Public Perception of Soeharto Is Heavily Influenced by History Books

President Prabowo Subianto bestowed the title of "national hero" upon 10 figures on Monday (10/11/2025).

One of these figures is Indonesia's Second President, Soeharto, who was designated a hero in the field of struggle.

According to a KedaiKOPI survey, 80.7% of Indonesian respondents support Soeharto becoming a national hero, while only 15.7% oppose it.

KedaiKOPI also found that respondents' views on Soeharto are generally most influenced by information from historical/academic books (24.7%), as well as formal school/university education curricula (21.7%).

A small portion obtained information from testimonies of families/victims of the Soeharto government's policies (19.6%), as well as discussions or information on social media and the internet (17.2%).

Only a small number of respondents also received information about Soeharto from mass media or mainstream news (16.8%).

KedaiKOPI conducted this survey on 1,213 respondents spread across urban and rural areas of Indonesia.

Data collection was carried out from 5-7 November 2025 using the online-computerized assisted self-interview (CASI) method.

The respondents were predominantly millennials (29-44 years old) at 45.3%, Generation X (45-60 years old) at 38.4%, and Generation Z (17-28 years old) at 16.3%.

The majority of respondents were high school graduates/equivalent (47.1%) and bachelor's/D4 degree holders (31.7%).