Legend of Habie, Putra Sulbar Claimed by BJ Habibie

Majene, Sulbarkita.com -- The anxiety of the late Baharuddin Jusuf Habibie has often been a topic of discussion among the people of the country since his first appearance as one of the sons who made Indonesia proud in the international arena.

Even some parents expect their children to be as smart as the third president of Indonesia. Maybe this hope later became a legend in folklore in a number of areas, one of which is in West Sulawesi.

It is said that in the mid 60's, stories developed about the figure of a missing child named Habie. They suspected that Habie was Habibie, who at that time had become the boss of a research institute in Germany.

"Puaq Kacoq, a Mage (old name of an area around Pamboborang, Majene), used to tell me that Habie was kidnapped by the Dutch when he was a child," said Sahari, 74, a resident of Sendana Subdistrict, Majene Regency.

According to Sahari, Habie, who was only around 6 years old, disappeared while she was looking for animal feed. He was allegedly kidnapped and sent to school by the Dutch because Habie was known to be a smart child, far above the average of his peers.

When BJ Habibie's name appeared to the public, said Sahari, many thought he was an adult Habie. Moreover, both came from South Sulawesi (Majene was still a region of South Sulawesi at that time).

The curiosity of the Majene people was getting stronger when Habibie, who had been the Minister of Research and Technology of the Soeharto era, visited Majene around 1983. "Many people want to see Habibie directly to ascertain whether he is indeed Habie or not," he said.

Sahari, who was also curious, immediately went to the place of Habibie's visit in Majene. Sahari said he was surprised to see Habibie's face, "I was surprised because it turned out that he was very similar to Pua 'Mamba," said Sahari.

Sahari said Pua 'Mamba was a resident of Binanga, Sendana Subdistrict, who was the older brother of Habie, a child kidnapped by the Dutch. The same legend has also been heard by Hanapi, Head of Totolisi Hamlet.

He claimed to have heard from his parents that Habibie was Habie, who was the real sister of Pua' Mamba. "So the old people used to say, Habibie was Habie. While his first name BJ stands for Balasse John. Balasse is Habie's father and John was given by a Dutch soldier who kidnapped him," Hanapi said at his residence on Wednesday, September 18, 2019.

But Hanapi rate it is part of folklore. It is well known to the public that BJ Habibie is a big Bugis son in Gorontalo. His parents are Alwi Abdul Jalil Habibie and his mother RA Tuti Marini.

Haslan Syahril