By: Prabowo Subianto [taken from the Book: Military Leadership Notes from Experience Chapter I: Exemplary Leaders of The Indonesian Armed Forces] 

There is an adage that says a true teacher should be proud to see his disciple surpass him. A true teacher will ensure that his students and his men are more successful than him. A true teacher will not hesitate to guide his students to realise their full potential and reach the highest rank in the interests of the nation and country

LIEUTENANT GENERAL TNI (RET.) KEMAL IDRIS

I was 17 years old when I returned to Indonesia from Europe. Back then, Pak Kemal Idris was already a very famous TNI figure. At that time, he was known as one of the key figures of the New Order (Orde Baru) regime at the beginning of President Suharto’s administration.

Pak Kemal Idris was also a friend of my uncle Subianto, who died in the Battle of Lengkong. When I met him, Pak Kemal Idris told me: ‘I am your uncle’s best friend. Your uncle was a very brave man. If your uncle were still alive today, I’m sure he would be the Chief of Army Reserve Command (Pangkostrad). You should follow in your uncle’s footsteps, Subianto. He was a hero.’

I remembered his words. After I learned more about Pak Kemal Idris’ life history, I understood he was a very patriotic, brave, straight, and open person. Kemal Idris’ battalion was the first TNI battalion to enter the capital after the Dutch ceded sovereignty to Indonesia.

I was 17 years old when I returned to Indonesia from Europe. Pak Kemal Idris had already been a very famous TNI figure back then. He was known as one of the key figures of the New Order (Orde Baru) regime at the beginning of President Suharto’s administration.

Pak Kemal Idris, along with Lieutenant General TNI H.R. Dharsono, Major General TNI Surono, and Infantry Colonel Sarwo Edi Wibowo, were key figures who supported Pak Harto in the years after the G30S/PKI until Pak Harto was inaugurated as the second President of the Republic of Indonesia. Major General TNI Surono later became the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army and subsequently the Deputy Commander in Chief of Indonesian Armed Forces, and retired as General.

My father often mentioned Pak Kemal Idris. I also often heard stories about him from my grandfather. Pak Kemal Idris was a close friend of my uncle Subianto Djojohadikusumo who died in the Battle of Lengkong with Major Daan Mogot and the cadets from Tangerang Military Academy on January 25, 1946.

When I met Pak Kemal Idris, he said, ‘I am your uncle’s best friend. Your uncle was a very brave man. If your uncle were still alive, I’m sure he would be the Chief of Army Strategic Reserves Command (Pangkostrad). You should follow in your uncle’s footsteps. Subianto was a hero.’

I still remember his words vividly to this day. After I learned more about the life story of Pak Kemal Idris, I learned that he was a very patriotic, brave and very straightforward and open person. Pak Kemal Idris’ Battalion was the first TNI battalion to enter the capital after the Dutch ceded sovereignty to Indonesia. At that time, Pak Kemal Idris was a Major, so he was very famous.

At that time, it was a tradition for the TNI battalion to be named after illustrious commanders. So there was the Kemal Idris Battalion, the Ahmad Yani Battalion, the Poniman Battalion, etc.

On October 17, 1952, the Kemal Idris Battalion was involved in besieging the Istana. Pak Kemal Idris was a brave, very pro-people and staunch nationalist. He loathed corruption so much that he even boldly criticised his superiors, so much so that seniors often considered him a “naughty boy”.

I’ve even heard Pak Harto once mention Pak Kemal Idris’ name with a smile while laughing, ‘Yes, Kemal, yes… Stubborn Kemal.’ But his seniors were always forgiving and always protected him because he was a very brave man and capable of leading his troops against the Dutch.

Kemal Idris fought the rebels during the 1950s and 1965. After the 1965 G30S/PKI rebellion, he became Pak Harto’s trusted confidant in the Army Strategic Reserves Command (KOSTRAD) as its Deputy Chief of Staff. After Pak Harto was promoted, Pak Kemal Idris replaced Pak Harto as Pangkostrad.

The qualities of Pak Kemal Idris that I remember and admire are his open and welcoming, and humorous attitude. He was always honest and siding with underprivileged people. But Pak Kemal Idris had shortcomings too. He was an emotional person and often made hasty decisions and conclusions before having a firm grasp of the situation. Sometimes, this trait landed him into real trouble.

During his life, he often gave me advice. Every time I met him, he always shared his experiences and wisdom. I gained a lot of leadership insight from him.

A few hours before his passing, his ADC told me that he was very ill, and I visited him at Abdi Waluyo Hospital in Menteng, Jakarta. On his deathbed, he whispered to me, ‘Prabowo, keep on fighting.’ His last words to me, ‘Take care of this Republic, thank you.’

