The Farmer who Would be King
A new book on Suharto has been launched by R.E. Elson, a researcher and professor at the School of Asian and International Studies at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. It's a biography of Suharto, outside the "official" biographies of the former ruler, written in a comprehensive manner, albeit in a cold and flat language. Published by Cambridge University Press, and retailing for Rp400,000, the book traces Suharto from his birth to his fall. According to Elson, Suharto was a leader without a vision but he had a leadership style that was instrumental, simple and practical. In governing, his prominent characteristics were his aversion to competitors or rivals, his full political calculation, and his lack of enthusiasm for books and even the intellectual world.
March 12, 2002
September 1945. Indonesian youths were busily disarming the Japanese of their weapons. Ibu Umiyah Dayino, 75, recalls clearly one scene. Suharto, a former Peta (Defender of the Homeland) soldier, often visited Pathook, in Yogyakarta. Now famous for its bakpia dry snacks, 50 years ago it was the place where the underground youths called the Pathook Group gathered. They met, discussed, exchanged information, assembled weapons, and cultivated
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