Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana Proposed as National Hero

The Ministry of Social Affairs is committed to overseeing the process of proposing the national hero title for cultural thinker and literary figure Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana (STA). Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf stated that the proposal from the National University (UNAS) is currently being processed and will be forwarded to the relevant agencies for further review. “This is being processed, many figures are present. The process will be forwarded later. We will oversee it until it reaches the Title Council of the Ministry of Culture, led by Mr Fadli Zon,” he said following a national seminar on the STA Hero Title Proposal at the UNAS Campus Hall in Jakarta, as quoted from Antara on Tuesday (30/6). Gus Ipul, as Saifullah Yusuf is known, admitted he could not yet present detailed data because the ministry has not held a specific plenary meeting regarding the total number of hero title proposals submitted to the ministry this year. Nevertheless, he confirmed that Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana’s name has become one of the priority proposals ready to be processed through the mechanism by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The ministry welcomed the proposal as it provides an opportunity to honour national figures who may not have received collective attention previously. He revealed that President Prabowo Subianto has indeed opened wide opportunities for the public to propose hero titles for inspirational figures who fought behind the public stage. “The essence of STA’s heroism is immense because although he did not physically fight on the battlefield, the late figure rendered great service in pioneering education and encouraging the standardisation of modern Indonesian,” said Saifullah. Saifullah is an alumnus of UNAS from the class of 1985. He personally recalled the relevance of STA’s thinking during his tenure as UNAS rector, where he consistently cultivated a climate of freedom of opinion and democratic expression among his students. Thanks to STA’s leadership at that time, the campus grew into a fertile discussion centre for the movement of student activists from various universities. “I hope that through this process, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana can become one of the national heroes designated by President Prabowo,” he said.