Dede Leni Mardianti, Jakarta – The Chair of the Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI) Fatwa Department, Asrorun Niam Sholeh, said that all former presidents of Indonesia deserve to be recognized as national heroes, without exception.
He argued that every leader who has served the nation, including the second president, Soeharto, has contributed significantly to Indonesia's development.
"Pak Karno (Sukarno), Pak Harto (Soeharto), Pak Habibie, and Gus Dur (Abdurrahman Wahid) are all national figures who deserve to be honored as heroes," Niam said in Jakarta, as quoted from the MUI's official website on Tuesday, November 5, 2025.
Niam expressed support for the Ministry of Social Affairs' proposal to award the title of National Hero to Soeharto, a move reportedly under consideration by President Prabowo Subianto.
He described the proposal as a reflection of Prabowo's statesmanship and an effort to foster unity and reconciliation among Indonesians.
The UIN Jakarta professor urged the public not to remain fixated on Soeharto's controversial past, emphasizing that no individual is free of flaws.
"No matter how great someone is, their faults will always exist if we keep searching for them," he said. "But Islam teaches us to remember a person's virtues, and to forgive and bury their mistakes."Critics Oppose Soeharto's Nomination
However, the proposal has sparked sharp criticism from academics, religious leaders, and families of victims of the 1998 human rights abuses. Many argue that Soeharto's long rule during the New Order era was marked by corruption, authoritarianism, and grave human rights violations.
Philosophy professor Franz Magnis Suseno, known as Romo Magnis, rejected the idea, stating that Soeharto does not meet the moral and ethical standards of a national hero.
"Soeharto was involved in massive corruption that enriched his family, close associates, and himself. That is not the mark of a National Hero," he said on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
Romo Magnis added that a national hero should be free from serious ethical or criminal violations. He accused Soeharto of bearing responsibility for the 1965-1966 mass killings, which claimed hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, of lives.
"It is undeniable that Soeharto was largely responsible for the genocide, one of the five largest of the 20th century. There were 800,000 to 3 million victims, according to various accounts," he said.
The debate over Soeharto's potential recognition underscores Indonesia's continuing struggle to reconcile differing historical perspectives, between those who see him as a nation-builder and those who remember his legacy of repression and corruption.
– Hendrik Yaputra contributed to the writing of this article.