12 Nominated Nation Heroes Clear Administrative Qualifications

Jakarta, Aug 21 (Antara) - Twelve of the 19 figures nominated as national heroes this year have cleared administrative qualifications, an official stated. The 12 figures, five of whom were nominated as national heroes last year, had been reviewed by a team," Director General of Social Empowerment and Poverty Eradication at the Social Service Ministry Hartono noted here on Thursday. The national hero title is conferred on Indonesian citizens who fought against the colonial rule or took heroic steps during his or her lifetime or made remarkable achievements for the development of the nation and state. The president usually awards national hero titles to the selected candidates ahead of the commemoration of Heroes Day, which falls on November 10. National heroes are picked through a stringent selection process, which entails administrative selection and discussion at the Board of Titles. A total of 147 men and 12 women have been deemed national heroes, most recently Rajiman Wediodiningrat of Yogyakarta, Lambertus Nicodemus Palar of North Sulawesi, and Tahi Bonar Simatupang of North Sumatra in 2013. The title was first awarded on August 30, 1959, to the politician turned writer Abdul Muis, who died last month.