The six figures are Ruhana Kudus from West Sumatra, Sultan Himayatuddin Oputa Yii Ko from Southeast Sulawesi, Prof. M. Sardjito from Yogyakarta, Abdoel Kahar Moezakir from Yogyakarta, Alexander Andries (AA) Maramis from North Sulawesi, and KH Masykur from East Java.
"President of the Republic of Indonesia bestowed the national hero title as the highest mark of appreciation and honor for their extraordinary merits," Secretary of the Military Maj. Gen. TNI Suharyanto stated while reading out the presidential decree on granting of the national hero title.
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Jokowi presented the honorary title to the heirs of the national heroes.
Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, cabinet ministers, Indonesian Military Commander Air Chief Marshall Hadi Tjanjanto, and Indonesian Police Chief Gen. Idham Azis were present at the commemorative event.
Kuddus was a female journalist from West Sumatra. She established the Amai Setia craft school in Koto Gadang and was an activist in the education sector. After her newspaper Poetri Hindia was banned by the Dutch colonial ruler, she founded the Sunting Melayu newspaper, the first of its kind for women in Indonesia.
Sultan Himayatuddin, or also known as La Karambau from Buton, Southeast Sulawesi, led the guerrilla war in Buton against the Dutch colonialism in 1755-1776.
Sardjito is the first rector of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) for the 1950-1961 term and rector of the University of Islam Indonesia (UII) for the 1964-1970 period. He prepared biscuits for soldiers in the battlefield in the wake of the problem of logistical shortage.
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Abdoel Kahar Moezakir, AA Maramis, and KH Masykur were members of the Preparatory Committee for the Indonesian Independence (PPKI).
Moezakir was the rector of UII for the 1945-1948 and 1948-1960 terms. He established the Greater Indonesia Association in 1933.
AA Maramis served as finance minister for the 1945-1945 and 1948-1949 periods. He signed the first Indonesian banknotes, with denomination 1, 5, 10 cent, and 0.5, 1, 5, 10, and 100 rupiah.
KH Masykur was a founder of Pembela Tanah Air (Peta). He was the religious affairs minister for the 1947-1949 and 1953-1955 periods. As chairman of Malang branch Nahdlatul Ulama, Masykur had led Laskar Sabilillah in a war in Surabaya, East Java, in November 1945.
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Translator: Desca Lidya Natalia, Sri Harya
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
