He was "the accidental President" but he arguably will be remembered not for how he became the 4th leader of the Republic but for the freedoms he unleashed in his short and interrupted two years tenure.
He was the "compromised candidate" that the 1999 election can agree with, and the parliament gave him a rough ride when it became clear that Gus Dur is anything but compromise. Everything about him is unconventional from his inauguration (his aide-de-camp whispered the oath of office, because he was probably half blind) to his administration (he fired and rotate cabinet ministers, including a certain Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who is accused of treason).
Because of his special needs, for some he is an embarassing embodiment of the presidency. Not surprisingly some people tried to take advantage of him resulting in the so-called Buloggate. Some of his less than traditional appointments of cabinet ministers were. attributed to the groups of hangers on around him.
But people loved him. Reporters who knew he had a fondness of making hyperbolic remarks after the weekly Friday prayers (The Indonesian stockmarket nervously await his comments every week making faint-hearted investors staying away). Indonesians of chinese descent were given their long deserved official recognition during his administration.
Indonesians of a certain age knew of him when he became the head of the Nahdhatul Ulama. This no small feat although it is an organization long dominated by his family (both his grandfather and father had been founder and heads respectively). His fame also reached unusual quarters. It is believed that he was the inspiration behind the character of an Indonesian president in NBC's " The West Wing", a drama series about an American presidency (curiously the character is named "Bambang").
He was a president of unrivalled source of one-liners for foes and friends. His famous quip that MPs are like children of kindergarten age struck a chord to the general public and aroused enmity from that group of lawmakers.
When news broke of his death, foes and friends rushed to the hospital and swarmed his house. Leaders of the breakaway faction of his party (who are also his nephews and people who worked for him) wept openly. Both the remaining living ex presidents (Megawati and Habibie) , President Yudhoyono, and at least two living ex vice-presidents visited his house to pay their last respects. People of all ages lined up along the funeral route procession to the Halim military airport before the C-130 Military Transport Aircraft (tailgate number A 1341, the same aircraft carrying the remains of former President Soeharto for his burial) take him on his last flight to be buried in Jombang, East Java.
In life, he attracted widespread respect. In death, his followers and admirers followed his steps and broke another tradition. He became the first Indonesian ex-President whose death sparked tributes in Facebook.
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