33 Facts About Soetran

Soetran was an Indonesian military officer and politician who served as the Regent of Trenggalek from 1968 until 1975 and as the Governor of Irian Jaya from 1975 to 1981.

Soetran joined the Defenders of the Homeland in 1942 with the rank of budancho.

Soetran was later transferred to Merauke and Trenggalek as a commander.

Soetran managed to transform the region into a center of clove production.

Soetran enacted the tembokisasi and reforestation in the region in an attempt to increase the standards of living.

Soetran was elected to a second term in 1973, and the region received an award as the best-performing region in 1974.

Soetran ended his term in 1981, four months longer than scheduled.

Soetran was born on 5 April 1921 in Cangkring Village, a small village in Sidoarjo, East Java, to a working-class family.

In 1942, following the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Soetran joined the Defenders of the Homeland organization, a volunteer army organization formed by the Japanese.

Soetran then enrolled in several other military education programs, such as Preparation Course for Officers in 1956 and Advanced Officers Course in 1957.

In 1958, Soetran served as the Deputy Commander of the 511th Infantry Battalion with the rank of First Lieutenant, and he was promoted four years later to the rank of Captain and became the battalion's commander.

In 1980, at the end of his term as the Governor of Irian Jaya, Soetran was promoted from colonel to brigadier general.

On 3 October 1968, Soetran was inaugurated as the Regent of Trenggalek, replacing Moeladi.

Slowly, Soetran began to oblige Trenggalek's populace to cultivate clove.

Soetran attempted to improve this problem by initiating the Tembokisasi program which aimed at remodeling Trenggalek's cityscape.

Soetran instructed the populace to "not leave any patch of land uncultivated".

In 1971, under the pretext of embellishing the stereotype of the region, Soetran proposed to change the name of Trenggalek to Trenggalih.

Soetran planned to change the name of Trenggalek, which was frequently mocked by Javanese speakers as the abbreviation of terang enggone wong elek to Trenggalih, with its abbreviation Terang Ing Galih.

However, Soetran continued with his plan, and in the same year, he formed a team to investigate the beginnings of Trenggalek, the first appearance of its name, and the possibility to rename the regency in relation to the first appearance.

In 1975, at the end of his term, Soetran increased the size of the team.

The project continued several years after Soetran left the regency.

The government of Trenggalek honored Soetran by creating the Soetran Award.

Soetran was inaugurated as the acting governor of Irian Jaya on 31 April 1975, replacing Acub Zainal.

Soetran's term was intended to end on 4 September 1980, but due to the lack of replacement, his term was extended for another four months until 20 January 1981.

On 20 May 1975, Soetran declared the Obligatory Clove Cultivation program.

Soetran argued that the program would contribute significantly to Irian Jaya's regional income and increase development in the region.

Under his decree, Soetran obliged all families in Irian Jaya to cultivate cloves in their backyard.

Several days after the program had begun, Soetran requested funding from the then-President of Indonesia, Suharto.

Soetran's request was fulfilled after Suharto lent 250 million rupiahs for the project on 20 November 1975, with 50 million rupiahs being given in the first year.

Soetran planned to spend 35 million rupiahs to buy clove seeds from Trenggalek.

Soetran stated that people were more reluctant to cultivate and market the harvested cloves due to the lack of education regarding the benefits of clove cultivation.

Soetran established the Father's Rotating Savings and Credit Association in his community.

Soetran was buried two days after his death at the Dukuh Kupang Heroes' Cemetery in a military ceremony led by the Governor of East Java Wahono.