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International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7 (4.9) (2018) 198-203 International Journal of Engineering & Technology Website: www.sciencepubco.com/index.php/IJET Research paper “Work Ethic” Value as Soeharto’s Development Tool in Indonesia Lutfan Jaes 1 *, Azmi Abdul Latiff 2 , Fadillah Ismail 3 , Zahrul Akmal Damin 4 , Fauziah Ani 5 , Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz 6 1 Centre for General Studies and Co-Curricular, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor 2 Centre for Language Studies, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor 3 Faculty of Technology Management and Business, 86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor 4 College of Law, Government and International Studies, 06010 Sintok, Kedah *Corresponding author E-mail: lutfan@uthm.edu.my Abstract This research paper mainly discusses Soeharto and his “Work Ethic” value system. It focuses on the role of local wisdom as a fundamen- tal value that has moulded leadership character and style of Soeharto in Indonesia. A term during his leadership tenure was used by Soeharto to identify, list and explain the source of the dominant local wisdom. Content analysis was used as the method of analysis in to explain a series of “End of the Year Speech”, “Nationhood Speech” and “Party Speech”. Initial analysis on the speech texts sh owed that emphasis on values was given at every serie of the speeches delivered. Next, quotations of every paragraph in the speech texts were scru- tinized for groupings of dimensions (Value Dimensions) specifically referring to Asian Values. The paragraphs of every text were recited for the final time in order to identify Derived Values originated from each of the Value Dimensions. Recordings of data were carried out by using Archive for Technology, the Life World and Everyday Language. Text Interpretation (ATLAS).ti version 7 software. It was discovered that Soeharto used his “Nationhood Speech” serie as his main medium to deliver values to his people. Value Dimension “Work Ethics” was identified as the second most important value in his delivery of messages on development. Meanwhile, Derive d Val- ues “Strong/Kind/Dilligent/Viable/Earnest” were values that frequently appeared in the dimension. At the end of this paper, an explana- tion on the application of these values in the leadership and development under Soeharto is obtained. In conclusion, a leader who manip- ulated local wisdom is capable of achieving development that is more pragmatic and effective. Reinvigorating the local wisdom is a sig- nificant factor that can catalyze a continuous development specifically in Indonesia and generally in the South East Asia. Keywords: Soeharto; Value system; Local wisdom; Work ethic 1. Introduction This paper is a continuation of an earlier research that focused on “Power Orientation” as a development tool of a nation. The paper was presented in the 3 rd International Conference on Human Sus- tainability (INSAN 2016) at Pekanbaru Indonesia that took place on 15-16 November 2016. This paper meanwhile, focuses on “Work Ethic” as another tool in developing a country. It stems from the local wisdom of Soeharto, who is the Father of Devel- opment of Indonesia and the Republic’s second President. This towering statesman of Indonesia and South East Asia had success- fully implemented pragmatic actions through his effective leader- ship style and inculcation of values. He embraced the western democratic spirit but moulded it into his own style. His leadership capability had brought the society to develop from one level to another. Wisdom is a philosophy and concept reflected through the values and culture of a society. As such, local wisdom can be understood as a human effort to use his mind and wisdom to act and behave towards something, an object or event within a perimeter. Etymo- logically, wisdom is understood as one’s capability to use his mind in his reactions and behavior. The term ‘local’ specifically refers to a limited space for interaction within a limited value sys- tem. Meanwhile, the interaction space connects patterns of rela- tions between humans or between human and environment. The established interaction pattern is known as setting. Setting is an interaction space where one could have face to face interaction. An established life setting will directly produce values. In the context of this research, values, that serve as the basis for local wisdom and value dimensions will be discussed in the con- text of “Asian Values”. Asian Values are based on the belief that Asian countries have a set of unique ideologies that reflect local culture and history. There is no single definition of the term as proponents of Asian Values come from different background. Despite some clear differences, there are some shared values and beliefs that are embraced that can be practiced by Asians and used guidelines to live in this world. These shared values can be known as ’Asian values” which are similar to other shared values which are called” Western values’ (1). 1.1. Research problem For thirty two (32) years when he was in power, Soeharto had successfully developed the unity and economy of Indonesia. In many previous researches, the fundamental of his leadership char- acter was traditional Javanese. All aspects of his leadership includ- ing it’s’ guidelines and implementation were based on the Java-