Anton Medan Passed Away

Today, several media reporting that Ramdhan Effendi aka Anton Medan has passed away. 

Who is Anton?

Born in Medan, October 1957, Anton known as a strict preacher. He converted to Islam in 1992 In Soeharto Regime and founded a mosque in bogor. Before he convert to Islam, Anton is a former robber and gambling tycoon.

In 1998 Anton Medan was used as a scapegoat for the organization of mass riots in Jakarta after which a statement was quietly dropped. The riot, which was originally a student protest against Indonesian President Suharto, turned into anti-Chinese demonstrations in the capital, Jakarta. 

Anton Medan Chinese descent, but he went outside and joined the rebellion to prove that he was loyal to the people, but he became a target. In the political turmoil in 1998, it was also reported that Prabowo of Subianto, Suhartos son-in-law and commander of Kopassus, the Indonesian special forces, recruited and manipulated Anton Medan to accomplices of the militants. 

During the investigation of riot 1998, Anton Medan denied the accusation that he took an active part behind the scenes, though he admitted that he was in the middle of the crowd. However, he refused to testify if the national Commission on human rights exonerated him.