Abdul Haris Nasution

Abdul Haris Nasution (; 3 December 1918 – 6 September 2000) was a high-ranking Indonesian general and politician. He served in the military during the Indonesian National Revolution and remained in the military during the subsequent turmoil of the Parliamentary democracy and Guided Democracy. Following the fall of President Sukarno from power, he became the Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly under President Suharto. Born into a Batak Muslim family, in the village of Hutapungkut, Dutch East Indies, he studied teaching and enrolled at a military academy in Bandung.

He became a member of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, but following the Japanese invasion, he joined the Defenders of the Homeland. Following the proclamation of independence, he enlisted in the fledgling Indonesian armed forces and fought during the Indonesian National Revolution. In 1946, he was appointed commander of the Siliwangi Division, the guerrilla unit operating in West Java. After the end of the national revolution, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the army, until he was suspended for his involvement in the 17 October affair. He was reappointed to the position in 1955.

On the 1st October 1965, an attempted coup occurred, later officially blamed on the Communist Party of Indonesia. Nasution's house was attacked, and his daughter was killed, but he managed to escape by scaling a wall and hiding in the Iraqi ambassador's residence. In the following political turmoil, he assisted in the rise of President Suharto and was appointed Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly. He had a falling-out with Suharto, who saw him as a rival, and he was pushed out of power in 1971. Once he was removed from positions of power, Nasution developed into a political opponent of Suharto's New Order Regime, though he and Suharto began to reconcile in the 1990s. He died on 6 September 2000 in Jakarta, after suffering a stroke and going into a coma. His body was interred at Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery.

Early life

Nasution was born on 3 December 1918 in the village of Hutapungkut, Mandailing Natal Regency, North Sumatra, In this position, Nasution developed the theory of territorial warfare which would become the future defense doctrine of the Indonesian Army. Nasution, together with the TNI and the other commanders, retreated into the countryside to fight a guerrilla war. With President Sukarno and Vice-President Mohammad Hatta in Dutch captivity, the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PDRI) was set up in Sumatra. In this interim government, Nasution was given the position of the Army and Territorial Commander of Java. Following Dutch recognition of Indonesia's independence, the PDRI returned its powers to Sukarno and Hatta, and Nasution returned to his position as Deputy Commander to Sudirman.

Parliamentary democracy era

First term as chief of staff

thumb|[[Fundamentals of Guerrilla Warfare by Nasution]]

In December 1949, Nasution took on his position as army chief of staff,

For this cause, Nasution and Simatupang also mobilised civilian protesters. Sukarno came out of the Presidential Palace and convinced both soldiers and civilians to go home. Nasution and Simatupang had been defeated. Nasution and Simatupang were then questioned by Attorney General Suprapto. In December 1952, they both lost their positions in ABRI and were suspended from the service. He immediately began working on the army and its structure by adopting a threefold approach. First, he formulated a tour of duty system so that officers would be stationed around the country and gain experience. This would also result in army officers being more professional, instead of feeling personal attachment and loyalty to the province and region they came from. Nasution's second change was to centralise military training. All training methods would now be uniform, instead of regional commanders setting up their methods. Nasution's third and most important reform was to increase the army's influence and power so that it would be able to take care of itself, instead of relying on civilian decisions. Nasution did not have a problem applying the first two changes, but he would have to wait to apply the third. By 1957, President Sukarno had begun to introduce the concept of Guided Democracy, in response to his disenchantment with the Parliamentary Democracy approach which Indonesia had adopted since November 1945. In this, he found a common bond with Nasution and the army, who still harboured resentment of civilian interference with army affairs in 1952.

