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)