Decision seen by some as ‘blatant whitewashing’ but many Gen Z have responded with indifference and even nostalgia
To some Indonesians he is the antithesis of a hero – a former dictator accused of human rights abuses who once held the disreputable title of one of the world’s most corrupt leaders.
So when the world’s third-largest democracy announced this month that its late strongman leader Suharto would be named a national hero, activists and survivors were outraged.
But on the streets the decision was also notable for the outrage that wasn’t. Protests were small and relatively muted. Many young Indonesians, born after Suharto’s authoritarian rule, responded with indifference or nostalgia for the old regime, as allegations of human rights abuses fade and Suharto’s era of economic growth looks rosier decades on.
The award was bestowed on Suharto by Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto, Suharto’s ex-son-law and a controversial military general who was inaugurated last October after a commanding win supported by Gen Z backing.
