Three people nominated for awards

Three people nominated for awards

JAKARTA (JP): The government will propose the names of three
people to be conferred posthumously with this year's title of
national heroes, Minister of Social Services Inten Soeweno said
yesterday.

Inten said the three were selected from names submitted by
members of the public.

She declined to disclose the names because they had not been
approved by President Soeharto, but said that they came from
Maluku, Riau and South Sulawesi, the Antara news agency reported.

The titles are normally conferred to their descendants before
Independence Day on Aug. 17 or National Heroes Day on Nov. 10.
Indonesia marks its 50th independence anniversary this August.

Inten yesterday presided over a plenary meeting of BPPK, an
agency to supervise the affairs of national heroes and their
widows. The agency is supervised by her office.

Two other names, one from Central Kalimantan and another from
Yogyakarta, are still being considered for the hero's title. But
five others -- one each from West Sumatra, South Sulawesi, North
Sumatra, Aceh and East Nusa Tenggara -- have been rejected
because they did not fulfill the criteria, she said.

Her announcement came only two days after the Indonesian Ulema
Council (MUI) called on the government to confer the national
hero awards to Mohammad Natsir and Sjafruddin Prawiranegara, two
renowned Moslem figures who were also prominent national leaders
in the early years of Indonesia's independence.

MUI, according to a report by Republika daily, on Saturday
proposed the titles to the national committee for the preparation
of the 50th Independence anniversary. MUI also proposed Kasman
Singadimejo, Sholeh Iskandar and Nur Ali.

"The contribution of these Moslem fighters were immense,"
Republika quoted MUI chairman Hasan Basri as saying.

Natsir, who hailed from West Sumatra, was Indonesia's prime
minister in 1950-51 and served in the government and House of
Representatives in the 1940s and 1950s. He died in February 1993.

Sjafruddin was from West Java and served in the first
administrations of the republic. He was president of the
provisional government set up in 1948 when all the civilian
leaders in Jakarta were arrested by the Dutch military during the
struggle for independence. He died in February 1989.

Both men lost favor with Sukarno, Indonesia's first president,
and later with President Soeharto. Active in promoting the
Islamic cause, they remained critical of the administration.

Minister Inten yesterday also announced that there were only
787 persons remaining who could be considered as "pioneers of
independence", and 3,470 widows of pioneers.

The list of these pioneers at one time reached 7,888 but most
of them have passed away, she said.

The title is awarded to people who made significant
contributions before and during independence. The title confers
the holders with certain privileges including governmental
financial assistance.

Although the government stopped awarding the title of pioneers
of independence since 1987, the BPPK, the agency that manages
their affairs, has not been dissolved.

Inten said the agency has another mission which is to preserve
and develop the pioneering spirit for the benefit of present day
Indonesia.

Yesterday, Inten appointed seven members of BPPK executive
board with Hamid Algadri as chairman and Ali Amran Taher,
F.Suhartinah, I Wangsa Wijaya, Brig. Gen. Slamet Sugiardjo, Col.
Suko Martono and Lt. Col Hadi as members. (emb)