oleh Oei Tjoe Tat, Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Editor), Stanley Adi Prasetyo (Editor)
Hasta Mitra April 1995
Non-conformist memoirs – Reviewed by a Melbourne correspondent. (Inside Indonesia)
Memoar Oei Tjoe Tat, Pembantu Presiden Soekarno does not offer an analysis of Indonesian political history. Rather it is a recollection of events and impressions from a man who was, in various capacities, caught up in the flow. It does offer an insight into the activities of Indonesia’s Chinese community pre-1965 in trying to establish themselves as an influential part of the community in Indonesia. It also illustrates the internal functioning of Indonesia’s Old Order government shortly before and after the coup, as well as the New Order government’s strategies in dealing with those it considered a threat. And Oei offers a revealing insight into the personalities of senior government officials such as Sukarno, Suharto, Nyoto, Chaerul Saleh, and Subandrio, as well as the PKI leader Aidit.
Hopefully this memoir will provide the impetus for other Indonesians to relate their experiences during the 1965 coup and its aftermath. This will allow the next generation to have a fuller understanding of what actually did occur during this controversial period, before those who played key roles in the events pass on.
The book is useful in many ways. It provides a picture of Indonesian politics in the fifties and sixties, seen through the eyes of somebody who was close to President Sukarno. It is a useful contribution to contemporary history, in particular for the young generation who have had the official version of the period stuffed into them by the Orde Baru.
It gives a fascinating account of political imprisonment during the Suharto era, as one of many hundreds of thousands of voiceless people. Arrested in March 1966, Oei Tjoe Tat was luckier than most. As a former cabinet minister, he was given VIP treatment and spent most of his time in Nirbaya, a special prison, together with former Foreign Minister Subandrio, Air Marshal Omar Dhani and others. Oei was also ‘fortunate’ to have been put on trial; hundreds of thousands were imprisoned for almost two decades without charge. Oei was tried in 1976, ten years after his arrest and got a 13-year sentence. Described vividly, the trial was typical of political trials under the Orde Baru, a travesty of justice in all respect. He was finally released after serving 11 years and 10 months.
Memoar Oei Tjoe Tat – Handoko Widagdo
Keteguhan sikap dan keberanian berkorban membawa Oei Tjoe Tat harus tinggal di penjara dalam waktu yang sangat lama.
Kadang seseorang terbawa ke sebuah nasib yang mengasyikkan tetapi sekaligus memilukan. Milan Kundera mengatakan bahwa orang bisa bertahan mengikuti nasib karena ia jatuh cinta kepada nasibnya, bukan kepada dirinya sendiri. Begitulah kira-kira perjalanan hidup Oei Tjoe Tat. Seorang Sukarnois asal Solo yang bertahan pada pilihan hidup dan tidak memilih untuk mengingkarinya. Meski kesempatan untuk hidup enak dengan cara melakukan kebohongan dalam sidang yang ditawarkan. Ia tetap menolak menyatakan Sukarno sudah tahu sebelum peristiwa G 30 S, karena ia sangat yakin bahwa Sukarno tidak tahu. Meski pilihannya itu membuat ia berada di penjara tanpa persidangan dalam waktu hampir 12 tahun.
Memoar Pembantu Presiden Sukarno Bernama Oei Tjoe Tat – Roso Daras
“Saya panggil Mr. Oei untuk diangkat menjadi Menteri yang akan membantu Presiden dan Presidium (Dr. Subandrio, Dr. Leimena, dan Chaerul Saleh). Bagaimana?” Oei Tjoe Tat menjawab polos, “Mengagetkan, tak perah say impikan dan inginkan.”
Rupanya Bung Karno tidak berkenan dengan jawaban itu, sehingga memberondong Oei dengan pertanyaan yang bertujuan menguji loyalitasnya sebagai kader Partindo, ketaatannya kepada Presiden Republik Indonesia dan Pemimpin Besar Revolusi, dan sebagainya, dan sebagainya. Oei Tjoe Tat pun akhirnya menerima baik pengangkatan itu. Apalagi setelah Bung Karno dengan suara berat berkata, “Sayalah yang menentukan kapan Bangsa, Negara, dan Revolusi memerlukan Saudara, bukan Saudara sendiri.”
“I’m old now and will die some day. But people encouraged me to write my personal experience,” said Oei Tjoe Tat, a former minister to the late Indonesian President Sukarno, adding that Catholic priest Y.B. Mangunwijaya and Moslem leader Abdurrahman Wahid, two of the most influential religious leaders in Indonesia, also asked him to write the extraordinary story of his role in Indonesian history.
“They argued that it is not my own personal story. It belongs to the nation-state of Indonesia,” said the sad-eyed Oei, looking on life a little more brightly as he sat surrounded by his wife, his children, his grandchildren and more than 1,500 guests, comprised mostly of opposition political figures, human rights workers and scholars.
His final wish was fulfilled on that day. His biography, entitled Memoir of Oei Tjoe Tat: An Assistant to President Sukarno, had 20,000 copies in print. The 400-page biography was jointly edited by Indonesia’s number one novelist, Pramudya Ananta Toer, and young journalist Stanley Prasetyo Adi. Literary observers praised the memoir, saying that it is a well written biography — a rare commodity in Indonesia.
selengkapnya For Indonesia’s Oei Tjoe Tat, Memoirs Are an Epitaph – Andreas Harsono
simak pula kompilasi
simak pula 1700 ‘entry’ lainnya pada link berikut
Daftar Isi Perpustakaan Genosida 1965-1966
Road to Justice : State Crimes after Oct 1st 1965 (Jakartanicus)
Perpustakaan Online Genosida 1965-1966 