Sita Planasari, Jakarta – The title of National Hero was bestowed upon former Indonesian President Soeharto on Monday, sparking controversy both domestically and internationally. Several foreign media outlets have been highlighting the title bestowed by President Prabowo Subianto, Soeharto's former son-in-law.
"It has stirred criticism among activists and academics who cite the deceased military leader's record of mass human rights violations, corruption and nepotism during his three-decade rule," wrote Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera on Monday.
Soeharto, who passed away in 2008 at the age of 86, ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for over three decades after seizing power from Sukarno in 1967 following a failed military coup.
Meanwhile, U.S.-based news outlet CNN, on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, referred to Soeharto as a dictator feared and supported by the U.S., whose regime oversaw the bloody anti-communist massacres during the Cold War era and was accused of embezzling a large amount of state funds, leading to his family's opulence and political power.
The Diplomat stated that in 2004, the anti-corruption organization Transparency International claimed that Soeharto and his family embezzled funds up to US$35 billion during their rule.
Soeharto's legacy
Born in 1921 when Indonesia was still under Dutch colonial rule, Soeharto rose to power after the country gained independence in 1949, advancing through military ranks to become a five-star general.
Then came the bloodshed in 1965, triggered by a failed coup and the subsequent killing of several military generals.
Soeharto blamed the coup on the communists, overthrew the then-President Sukarno, Indonesia's first post-independence leader, and ordered a hunt for those responsible.
What followed was a nationwide purge of suspected communists overseen by Soeharto's powerful military, with human rights groups and historians estimating that between 500,000 and one million people were killed.
As reported by CNN, the U.S. supported the anti-communist purge, providing a list of senior communist party officials, equipment, and money to the Indonesian military, according to declassified documents in 2017.
In a late 1965 document, the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta sent a telegram to Washington referring to the harsh actions as a "fantastic change within 10 weeks," accompanied by an estimate that 100,000 people had been slaughtered, as reported by the Associated Press.
Many argue that those targeted in the purge were not communists, but rather ethnic Chinese or anyone with leftist sympathies.
In 2016, an international tribunal in The Hague ruled that the U.S., Britain, and Australia were all involved in the mass killings in Indonesia in 1965, considered to be crimes against humanity.
Soeharto ruled for 31 years, during which he suppressed critics and political opponents, and enforced his regime's authority over regions including East Timor, Aceh, West Papua, and the Maluku Islands.
Several regions were invaded with covert support from Western allies, aiming to back an anti-communist leader, amidst proxy conflicts supported by the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the southern hemisphere.
Some praised him for his policies that drove rapid economic growth and political stability. However, he embezzled a substantial amount of state funds, funded his family's lavish lifestyle, and incited public outrage.
Soeharto's reign ultimately ended in 1998 when the Asian financial crisis plunged the country into economic turmoil. This sparked widespread protests that forced Soeharto to resign. It was one of the last popular movements that swept Southeast Asia, replacing a Cold War – era autocrat with democracy.
In the following years, Soeharto's children were prosecuted. In 2015, the Supreme Court ordered Soeharto's family to repay millions of embezzled funds to the state.
However, Soeharto himself never faced the demands of his victims. Due to poor health in his final years, he passed away without ever being tried. He denied any wrongdoing until the end of his life, even labeling the embezzlement accusations as "slander and defamation."