I saluted him, and in an instant, tears started to stream down my face. It was an emotionally charged moment. At that time, I had been discharged as Pangkostrad. I could feel the vibrations of his soul as he experienced the last moments of his life.

 

LIEUTENANT GENERAL TNI (RET.) HARTONO REKSO DHARSONO

During the New Order, Pak Ton was one of Pak Harto’s most powerful confidants. He dared to correct Pak Harto, criticise and push him to democratise Indonesia. He opposed an authoritarian regime and dared to criticise his seniors and his compatriots.

He was very popular with the people, students, and soldiers. He often wore a Kujang beret. He emerged as a heroic idol figure. He was idolised by the West Java youths and the youth grassroots movement of the capital Jakarta.

Lieutenant General TNI (Ret.) H. R. Dharsono was known to those close to him by his nickname Pak Ton. Pak Ton and Pak Kemal Idris were very close to my family, especially to my parents.

Pak Ton was also a friend of my uncle Pak Subianto and my father, Pak Soemitro.

He served as the Defence Attaché in London. He also had a brilliant career in the TNI. He was a prominent figure in Kodam Siliwangi, then known as Siliwangi Division.

In the operations to suppress the PRRI/Permesta and DI/TII rebellion, Hartono Dharsono stood out as a battalion commander. When the G30S/ PKI rebellion occurred, he was the Chief of Staff of Kodam Siliwangi. He eventually replaced Major General Ibrahim Adjie, then became the Commander of Kodam Siliwangi from 1966 to 1969. At that time, he managed to strengthen the unity between TNI and the people.

He was very popular with the people, with students, and with soldiers. He often wore a Kujang beret. He was idolised as a heroic figure, especially by West Java youths and the youth grassroots movement of the capital city Jakarta.

During the New Order era, he was one of Pak Harto’s most powerful supporters. He dared to correct Pak Harto, criticise Pak Harto and push Pak Harto to realise a more democratic Indonesia. He opposed an authoritarian regime and dared to criticise his seniors and his compatriots.

As a result, he was accused of supporting acts of terror and was briefly sent to prison. At that time, I was still a junior officer. I was concerned because I knew he was vilified and framed probably by groups in the Army who didn’t like him. When he was in prison, I was still a Second Lieutenant. When I enrolled in a branch-specific basic training course in Bandung, I visited him and met his family.

Then when I was Captain, I became the Deputy Commander of Detachment 81. At that time, I was in charge of constructing Detachment 81 headquarters in Jakarta and selecting the contractor and subcontractor. I learned that some young individuals of Bandung established a furniture company and signed up as an interior subcontractor for the base. I had no hesitation in appointing the company.

Then I was reprimanded by one of my superior officers, who said, ‘Among the ITB students who established the company is the son-in-law of Pak H. R. Dharsono.’ But I insisted that we should not blame the son-in-law for his parent’s wrongdoings. Moreover, his mistake was a political one. That was my parents’ teaching, and that is what I continue to believe in until now.

Whoever the parents are, we must not consider the parents’ political views, personal views, or mistakes to judge their child. This is what I see as one of the weaknesses of many Indonesians. We cannot pass down one’s fault to the next generations. We must get rid of the ‘bad blood’ mentality. Otherwise, the ‘evil circle’ will go on and on.

Often political hostility is passed down generation after generation so that political grudges can go on for decades, even hundreds of years. I learned from the teachings of my parents and seniors and lessons of Javanese philosophy, especially ‘mikul duwur, mendem jero’. Burying the parents’ mistakes while upholding the parents’ kindness. This is my belief.

 

MARINE COLONEL TNI (RET.) AZWAR SYAM

I learned something surprising from Pak Azwar. The first one is related to external appearance. I learned that commanders of field troops do not necessarily need to wear brand new clothes. It is more important to be neat. Our outfit is our pride. Our symbol of struggle.

The second one is assertiveness. The first person to slap me, besides my parents, was him. My parents slapped me when I was a kid because maybe back then, I was a bad boy. Since junior high school, never again had either of my parents slapped me.

I met Pak Azwar Syam when I was a cadet at the Indonesian Armed Forces Academy (AKABRI) in Magelang in 1970. The cadets were divided into regiments, battalions and companies. I joined the 2nd Company of C4 Battalion.

In my first days at AKABRI in 1970, he caught my attention. Pak Azwar Syam was a slim man with not one centimetre of excess fat on his body, he had dark skin, and he had sharp and confident eyes.

He wore a purple beret; his green shirt looked belel (worn). But it was very neat because he ironed it, even starched. His buckle looked polished. So were his shoes. On his chest, his nameplate read Azwar Syam. Meanwhile, the left chest showed three uppercase letters of Navy Commando Corps (KKO) initials. Pak Azwar Syam was the Commander of the 2nd Company of C4 Battalion.