On 14 March 1957, after the resignation of Prime Minister Ali Sastroamidjojo and his Cabinet, Sukarno declared a State of Emergency. This move not only ended Sukarno's merely ceremonial presidential role but also increased the army's influence and power as Nasution had wished for. Under this arrangement, regional commanders were able to interfere in civilian matters such as the economy and administrative matters. At the behest of Sukarno himself, the army also began participating in politics, filling in positions that ranged from cabinet ministers to provincial governors and even DPR members. In December 1957, Nasution further increased the army's role by ordering officers to take over the recently nationalised Dutch companies. Aside from increasing the army's role, this move was also designed to stop the influence of the increasingly powerful PKI. In 1958, Nasution made a speech that would become the basis for the Dwifungsi Doctrine which the Suharto regime would adopt. Speaking at Magelang in Central Java, Nasution declared that ABRI should adopt a "middle way in its approach to the nation. According to Nasution, ABRI should not be under the control of civilians. At the same time, ABRI should not dominate the nation in such a way that it became a military dictatorship. When the Dutch finally recognised Indonesia's independence, West Papua continued to be a Dutch colony. Sukarno did not give up and continued to push for it to be included as part of Indonesia through the United Nations and through the Bandung Conference, where the attending nations promised to support Indonesia's claim. The Dutch remained adamant and by 1960, Sukarno had run out of patience. In July, he met with his top advisors, including Nasution, and it was agreed that Indonesia would pursue a policy of confrontation against the Dutch on the matter of West Papua. As part of the preparation for this campaign, Nasution turned to Suharto, who had finished his Seskoad course in November 1960.

Suharto, now a brigadier general, was commissioned by Nasution to create a strategic force unit that would be on standby, ready to be called into action at any time. Suharto was placed in charge of this task force and in March 1961, the General Army Reserve (Caduad) was formed, with Suharto being appointed as its commander. Caduad would in 1963 change its name to the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad). At the beginning of 1962, Nasution and Yani were the overall commanders of the so-called Liberation of West Irian, with Suharto stationed in east Indonesia as the field commander.

Rivalry with the Communists

thumb|Nasution in uniform, c. 1960

Around this time, Sukarno had begun to see the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) instead of the army as his main political ally. Although he had set Indonesia on a non-aligned course during the Cold War, the revelation that the PRRI was assisted by the United States, caused Sukarno to adopt an anti-American stance. In this, he had the PKI as a natural ally. For the PKI, an alliance with Sukarno would only add to its political momentum as its influence continued to grow in Indonesian politics. Nasution was wary of the PKI's influence over Sukarno and in turn, Sukarno was aware that Nasution was not happy about the PKI's influence and made a move to weaken his power. In July 1962, Sukarno reorganised the structure of ABRI. The status of the heads of the Armed Forces branches would now be upgraded from chief of staff to commander. As commanders, the heads of the armed forces branches would have more power and would answer only to Sukarno as the Supreme Commander of ABRI.

Assisting Sukarno as supreme commander of ABRI would be an ABRI chief of staff. Sukarno appointed Nasution to the position of ABRI chief of staff a rank that he shared with Suharto and Sudirman.

Death

Nasution died on 6 September 2000 in Jakarta after suffering a stroke and going into a coma. He was buried at the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery, South Jakarta.

Family

thumb|AH Nasution with his family in 1965

Nasution was married to Johanna Sunarti (1 November 1923 – 20 March 2010), a Surabaya-born humanitarian, with whom he had two daughters, Hendriyanti Sahara (24 February 1952 – 18 June 2021) and Ade Irma Suryani.

Miscellaneous

Umar Wirahadikusumah served as Nasution's adjutant from 1946 to 1947.

The former residence of Nasution at Jl Teuku Umar No 40, Menteng, in central Jakarta has been converted into a museum.

Honours

As an officer in the Indonesian Army (1945–1971), and then as Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (1966–1972), he received several Star Decorations, namely:

National honours

70px Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 2nd Class () (26 September 1997)
70px Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 3rd Class () (10 January 1963)
70px Star of Mahaputera, 2nd Class () (1961)

Cited sources

External links

Abdul Haris Nasution profile on Tokohindonesia.com