the Architect) and
unveiled a monument to the president in Berastagi, North Sumatra.
Guruh said the foundation had declared 2005 the Year of
Soekarno and had written to all government institutions,
political parties and the media asking them to observe it by
flying banners or running public service announcements
commemorating the late Sukarno's 104th birthday, which would have
fallen on Juni 21.
"However, so far we have learned that only one newspaper has
run the ads, which we had to pay for," Guruh said.