Bonar Sianturi (18 June 1944 – 22 May 2022) was an Indonesian military officer who served as the Regent of

Sintang Sintang Regency is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of West Kalimantan province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 21,638.2 km2, and had a population of 364,759 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 421,306 at the 2020 Censu ...

West Kalimantan West Kalimantan () is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital and largest city is Pontianak. It is bordered by East Kalimantan and Central ...

from 1989 to 1994. Previously, he served as the commander of the

Sanggau Sanggau Regency (; Hakka: Sîang-ngau) is a regency in the north-central section of West Kalimantan province of Indonesia. On 18 December 2003, the regency's eastern portion was split off to create a new regency called Sekadau, leaving Sanggau ...

Military District from 1986 until 1989.

Early life and military career

Sianturi was born on 18 June 1944 in

Sidikalang Sidikalang is a town in North Sumatra province of Indonesia and it is the seat (capital) of Dairi Regency Dairi Regency is an inland regency on the western shore of Lake Toba in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. The regency was created on 23 ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. After three years of studying machinery in

Balige Balige is a town in North Sumatra province of Indonesia and it is the seat (capital) of Toba Regency. It is 240 kilometers away from Medan. It had 47,284 inhabitants as at mid 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabupaten To ...

, Sianturi entered the National Military Academy in 1965, from which he graduated in 1968. His first assignment in the military was as a

platoon commander A platoon leader (NATO) or platoon commander (more common in Commonwealth militaries and the US Marine Corps) is the officer in charge of a platoon. This person is usually a junior officer – a second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. ...

in the 328th Infantry Battalion. He rose through the ranks and became the commander of the 623rd Infantry Battalion in

Banjarbaru Banjarbaru is the capital city of South Kalimantan, one of the provinces in Indonesia. It is located southeast of Banjarmasin, the largest city of the province. The city had a population of 199,627 as of the 2010 Census,Biro Pusat Statistik, J ...

from 1985 to 1986 and commander of the Sanggau Military District until his election as regent in 1989.

Regent of Sintang

Sianturi was elected as the Regent of Sintang in a parliamentary election held by the local council on 14 March 1989. In the election, Bonar obtained 25 out of the 34 votes cast, defeating the two other candidates. He was installed on 27 March by the governor. During Sianturi's term as regent, the government sponsored the construction of elementary schools in impoverished and secluded areas of the region. Most of these schools were constructed by Muslim and Christian education foundations. At a speech in front of the Sintang council in 1991, Sianturi stated that the government has provided a budget of about one and a half billion

rupiah The rupiah (Currency symbol, symbol: Rp; ISO 4217, currency code: IDR) is the official currency of Indonesia, issued and controlled by Bank Indonesia. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit word for silver, (). Sometimes, Indonesians also inform ...

for the development of education and culture. The government also managed to upgrade the status of the Dharma Bakti Teacher's Academy—at that time the only higher education in the region—into a full-fledged university. The university, which was named the Kapuas University, was inaugurated on 17 June 1992. Sianturi also initiated road repairs and the construction of a connecting bridge between the Tebelian and Nanga Pinoh subdistrict. He commissioned the Eva Kalbar company for the project, but the company failed to finish the project in a timely manner. He later transferred the project to a different company and allocated a budget of three billion rupiahs for the completion of the project. Towards the end of Sianturi's term, the government nominated Dayak bureaucrat L.H. Kadir to replace Sianturi, and put forward the Malay Abdillah Kamarullah and Abdul Hadi Karsoem as puppet candidates in the elections. Unexpectedly, Abdillah Kamarullah won the election, angering Dayak politicians inside the council. Dayak politicians lobbied the central government to use their veto powers to cancel the election results, but to no avail. On the other side, the Malays consider the election of Kamarullah as fair and lauded the council for electing a popular candidate instead of a pre-determined government candidate. As a result of this dispute, the government briefly extended Sianturi's term in order to ease tensions between the supporters of Kamarullah and Kadir. Sianturi was officially replaced by Kamarullah on 5 April 1994.

Later life

Sianturi retired from the military on 18 June 1999. Sianturi died at the

Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital Gatot Soebroto Central Army Hospital (, abbreviated as RSPAD Gatot Soebroto) is a military hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia. The name of the hospital is derived from Gatot Soebroto, a National Hero of Indonesia. Established in 1819, the hospital is ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

on the evening of 22 May 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sianturi, Bonar 1944 births 2022 deaths Indonesian military personnel Mayors and regents of places in West Kalimantan People of Batak descent People from North Sumatra