Indonesia names 19 new national heroes as part of this year’s Heroes’ Day commemorations, the government announced in Jakarta.
Indonesia names 19 new national heroes: who is on the list
State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi confirmed that Indonesia names 19 new national heroes at the Presidential Palace ahead of the 10 November ceremony. Among the names made public are Hoegeng Imam Santoso, the former national police chief remembered as a byword for integrity, Ali Sastroamidjojo, a prime minister of the founding era who twice led the government in the 1950s, and retired general Muhammad Jusuf, a senior figure of the early New Order period.
Indonesia names 19 new national heroes: how titles are proposed and approved
The recipients come from different regions and walks of life, reflecting an effort to spread the honour beyond Java and beyond the military. According to the government, the list through which Indonesia names 19 new national heroes is the end product of a multi stage process that begins with proposals from the regions and closes with final validation by the Council for Titles, Decorations and Honours, the body that advises the president on state awards.
Families of the recipients are traditionally invited to the State Palace to receive the honour on their behalf when Indonesia names 19 new national heroes, and the titles carry a formal place in state protocol and public commemoration.
Heroes’ Day, observed every 10 November, marks the 1945 Battle of Surabaya, when Indonesian fighters resisted returning colonial forces in one of the defining episodes of the independence struggle. The annual conferral of hero titles is the ceremonial centrepiece of the day, and the names chosen are read as a statement about which values the state wants to celebrate.
This year’s selection carries a particular resonance. Honouring Hoegeng, whose reputation for refusing bribes has made him a folk symbol of clean policing, speaks to a public long frustrated by corruption. Recognising founding generation leaders such as Ali Sastroamidjojo reaches back to the republic’s parliamentary beginnings. In a country still arguing over how to remember its authoritarian decades, the 2026 list, in which Indonesia names 19 new national heroes, leans toward probity and the founders, a careful act of national memory as much as a ceremony.
Source: ANTARA