Soeharto`s death a great loss to Asean
JAKARTA (Berita Nasional) : The death of former Indonesian president Soeharto, who is also one of the founders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) which consists of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines and Vietnam, is a great loss to the regional grouping.
Expressions of loss came among others from Malaysian foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar,as AFP quoted him saying on Sunday.
Soeharto (86) passed away on Sunday (Jan 27) at 13:10 local time after suffering from multiple organ failure at the Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta.
The Indonesian second president had undergone intensive medical treatment for 24 days since he was admitted to the hospital on Friday, January 4, 2008, for anemia and severe edema.
Expressing his sadness about Soeharto`s death, Albar said the former Indonesian strong man had contributed a great deal to the economic development of Indonesia, and ASEAN in general.
According to him, Malaysia on Monday will send Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and former Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad and Musa Hitam to concey their last respects and condolences on Soeharto`s death.
Recalling Soeharto`s success to help create political stability in the ASEAN region, Albar said that apart from Indonesia, Malaysia and ASEAN also became a grief-stricken region over the second Indonesian president`s death.
Malaysia and Indonesia enjoyed friendly relations after Soeharto and former Foreign Minister Adam Malik put an end to the confrontation between the two neighboring countries.
Singapore`s Prime Minister Lee Shien Loong arrived in Jakarta on Sunday evening to pay his last respects to the former Indonesian president.
Earlier, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, Deputy Prime Minister of Cambodia Sok An, some other former ASEAN leaders such as Mahathir Mohammad and Norodom Raharidh (son of Cambodian King, Prince Norodom Sihanouk) had visited Soeharto while still under treatment at the Pertamina hospital.
Apart from that, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo expressed condolences over the death of former Indonesian president Soeharto on Sunday, saying he "will never be forgotten."
Arroyo hailed Soeharto for his leadership in the South-East Asian region and contributions to building peace in the Philippines` troubled southern region of Mindanao.
"For these enduring legacies, President Soeharto will never be forgotten," DPA quoted Arroyo as saying.
"The government of the Philippines and the Filipino people join me in offering deepest sympathies and condolences on the demise of former president Soeharto," she said in a statement.
"As one of the founding fathers of ASEAN, President Soeharto was among those who had the pioneering vision of establishing a more peaceful, progressive and prosperous South-east Asian region founded on mutual respect and understanding," she said.
State funeral
Top state officials and foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the state funeral, including Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, former prime minister Mahathir Muhammad, former East Timor president Xanana Gusmao, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his deputy S Jayakumar, and former Philippine president Fidel Ramos.
In addition, all foreign ambassadors to Indonesia are expected to attend the state funeral at the Astana Giri Bangun graveyard in Karanganyar about 30 km southeast of Solo, Central Java.
On Sunday evening, tens of ranking officials and former officials paid their last respects to Soeharto at his Cendana residence, following the arrivals of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda Sunday recalled the former Indonesian President Suharto`s efforts to maintain friendly relations between the two nations, AFP quoted Fukuda as saying on Sunday.
Fukuda sent a message of condolences to current Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after Soeharto died.
"I sincerely pray that former President Soeharto would rest in peace. President Soeharto had long worked to maintain the friendly and goodwill relations between our nation and Indonesia," Fukuda said in the message.
"I represent the Japanese government and the Japanese public to express our condolences to your government and your people," he said to Yudhoyono.
Meanwhile, report said, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expressed sorrow at the death of former Indonesian president Soeharto Sunday but described him as a "controversial figure" on human rights and East Timor.
Rudd paid tribute to Soeharto`s role in modernizing Indonesia and his role in helping establish the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and APEC, describing him as an "influential figure in the Australia region and beyond".
"Now the world`s third largest democracy, Indonesia, is a close friend and neighbor with which Australia shares vital political and security interests," he said.
"Indonesia`s success as a modern democracy is a major interest not just to Australia, but to our region and the world," he said.
Report said from Dili, Timor Leste, that General Chairman of the National Council of East Timor Reconstruction Party (CNRT) Xanana Gusmao extended his condolences over the death of Soeharto.
"As a human being, Xanana expressed his deep condolences," Secretary General of CNRT Party Dionisio `Didi` Babo, Soares PhD through a statement directly sent to ANTARA News in Dili, on Sunday afternoon.
In the name of the CNRT party of Timor Leste, his side was reported to share the condolences with the people of Indonesia over the death of the former New Order strongman.
According to him, even though Xanana was once jailed during Soeharto`s regime, he still showed humanistic solidarity by extending his condolences.
Xanana Gusmao was jailed when East Timor was still the 27th province of Indonesia during Soeharto`s rule.
After the independence of East Timor through a referendum, Xanana Gusmao become the first president of Timor Leste.
Recalling his merits to Cambodia, Soeharto who was also dubbed as the smiling general in the country, contributed a very significant meaning for the Cambodian stability following the internal political problems in decades ago.
It seems that the visit of Cambodian leaders to Jakarta to pay their last respects to Soeharto, the country will not forget Indonesia`s role when Jakarta hosted the Jakarta Informal Meetings (JIM) I, II and III which led to Cambodian political stability. (Bustanuddin/antara)
