Cross-party respect at Taufiq’s funeral State officials and members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) flocked to the Kalibata National Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta on Sunday to pay their last respects to Taufiq Kiemas, the party’s patron and husband of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri. Earlier, Jakartans had lined the route from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in East Jakarta to the cemetery to witness the cortege bearing the body of the former speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly. Taufiq’s body was flown aboard an Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules from the Paya Lebar Military Air Base in Singapore. The airplane touched down at Halim at 9.30 a.m. The husband of Indonesia’s fifth president died aged 70 at the Singapore General Hospital on Saturday afternoon. PDI-P politicians close to the family said that the cause of death was “severe fatigue” but some party executives said that Taufiq passed away after battling “cardiac arrest” and “kidney disorders”. Taufiq’s record in office was lauded beyond the circle of the PDI-P and the MPR. “Indonesia has just lost one of its best men. He [Taufiq] was a noted politician who was consistent in promoting democracy, a conciliator and a statesman. He always thought far beyond his own political interest,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in his speech during the state funeral service. “He showed consistency, firmness and persistence in carrying out the political work he believed in,” the President said. Yudhoyono also praised Taufiq as “a loyal husband, both in happiness and sadness, who always accompanied his wife Megawati Soekarnoputri in her duties as chairperson of the PDI-P or during her service as vice president and as the country’s fifth president.” Taufiq was buried next to the graves of his parents, Tji Agoes Kiemas and Hamzatoen Roesda Kiemas. Megawati and her sons from her first marriage, Mohammad Rizki Pratama and Mohammad Prananda, as well as Puan Maharani, her daughter from her marriage to Taufiq, sat in the front row during the funeral alongside First Lady Ani Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono. Megawati’s brother and sisters, as well as Cabinet members and many other top officials were also present. Other prominent figures, including Sinta Nuriyah, the widow of Indonesia’s fourth president, the late Abdurrahman Wahid, and Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, the daughter of Indonesia’s second president Soeharto, also attended the funeral. “We, his children, had always been taught by our father to continuously sustain the ideas and thoughts of Sukarno. That’s why our father always promoted friendship. He always managed to break the ice no matter how difficult the situation was,” Rizki said in his eulogy for his stepfather. Shortly before the funeral began, Yudhoyono was seen reaching out to Megawati, holding her hands, and expressing his condolences. Megawati has had an icy relationship with the President especially since he beat her in the 2004 presidential elections. Taufiq often acted as a go-between in the sometimes tense relationship between the two politicians. In April, Taufiq said there was a possibility that the PDI-P could join in a coalition with the ruling Democratic Party in the 2014 general elections. Taufiq’s political moves, which many deemed as conciliatory toward Yudhoyono and his Democratic Party, had made him something of a counterweight to Megawati’s domination within the party. Born Tastafvian Kiemas in Jakarta on Dec. 31, 1942, Taufiq was known for his enduring efforts to promote the country’s ideology among the general public. Taufiq was elected MPR speaker for the 2009-2014 period following difficult political negotiations, which included a walkout by the majority of regional representatives. Taufiq married Megawati in 1973, it was Megawati’s third marriage.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:21:04 +0000
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