5000 Rupiah 'Sudirman' issue 1968

By 1968, Indonesia was deep into Suharto's New Order consolidation, and the choice to feature General Sudirman on this note was deliberate political architecture — Sudirman, who commanded guerrilla resistance against the Dutch while dying of tuberculosis and being carried on a stretcher, was an unimpeachable nationalist figure acceptable to both the military and civilian public. Attaching his image to the highest-denomination note in the series signaled the Army's centrality to the new order without the crudeness of putting Suharto himself on the currency.

Percetakan Kebayoran printed the entire Sudirman series domestically, a point of some pride given the Sukarno-era notes had often depended on foreign presses. The print quality reflects the limitations of that ambition.