What’s in a name?                              A thorn in the side of RI-S’pore ties Dwi Atmanta  ;   A staff writer at The Jakarta Post

JAKARTA POST,  16 Februari 2014

                                                                                                                        

                                                                                         

                                                      

When Singapore expressed its displeasure with the naming of an Indonesian corvette after two marine commandos were hanged in the neighboring country back in 1968, we Indonesians began to understand why the governments and peoples of China and South Korea protested every time Japanese leaders visited Yasukuni shrine. Singapore regards the two Indonesian Marines Usman Janatin and Harun Said as terrorists for carrying out a bombing on MacDonald House, killing three people and wounding 33 others, the way China and South Korea perceive the World War II soldiers memorialized in the Yasukuni shrine as war criminals. Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean told Indonesian Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto during a phone conversation on Feb. 6 that the issue had reopened an old wound. Singapore’s acting labor minister Tan Chuan-jin wrote about his memories of the March 1965 bombing on his Facebook account. Tan’s father, whose office was located in MacDonald House, avoided the attack as he was on sick leave that day. In Jakarta and elsewhere across the archipelago nationalistic views have filled the public sphere, although so far they have not led to anti-Singaporean sentiments which gives us reason to believe that the brouhaha will soon pass. The true extent of the issue will be seen through Singapore’s diplomatic attitude during weekends, given the fact that the city is a popular shopping destination for Indonesians. The diplomatic row has in fact provided both Indonesia and Singapore with an opportunity to get to know each other better. The scuffle could to some extent close the yawning gap that exists between the two nations despite their geographical proximity. There are a lot of misconceptions and misunderstandings, such as the naming of the navy vessel, which President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have to address when they meet at an annual leaders’ retreat later this year. On Indonesia’s part there is a pressing need to take history seriously simply to find the truth.  Before the diplomatic tension evolved few would have even heard of Usman and Harun, who infiltrated Singapore when Indonesia was at war with Malaysia. The remains of the two soldiers received a hero’s welcome at home and were buried at Kalibata Heroes Cemetery and their military ranks were promoted posthumously to honor their service. The late former vice president Mohammad Hatta, known for his calm demeanor, vented his anger at the execution by pledging never to visit Singapore, a promise that he kept until his death in 1980. Regardless of who started the fire, the warship controversy has given politicians a chance to display a degree of nationalism ahead of the legislative election. Their defense of national dignity against a wealthy neighbor will easily win the hearts of voters. Usman and Harun are currently in the spotlight, but what about other forgotten heroes or those who have been deliberately delisted as war heroes for unknown reasons? Among the unsung heroes is perhaps Ibrahim Datuk Tan Malaka, a freedom fighter known for his leftist ideals, who was executed by Suradi Takebek on the orders of East Java military officer Lt. Soekotjo, according to Dutch historical researcher Harry Poeze. Although then president Sukarno named Tan Malaka a national hero in 1963, there have been no concrete, let alone serious, moves by the current or previous governments to advance Tan Malaka’s famous dogma of “100 percent independence”, which the nation is apparently lacking. For better or worse, it has become increasingly important for the government to encourage revisions of history whenever new findings come to the fore. There are many parts of Indonesian history that are kept in the shade, neglected or removed from people’s memory.  In the wake of the uproar over Usman and Harun, Indonesia has an opportunity to prove that its decision to name them as national heroes was legitimate and by virtue of their contribution to the nation’s safety and dignity. But it should not necessarily prompt Indonesia to immortalize them in a way that merely provokes tension with other parties, including Singapore. For Singapore, the allegation regarding Indonesia’s insensitivity could backfire. Singapore’s move to protest the Indonesian Navy’s honoring of Usman and Harun has undoubtedly been perceived as an attempt to meddle with Indonesia’s internal affairs. The more Singapore ups the ante, the more resistant Indonesia will be. So why is Singapore protesting now? Why did it not protest earlier when it knew that Riau Islands named a street, a soccer field, a meeting hall and a heroes cemetery after Usman and Harun? In May last year a street in Jakarta was named after the two marines. Both Singapore and Indonesia had actually declared the case closed when then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, the father of the current Singaporean Prime Minister, paid homage to Usman and Harun when he visited Jakarta in 1973, regardless of the fact that Lee Sr. was fulfilling the request of then Indonesian president Soeharto as a condition of restoring ties between the two neighbors. Past leaders have certainly set an example on damage limitation. There is no doubt the current ones can follow suit, as evinced when their economic ministers met Tuesday. ●

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