Soeharto's critic Hoegeng dies at 83
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
For Soeharto, at least during his 32-year rule, former National Police chief Gen. (ret) Hoegeng Iman Santoso, along with other members of a group of government critics known as the Group of 50, was a strident political critic who appeared to have no fear of the strongman despite Soeharto's normally harsh stance against dissent.
For many Indonesians, he will be always remembered for his Hawaiian music group, the Irama Lautan Teduh (Tunes of the Peaceful Sea). The group appeared regularly on TVRI, until Soeharto ordered the state TV station to drop the show as retaliation against the Group of 50. He was also known as a painter.
The "singing general" died on Wednesday at the age of 83 after suffering from heart problems and stomach bleeding. His courage in continuously urging Soeharto to step down from the early 1980s until his fall in 1998, set an example to the people that what the nation needed was not only a leader, but also a person who was brave enough to express the people's aspiration.
His stance against corruption was proved by his clean track record in the various government positions he held.
He also regularly attended the trials of antigovernment activists, including current House of Representatives deputy speaker A.M. Fatwa. He himself was never taken to court.
Hoegeng was admitted to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta on May 13, 2004, and has been in intensive care ever since.
Although a war veteran who had the right to be buried in the Kalibata National Heroes Cemetery, he said that he wanted to be buried in an ordinary cemetery. He was finally laid to rest at Parung Raya, Bogor, on Wednesday.
Born on Oct. 14, 1921, in Pekalongan, Central Java, Hoegeng was also known as a police chief who firmly enforced the regulation requiring motorcyclists to wear crash helmets. He headed the National Police from 1968 to 1971. He was appointed police chief by president Soekarno.
In 1965, he was promoted by president Soekarno to the office of minister of taxes for one year. He also held the position of cabinet secretary and minister for one year in 1966.
After finishing his term as police chief, Soeharto offered him an ambassadorship to a European country. He turned down the offer saying he had no talents as a diplomat.
Several prominent figures, including Taufik Kiemas, the husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, and presidential aspirant Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono paid their last respects to Hoegeng at his residence in Depok, West Java, before he was laid to rest on Wednesday afternoon.