Jakarta. Megawati Soekarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesia’s founding father Sukarno, expressed her gratitude to President Prabowo Subianto on Friday after the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) annulled a decree that linked Sukarno to the 1965 rebellion led by the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

The controversial decree, issued in 1967, alleged that Sukarno had supported the PKI uprising. The decree was repealed last September during the presidency of Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Sukarno’s children were formally notified during a ceremony held at the parliament building. Megawati, along with her siblings Guntur Soekarnoputra, Guruh Soekarnoputra, and Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, attended the event to receive the official notification from then-MPR Speaker Bambang Soesatyo.

"My gratitude to President Prabowo Subianto, who responded to a letter from the MPR leadership regarding the rehabilitation of Bung Karno's legacy as the founding president," Megawati said during an event commemorating the 52nd anniversary of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta.

She referred to her father by his popular nickname, Bung Karno.

Megawati noted that the Sukarno family had waited 57 years for the decree to be repealed, clearing her father of allegations that he had betrayed the nation.

"On behalf of Bung Karno's extended family and PDI-P members, I thank the MPR members of the 2019-2024 term for repealing the decree," Megawati said.

The Indonesian Communist Party was one of the largest communist parties outside the Soviet Union and China in the mid-20th century, boasting millions of members and supporters. However, its prominence ended abruptly after the failed coup attempt on September 30, 1965, widely known as the G30S/PKI incident.

The coup led to the assassination of six senior Army generals and was blamed on the PKI by military forces under the leadership of Major General Soeharto. This resulted in a violent anti-communist purge, during which hundreds of thousands of suspected PKI members and sympathizers were killed, and the party was outlawed in 1966.

The PKI’s alleged connection to Sukarno, who was perceived to have tolerated their influence, led to his political downfall. Sukarno was forced to relinquish power in 1967 and spent the rest of his life under house arrest until his death in 1970.

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