Lieutenant General (Ret.)Agus Wirahadikusumah (October 17, 1951 – August 30, 2001), was a high-rankingIndonesian military officer and commander ofKostrad, the Indonesian Army Strategic Reserve Command.
Wirahadikusumah was a graduate of the Indonesian military academy in 1973. He studied at institutions in theUnited States as well, includingHarvard University (John F. Kennedy School of Government). In the last years of the 20th century, he became Head of the Planning Directorate in the Armed Forces Headquarters of Indonesia.
After the resignation ofSuharto, Wirahadikusumah emerged as a reformer in the ranks of the armed forces. By 1998, he was, as a Major General, posted at Armed Forces Headquarters where he held the position of staff officer on the Armed Forces' Commander's Staff in charge of political affairs and security. In the same year, he called for the Indonesian military to stop their involvement in political affairs and for the army to become a professional defence force instead.
In January 1999, Major-General Agus Wirahadikusumah, who by now was Chief of the Army Staff and Command School, became the Assistant for General Planning to the Armed Forces Commander.
In 2000, PresidentAbdurrahman Wahid appointed him Commander of the Strategic Reserve ForcesKostrad. He served in this position from 29 March 2000 to 1 August 2000. Wirahadikusumah supported Wahid's decisions, including that of dismissing GeneralWiranto as security minister. Wiranto referred to him as a "bad apple".
While Wirahadikusumah was popular with ordinary soldiers, he also created enemies for himself, as he took up the fight against corruption within Kostrad. As a consequence of these activities, he was dismissed from his post as Commander of Kostrad in summer 2000. However, according to Umar Wirahadikusumah, his uncle, the post of Chief of theIndonesian Military (TNI) had been offered to Agus Wirahadikusumah on 23 July 2001.
On 30 August 2001, Wirahadikusumah was brought intoPertamina Central Hospital inSouth Jakarta at 06:19. A hospital employee stated that he was already dead when he was brought in, that the cause of death was unknown and that no autopsy had been conducted. According toThe Jakarta Post, the probable cause of death washeart failure. However, some people alleged that he might have been assassinated,[1] due to his reformist stance and for uncovering 189 billion rupiah corruption scandal in Yayasan Dharma Putra Kostrad, a military owned charity organization.[2] His body then buried inKalibata Heroes' Cemetery,Jakarta.
Apart from military affairs, Wirahadikusumah was also interested in sports and was Deputy Chairman of theBadminton Association ofIndonesia. In this function he was instrumental in the 1998 plan to bring about meetings between former Indonesian Badminton champions (such asTan Joe Hok) and their successors to share their experiences and make them better prepared for upcoming tournaments. In 1998, he was Manager of the IndonesianThomas Cup team which won the Cup that year. Wirahadikusumah was awarded the Satya Kebudayaan Medal for this achievement by the Indonesian PresidentHabibie on 9 September 1998.
Wirahadikusumah is a nephew ofUmar Wirahadikusumah, a formerVice President of Indonesia and also a formerKostrad Commander.
Agus Wirahadikusumah married to Tri Rachmaningish. They had two children: a son, Yunan Mahastra Satria (born 22 June 1977) and a daughter, Diyah Gustinar Savitri (born 14 July 1975).
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| Preceded by | Commanders ofKostrad 29 March 2000 – 1 August 2000 | Succeeded by |
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