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At 10 pm when I was reading a novel about love, the hunger in my stomach suddenly came over. I forgot that I haven't eaten since this afternoon. Immediately I closed the book and went to a mini-market to buy a packet of noodles and an egg for me to eat. On the way home, I saw a friend walking, I approached him and he invited me to stop by his house. While in his room, I saw a large poster with a picture of Soe Hok Gie. It seems my friend is a person who is influenced by the thoughts of a demonstrator in the past.
Soe Hok Gie was indeed a demonstrator figure in the past who influenced many students today. I also admired his critical thinking at that time. Maybe the readers here have never heard of his name. Ok, I'll introduce Who Soe Hok Gie was and what his influence was in the past.
A Brief About Soe Hok Gie
He was a student at the University of Indonesia in 1966 as well as an activist who tried to destroy the power of the old order led by President Soekarno. According to him, the government at that time had failed in carrying out its duties and policies that were never in favour of the people. Soe Hok Gie is a very idealistic and visionary student. Since childhood Soe Hok Gie was very fond of reading, he often visited public libraries and reading parks on the roadside of Jakarta.
Soe Hok Gie used his writing skills to criticize the Old Order government so that the writing succeeded in moving the enthusiasm and unity of the students in carrying out social protest movements through large demonstrations. Soe Hok Gie also carried out an underground movement in carrying out his actions through collaboration with several parties including Ampera radio and high-ranking officers from members of the army to smoothen student actions. Soe Hok Gie had an important role in the student movement in carrying out social protests in the transition of the Old Order government to the New Order. From the figure of Soe Hok Gie, we can learn how active young people are to make changes for the better, and use their ideals to try to humanize humans.
Not only that, but Soe Hok Gie also remains critical of what happened during the New Order era, he argues that freedom of thought at that time was severely restricted by the government in power under the Suharto regime. Soe Hok Gie has a very strong attitude in holding firm to his stance. Seen when his contemporaries flocked to become members of the DPR at that time, Soe Hok Gie chose not to join because he thought that the best way to monitor the government was to not join the government itself and be shackled in a system that he considered as a vicious circle. Once upon a time, Soe Hok Gie sent a gift to his friends who are members of the DPR containing lipstick and powder. Where it was a satire for his friends who were in the DPR Building because they forgot the interests of the community at that time and were stuck with power.
Soe Hok Gie is an idealistic and humanist figure, who dreams of an ideal life and is very difficult to compromise with many parties who are not in line with him. Soe Hok Gie thinks that allowing a mistake is a crime. That was the guideline for Soe Hok Gie to continue protesting the injustices that had occurred and gave birth to a strong demonstrator. Soe Hok Gie was an idealistic minded person and firmly adhered to the value of truth until the end of his life. Soe Hok Gie died on Mount Semeru, he was a nature lover and one of the founders of the MAPALA UI organization. Soe Hok Gie died in 1969 after which his diary was recorded and titled the record of a demonstrator.
That is why many of my friends who are still students are very active as rebels and demonstrators who are influenced by the ideas of one of their role models, namely Soe Hok Gie. I admire Soe Hok Gie because he has high human values. As the closing of this article, there is a hopeful quote that Soe Hok Gie once wrote in his notebook, namely:
“I dream of a world where scholars, workers, and youth rise and say, “stop all the hypocrisy! Stop all killing in any name" and the politicians in the United Nations, busy arranging the lifting of wheat, milk and rice for hungry children on 3 continents, and forget about diplomacy.
No more hatred towards anyone, any religion, any race, and any nation, and forget about war and hatred, and just be busy building a better world.”