30 Facts About Ali Murtopo

Ali Murtopo was a prominent Indonesian general and political figure during the first half of General Suharto's New Order regime.

Ali Murtopo was born on 23 September 1924 in Kebumen, Central Java and received his education in Central Java and West Java.

Ali Murtopo met his wife, Wastoeti, in Yogyakarta and they were married in May 1956.

However, somewhat different versions of the past of Ali Murtopo came from general Sumitro, and Wadyono, 17th Regiment of TKR army commander.

In 1952, Ali Murtopo became a company Commander in Ahmad Yani's Banteng Raiders, an elite group of soldiers formed to chase away the remnants of the Darul Islam movement.

In 1956, whilst still in command of his Banteng Raider unit, Ali Murtopo was involved in the lobbying to decide who should become the Commander of the 4th Military Territory Diponegoro, which supervised the security of the Provinces of Central Java and Yogyakarta.

In 1959, Ali Murtopo took part in the fighting against the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia, a rebel group from Sumatra.

Ali Murtopo was sent to fight in Sumatra as a Regimental Chief of Staff with Yoga as the Regiment Commander.

Ali Murtopo received the position of Assistant to the Caduad Chief of Staff.

Ali Murtopo conveyed Suharto's warning that the Battalion had until 6 pm to surrender but ultimately failed to convince them.

When Suharto was appointed Commander of the Army, Ali Murtopo became part of Suharto's personal staff and together with Yoga who looked after intelligence matters.

Ali Murtopo was by Suharto's side as the latter began his rise to power.

In early 1966, as the Army encouraged student protesters to demonstrate against President Sukarno, Ali Murtopo played his part by assigning Kostrad troops to protect the protesters from troops loyal to the President.

Ali Murtopo laid the groundwork for the rapprochement before official diplomacy was undertaken by Minister of Foreign Affairs Adam Malik.

In 1967, Ali Murtopo became the Deputy Head of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency but his real power was derived from his positions as a member of the President's team of Personal Assistants and as the Head of Opsus.

In 1969, together with Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, Ali Murtopo was assigned by Suharto to make sure that the people of Papua voted for integration with Indonesia in the Act of Free Choice.

In ensuring this, Ali Murtopo's focus was the Act of Free Choice Consultative Council, a group of 1,025 Papuans who will vote on behalf of the whole West Irian population.

Ali Murtopo took measures to further strengthen the position of the New Order regime.

In 1970, Ali Murtopo actively interfered in the internal affairs of the Indonesian National Party and the Indonesian Muslim Party.

In both cases, Ali Murtopo interfered to make sure that the leadership of both parties were not hostile towards Suharto's government.

In 1971, Ali Murtopo popularized the concept of the "floating mass" which sought to depoliticize Indonesian society and cut down on the influence of political parties.

Ali Murtopo did so by laying down a party platform based on development, stability, order, and unity to attract voters.

Ali Murtopo was unpopular amongst some colleagues for using his access to Suharto to erode their influence.

On one side was Ali Murtopo, who advocated the military's continuing involvement with politics.

Ali Murtopo did not take action against the criticism and dissent directed at the regime although it was well within his brief to do so.

Ali Murtopo was however still loyal to Suharto and in turn, Suharto still had confidence in him.

Ali Murtopo was part of the diplomacy, being sent as a special envoy to Portugal to gauge the opinion of East Timor's then colonial rulers and give a warning to the East Timorese in August 1975 that Indonesia would not tolerate an independent East Timor under the government of Fretilin.

In 1977, Ali Murtopo was plagued by health problems but nevertheless he still had ambitions for the future; hoping that he would either be made the Head of Bakin or become the Minister of Home Affairs.

Ali Murtopo got neither position, being named instead in 1978 as the Minister of Information in the Third Development Cabinet.

Ali Murtopo was buried at the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery in Jakarta.