Vice Presidency
In March 1983, Umar reached the pinnacle of his career. Suharto, who had been elected for a 4th term as President by the People's Consultative Assembly(MPR) selected Umar to be his Vice President. This was considered to be a rather unexpected choice as Umar's stature in Indonesian politics paled in comparison compared to his two predecessors, Hamengkubuwono IX and Adam Malik. Despite being a low-key personality, Umar had a good reputation and was widely respected.
As Vice President, Umar became one of the very few in the Suharto regime who chose to combat corruption. As a religious man, Umar had hoped that religion can be used to turn corruptors to do the right deeds. Umar also conducted surprise inspections (sometimes incognito) to regional towns and villages to monitor how Government policies were affecting the People. During his Vice Presidency, Umar also held prayer services at the Vice Presidential Palace.
Umar's term as Vice President ended in March 1988 when he was replaced by Sudharmono. Many were disappointed to see him not continue for a second term as Vice President. It was a testament to his good reputation that Sudharmono wanted to be sure of Umar's acceptance to not continuing as Vice President for another term.
Read more about this topic: Umar Wirahadikusumah
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