It was this figure that has greatly influenced me to this date. There are several things I learned from Pak Azwar. The first one was concerning neatness. From him, I learned that the commander of the field troops does not need to wear brand new clothes. It is more important to be neat. His shirt looked belel (worn), yet it increased his charm or charisma. His shirt had become shabby because it was often used in the field and frequently washed. His outfit was his pride. It was his symbol of struggle.

The second one is assertiveness. The first person to slap me, besides my parents, of course, was him. My parents slapped me when I was a kid because maybe back then, I was very naughty. Since junior high school, however, never again had either of my parents slapped me.

I received such treatment during my early days in the Military Academy (AKABRI). It happened during the orientation period for new cadets. We had shaved our hair then the seniors gave us steel helmets. The seniors shared some tips to avoid pain upon wearing it. They said we should cover the inside of the helmet with a cloth. Many would use their underwear.

Although the underwear was made of very rough fabric with wire string, it could reduce the scalp chafing upon wearing the steel helmet without helmet liners.

In addition, there was a senior who gave me half a block of palm sugar. He whispered to me that eating palm sugar would keep my body fit and prevent fatigue. I did not understand whether he meant well or not. As a junior cadet, I unquestioningly received the palm sugar and put it in my pocket.

A moment later, we had an unexpected roll call. Marine Lieutenant Azwar Syam examined us one by one. When he approached me, he immediately grabbed my pocket. I didn’t know if he had seen me putting a piece of palm sugar in my pocket.

He then asked, ‘What is this?’

Then, he checked and took the palm sugar from my pocket, and without further ado, he slapped me in the face. Pock. That was how it sounded. It was so painful.

So, I had the ‘honour’ of being the first cadet to receive a slap in the 2nd Company of C4.

I was shocked and questioned why cadets at the Military Academy were slapped. I compared it to the education system abroad, such as in the UK, where slapping is forbidden. Understandably, I studied in Europe for a long time, so I experienced this culture shock because I entered another education institution with a different culture.

But miraculously, I harboured no hard feelings toward Lieutenant Azwar Syam, who had slapped me in front of other cadets. Gradually, I became more respectful and fond of him and his disciplinarian method. This is the third value that I learned from him.

He was always the first to show up during the morning roll call. He was very thorough in examining weapons. He would miss no detail. In inspecting the weapon, he stood 2-3 meters away from the soldier. We had to throw our guns at him. He caught the weapon with one hand and would proceed to check it. After that, he threw it back at us.

Fourthly, he was the type of leader that cared for his men. Although he was firm and harsh, he also cared deeply about his subordinates.

If his men got poor grades, he always met the lecturers and faced the departments to request that they were given another opportunity to remedy their low grades. By the end of the academic year, all members of the 2nd Company of C4 graduated, despite some of them getting unsatisfactory results.

I feel that Company Commander Lieutenant Azwar Syam’s qualities are exactly those leadership qualities that others should emulate. A commander must always be assertive but must also be correct, physically strong, and capable without being verbose.

Not one to give much santi aji, advice, but he has nevertheless shaped us – we were his men.

After I graduated from AKABRI, we parted ways. I never saw him again until I retired from the TNI. I met him again after I got into politics. In 2003, I spoke at an event held by the Functional Group Party (Golkar) in Palu, Central Sulawesi. At that time, I was still active in Golkar.

There were many guests in the forum, such as local government officials and community leaders. I was surprised when I saw Pak Azwar Syam among the guests. I still recognised him despite having been separated for 33 years. He had gotten greyer. Someone told me before that he lived in Palu.

In the middle of my speech, I quipped that I saw my former instructor Pak Azwar Syam. He was the Commander of my Company at AKABRI who had shaped me to be the man I am today. I also told the audience that without him, Prabowo Subianto could not have been a Lieutenant General.

I also cracked a joke. Those who regard me as strict must not blame me. They should blame Pak Azwar Syam instead, as he was the one who educated me. The audience erupted in laughter.

On that occasion, I also saw that he is indeed a figure of great spirit. He encompassed the virtues of a leader and a teacher. It is true that the adage, ‘a true teacher would be proud to see his disciple do well.’ He retired with the last rank of Colonel, while mine was Lieutenant General.

I went on to found the Greater Indonesia Movement (GERINDRA) Party. Not until later did I learn that he also joined my party and was an active cadre. He is very active at the grassroots, spreading my political message to the people.

When I became a presidential candidate, he was very actively engaged in helping my campaign. So, it is obvious that Pak Azwar Syam is an exemplary teacher. His dedication knows no bounds. He works to ensure his students outdo him for the benefit of the nation and the country.

He’s a true commander and teacher. He has also moulded my personality as a TNI soldier.