Goodbye to a tough general and intellectual
IO – The people and the Indonesian National Army are grieving. Lt. Gen. (Ret) Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo died on Saturday 16 January at the Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital, Jakarta, at the age of 93.
Born in Bojonegoro, East Java on September 21, 1927, Sayidiman was one of the best graduates of the Yogyakarta Military Academy in 1948 and is known to have extensive experience, knowledge, and concern in various fields, especially in the fields of military, politics, and diplomacy, due to the progress and assignments he carried out since he was young, starting from participating in the War of Independence, participating in various operations to overcome domestic security problems, such as Darul Islam, PRRI/Permesta, and G30S, to assignments outside the military field.
During his career in the Indonesian National Armed Forces, he attended various military education sessions, both at home and abroad. Among others: Preparation Course Hogere Krijgsschool, Company Officers Course, Infantry School in the US, Military Teacher Education Course, Bandung, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Bandung, Sprachenschule der Bundeswehr, Germany, Fuehrungs Akademie der Bundeswehr, Germany, and International Defense Management, Naval Postgraduate School, USA.
Sayidiman served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army from 1973-1974. After that, he was appointed Governor of the National Defense Institute (Lemhanas) in 1974-1978. A year later he became the Indonesian Ambassador to Japan.
Sayidiman is known as a figure who always puts forward the closeness of soldiers to the people while emphasizing the professionalism of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. “He was a tough thinker. His passing is a big loss for the Indonesian nation,” said Lt. Gen. (Ret) Kiki Syahnakri, chairman of the Indonesian Army Retired Association.
Kiki thinks Sayidiman is a true warrior. Starting from joining the war for independence, working as an active military officer until his retirement, Sayidiman was still trying to transmit the values of the struggle.
Several books have been written by Sayidiman. Among them are “Infantry Tactics and Techniques (translation work, 1954)”, “Pancasila, Islam, and ABRI (1992)”, Sayidiman’s Collected Writings-in English, Dutch, & Deutsch (2014), and “Pancasila Society” (2019). No wonder he was known as an intellectual general.
The deceased was also entrusted to be a member of the Central Board of Experts for the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI) (1990-1995) and Deputy Chair of the Central ICMI Advisory Board (1995-2000). He also served as a lecturer at various educational institutions such as the Army Command Staff School, the Naval Command Staff School, the Indonesian Armed Forces Command Staff School, Lemhanas, the Indonesian Bankers Institute, and Muhammadiyah University. Also, at the National Military Academy, Department of Engineering, Advanced Army Officer Course, School of Foreign Affairs, and the Postgraduate Faculty of the University of Indonesia for the National Defense Program and the Japanese Studies Program.
He also paid attention to the world of sports by becoming Chairman of the Central Board of the Indonesian Athletics Association in 1976 and Chairman of the Indonesian National Sports Committee at the Regional Center in 1977.
Rest in peace, General. Thank you for all your service to the nation. (rp)