Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS) has admitted it deliberately glorified Indonesia's national heroes in a series of TV ads that began airing last week to woo voters for the 2009 legislative election.
PKS secretary-general Anis Matta told a discussion Saturday the ads also reflected the party's message of national reconciliation.
The ads, aired in conjunction with Heroes Day, which falls every Nov. 10, sparked controversy for calling former president Soeharto "a national teacher and hero", along with seven other figures.
The national heroes featured in the ads were founding president Sukarno and vice president Mohammad Hatta, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) founder Hasyim Asyari, Muhammadiyah founder Ahmad Dahlan, Masyumi founder Muhammad Natsir, legendary military commander Soedirman and freedom fighter Sutomo.
Critics say Soeharto does not deserve hero status. Branding PKS an opportunist, they said the party aimed to attract sympathy from supporters of the national figures.
Leaders of NU and Muhammadiyah, the country's largest Muslim organizations, have expressed their anger at the ads.
Anis defended the ads, saying the party was trying to educate the public about the nation's history by instilling appreciation for its heroes.
"We don't deny the political motives behind the ads, and that it is part of our campaign," Anis said. "But we think it is good to simultaneously reach our goals of wooing voters and educating people. We are offering added value. We don't mind the rejection, although we think our critics lack logic."
He said the party was pursuing national reconciliation. "We want this nation to eliminate hatred and revenge, and not to only see the dark side of our history. They should acknowledge that those figures are inseparable parts of our history," he said.
Deputy chairman of nationalist party the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Firman Jaya Daeli said his party was not concerned by the PKS's portrayal of Sukarno, who has long been associated with the PDI-P, which is chaired by Sukarno's daughter Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Firman urged the Islam-based PKS to take concrete action to realize its goal of "national reconciliation".
The PDI-P once proposed the revocation of a Provisional People's Consultative Assembly decree outlawing the Indonesian Communist Party for the sake of national reconciliation.
Thousands of PKI members and supporters were killed as part of a Soeharto-lead purge in the 1960s, one of the bloodiest pages of the country's history. Families of PKI members and supporters were discriminated against during Soeharto's rule.
Historian JJ Rizal said he regretted the PKS's portrayal of Soeharto as a national hero, which seemed to go against the fact that the party was born in the reform era, a period in which efforts were made to erase Soeharto's legacy.
"It would be understandable if the Golkar Party had advertised Soeharto," he said. Soeharto was Golkar's chief patron until he stepped down in 1998.