Ken Setiawan – On 10 November 2025, President Prabowo Subianto proclaimed former Indonesian dictator Soeharto a national hero.
This announcement was not a surprise. Soeharto had been proposed for the honour multiple times, including during the presidencies of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo. But Soeharto's successful nomination comes under the leadership of Prabowo, who has long praised Soeharto and his authoritarian New Order (1967-1998) regime, and was once Soeharto's son-in-law.
The government has stated that the decision to name Soeharto a national hero was primarily based on his military service during Indonesia's Independence War (1945-1949). Rights groups, however, have earlier expressed strong criticism of the nomination, and now the award, pointing to the systematic human rights violations of the Soeharto regime.
The New Order's human rights crimes are well-documented. Soeharto rose to power following mass killings (1965-1966) in which the Indonesian army – under his leadership – was responsible for the killing of at least half a million men, women and children associated with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). In addition, over a million people were arrested and detained, often for lengthy periods of time, without trial.
The patterns of that violence were replicated by the Indonesian military in other repressions – one example being Indonesia's invasion and occupation of Timor Leste.
In addition to human rights abuses, Soeharto's regime was characterised by rampant corruption, nepotism and censorship, as well as severe repression of dissent. Soeharto – who was forced to step down in 1998 because of economic collapse and mass protests – was never held to account for these crimes.
Critics have pointed out that Soeharto's national hero award represents a whitewashing of historical crimes, and will only further entrench impunity for human rights. The decision ignores the tireless efforts of civil society advocates and, importantly, is an insult to those victimised by the New Order regime and their families, who continue to live with the impact of the violence.
The Prabowo government has brushed away these criticisms. Minister of Culture Fadli Zon, for instance, stated that claims of human rights violations are "unfounded" and that it was more important to consider Soeharto's contribution to economic progress.
Rewriting the past, controlling the future
The national hero award for Soeharto glorifies the authoritarian past, and proves that the New Order never fully lost power. At the same time, the award is about the present. It is illustrative of the efforts by which Prabowo has gradually transformed his image from disgraced military general to respectable political leader. In turn, this image-making serves to deflect from ongoing human rights abuses.
Just like his former father-in-law, Prabowo has a poor human rights track record. In 1998, he was dismissed from the military because of his role in the abduction of pro-democracy activists. Until 2019, he was banned from entering the United States for his involvement in other violations, including in Indonesian-occupied Timor Leste.
While Prabowo has claimed that he was simply carrying out "operations that were legal at the time", the issue matters to him and his supporters. This is clearly illustrated by the great lengths he has gone to erase his troubled human rights record.
One way in which Prabowo has done this is by drastically changing his public image. Following unsuccessful bids for the presidency in 2014 and 2019, in which he presented himself as a military strongman and protector of Islamic values, ahead of the 2024 campaign Prabowo recast his image to that of an adorable grandpa.
This strategy softened his image, and wooed millennials and Gen Z voters, who make up 56.5% of the electorate and have little knowledge of Prabowo's past.
But it was not just changing his public image. The Prabowo camp has used Jokowi's 2023 acknowledgment of twelve cases of gross human rights violations to argue that these issues have been "dealt with".
Shortly after Prabowo's election to the presidency, senior officials of his Gerindra party met with survivors of the abductions and their family members, officially to build 'good relationships'. However, it has also been reported that the families in attendance were given Rp 1 billion (A$90,000) each.
Prabowo went even further by bringing former foes into his fold. For instance, Budiman Soedjatmiko, a former activist detained during the New Order, joined the Prabowo campaign team. Prabowo did not deny the detention – instead, he publicly acknowledged that he used to "chase" Soedjatmiko, and that he had apologised.
Another example is Prabowo's appointment of human rights activist Mugiyanto Sipin as Deputy Minister for Human Rights. Mugiyanto was once abducted and tortured under Prabowo's orders.
The actions taken by the Prabowo camp have presented a steep challenge to Indonesia's human rights movement. But as though transforming victims into allies was insufficient, the Prabowo government has also announced that it will present a new official account of Indonesian history. The project has drawn strong criticism for its omission of critical events, including the human rights crimes of the New Order.
Appointing Soeharto a national hero is yet another part in Prabowo's efforts to cleanse his own past. This is also evident in the appointment of another national hero, Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, who as a military commander in 1965 was heavily involved in the mass killings and once stated that over 3 million people were killed.
Meanwhile, the appointment of former president Abdurrahman Wahid as national hero seems to suggest that bestowing the title onto former leaders is simply a normal process, while the appointment of slain labour activist Marsinah – murdered by Soeharto's army – serves to give the impression that the state supports workers.
Not all is lost
Human rights in Indonesia are under severe attack, illustrated amongst others by the rise of militarism and an escalation of agrarian conflict. In anti-government protests in August, at least ten people died, and thousands were arrested. Some activists remain in detention today in which has been described as "the largest scale of repression in decades".
Naming a former dictator a national hero diverts attention from these human rights issues. By elevating figures like Soeharto, the government legitimises past authoritarian rule and normalises such practices in the present, thereby strengthening the current president's grip on power. This strategy allows the government to consolidate authority while sidestepping accountability.
But not all is lost for Indonesia. The silver lining is that Prabowo's decision has forced pro-democracy civil society organisations to do some soul searching about the fate of Reformasi (reformation) today, and devise a new strategy to undo the complete revival of the New Order. The stakes could not be higher.