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The New Order Story [7] Yellow Tile, "Kuningisasi" Means Yellowization

Selasa, 2 Maret 2021, 17:13 WIB

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The New Order Story [7] Yellow Tile, "Kuningisasi" Means Yellowization

Genteng kuning (Foto: arafuru.com)

Pepih Nugraha

Penulis senior

It was the imminent instinct of defeat that made Golongan Karya ahead of the 1997 Election make a unique breakthrough: asking for the roof tiles of Golkar sympathizers to be painted yellow, according to the color of Golkar, which at that time refused to be called a political party.

What ordered, of course, that the General Chairperson of Golkar, namely Harmoko, was also Minister of Information, known for his legendary narrative, "According to the instructions of the President ..."

The President here is of course Suharto, the ruler of the New Order who ruled for 32 years without interruption. Golkar itself was Suharto's creation, the vehicle for him to rule. Apart from Golkar, other forces are the Military and the Bureaucracy. These three pillars are truly awesome.

The ripple of resistance against the New Order has emerged with Megawati Soekarnoputri's refusal to submit to Suharto's hands. The PDI was taken by "trio pirates" (sounds like triumvirate) Soerjadi-Fatimah Achmad-Buttu Hutapea. Megawati and her loyalists were temporarily eliminated.

So, in the 1997 General Election without the order that the house roof tiles must be painted yellow, Golkar will definitely win, but Megawati's PDI power is gone. There is Soerjadi's "Puppet PDI". However, during the New Order era, the roof tiles belonging to Golkar sympathizers and functionaries had to be painted Golkar yellow.

The color of the tiles is brick red, moss green, or even black. Yellow? Very rare, but it becomes a cuteness in itself.

Especially in Central Java which is a Banteng base, from the plane before landing in Semarang or Solo, for example, a row of Golkar yellow house tiles can be seen. Not beautiful, it makes a wry smile. But not for Harmoko, "Isn't it beautiful?" he said.

But that's the New Order with Golkar as one of the instruments of its power, anything can be done, including funny ones.

Uniquely, two years later, when the 1999 General Election was suddenly accelerated, there were no Golkar functionaries and sympathizers who painted the roof tiles of their houses with a striking yellow color. They felt that they feared the arrival of a new political force called the PDI-P under Megawati's leadership.

Yes, Soekarno's biological son has "come back" after Suharto declared his resignation on May 21, 1998.

But Golkar's yellow painted house tile should be noted as part of historical humor, it's not important to remember.

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