Refleksi: Tidak mengherankan bila DPR melarang buku "The Legacy of Ashes", karena sesuai dengan fungsinya sebagai Dewn Penipu Rakyat (DPR), maka tentunya mereka tidak mau supaya rakyat mengetahui rahasia umum.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/11/24/house-wants-cia-book-banned.html House wants CIA book banned The Jakarta Post | Mon, 11/24/2008 4:47 PM | National House Speaker Agung Laksono on Monday said he had requested the Attorney General's Office (AGO) ban a recently published translation of a book on CIA history, which claims an important Indonesian figure was a CIA agent. "We have entrusted the matter to the AGO," he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com. The book, titled Legacy of ashes, the history of the CIA and written by New York Times journalist Tim Weiner, discusses CIA history in relation to international political events including the bloody political situation in Indonesia of 1965. Weiner quoted former CIA top agent Clyde McAvoy saying "Adam Malik was a CIA agent in 1964". Malik was Indonesia's top diplomat and served as the country's vice president from 1978 to 1983. Separately on Monday, AGO spokesman Jasman Panjaitan said his office was still analyzing the book and had yet to decide whether to ban it. "Our Social-Political Affairs Directorate is studying the book. We are looking into the substance of the book, and have yet to summon its writer," he said. Jasman, however, said Malik's family could file a complaint over the book if they felt slandered. (anb/ewd) Comments (8) | Post comment A | A | A | | | | | | Rabin Dranir (not verified) - Fri, 11/28/2008 - 5:28pm Excuse me, but isn't it a cool thing if you join CIA? what's with all the fuss? Lynda (not verified) - Thu, 11/27/2008 - 1:36pm Umm, great, just like when Soeharto banned Adam Schwartz "The Nation in Waiting" back in '80s-'90s. I remember feverishly finally securing a copy during my time overseas, and after reading it I went "Meh?" out of confusion of what the fuss had been all about. That book is now widely sold in Indonesia and no revolution has been inspired by it. Adam Malik's family reserves the rights to sue for defamation. But banning the public to read and subjectively think for themselves is equal to dumbing the nation -- 'pembodohan bangsa'. Adamsen (not verified) - Wed, 11/26/2008 - 1:43am I agree with all comments prior to mine. Everybody knows that the Coup led by Suharto had CIA links. I am surprised that Suharto himself was not mentioned in the book? I think the GOI still has the paranoia? Sledet (not verified) - Tue, 11/25/2008 - 9:51am A democratic system does not ban on books. What message will we send to the world and to our own people? Malik's family can sue Weiner, for that matter, and the government should not ban his book or any books based on fear that the family will do just that. If the government needs something to do, why not chase the patented Indonesian folk songs by the Malaysian? Rafiq Mahmood, Bogor (not verified) - Tue, 11/25/2008 - 9:08am Excellent. The author will be pleased. Nothing is better to boost sales than by banning something. I hardly think that the CIA's and MI6's engineering of the Soeharto coup and their accompanying death lists something to pretend didn't happen any more. If someone thinks he has been libelled by the book sue in the courts where it is published. Surely nothing to worry about now, though: few people who survived those dark times have their hands clean. If anyone wants to hush up what the CIA did then it is surely the CIA themselves? Why do their work for them and be more enthusiastic they they are? Don't be silly. Nairdah (not verified) - Mon, 11/24/2008 - 11:35pm Note the name of the book. The History of the CIA. It is a global topic, not a book on Indonesia. The book is already published and selling like fresh cooked sate. Yes, there is a mention of Adam Malik. But the book contains other more serious aspects of Indonesian history that has been kept from Indonesians for decades. Indonesians are entitled to find out for themselves. The rest of the world already knows. Please don't ban a comprehensive history of the CIA just because there is a short section on Indonesia you don't agree with. And as for summoning the writer..... He is probably too busy doing book signings and media interviews. Nairdah (not verified) - Mon, 11/24/2008 - 11:17pm I think after all those decades of censorship of history by Soeharto, Indonesians don't need another Big Brother after the style of Soviet Russia or Maoist China to tell them what they can read or not read. Eventually the facts will be flushed out. And banned books. Why is the automatic reaction of our politicians in Indonesia to ban anything they fear or dislike - the clothes that people wear, the movies they see, the books they can read,......the things they are allowed to think. Like the recent police decision to ban a movie even before it was filmed! Fear of the unknown is a powerful force in closed minds. Time to show some maturity and recognise that Indonesia is (still) a free and democratic country. If the Malik family feel an injustice, defamation, libel etc. they have a legal recourse. How one family might feel is surely not a good enough reason to block 100 million people from reading the book. But not to worry; if the book is banned I am sure that will attract greater readership be it from Singapore bookshops, the Internet or even local entrepeneurial book pirates. Banning books does not work in the modern world so lets have a read and we can be the judges. I am off to the bookshop now...... Alan (not verified) - Mon, 11/24/2008 - 8:53pm Why should this be banned? What happened to reformation and democracy? What are they afraid of. It's hardly a secret outside RI that the Suharto administration had CIA links. I'm sure the writer will be amused to know he might be 'summoned'.
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