Former US President Jimmy Carter Celebrates 100th Birthday

Mantan Presiden Amerika Serikat Jimmy Carter ulang tahun ke-100. Foto: via REUTERS/Pool

HOLIDAY NEWS -- Former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, celebrated his 100th birthday on Tuesday (1/10). 

Carter celebrated birthdays in his birthplace of Plains, Georgia, while undergoing health care late in life. 

Jimmy Carter is the oldest living president, as well as the longest serving president in US history. 

"I think he has a complicated legacy, but for me and for him, the bottom line is that he lived his faith and the commandment to love others as ourselves," said Carter's grandson, Jason Carter, as quoted by Al Jazeera. 

Carter's post-presidential legacy has drawn much criticism and controversy among US society. 

In 2006, he became one of the political figures and former president, who questioned Israel's policies in the occupied Palestinian territories. He also called the system of control in the occupied territories "apartheid". 

In 2009, he said Palestinians in Gaza were treated more like animals than humans. 

His words during his presidency were also said to have "laid the groundwork" for the US parliament to urge President Joe Biden's government to stop arms transfers to Israel amid aggression on Gaza. 

Born in 1924, Carter grew up helping his father's peanut farming business, which he took up after serving in the US Navy. 

During his tenure, the US economy was sluggish due to high inflation and increasingly severe unemployment. His efforts to shift US energy consumption to renewable sources failed in the US Congress. 

Carter also helped establish diplomatic relations with China, brokered nuclear weapons restrictions with then-Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, and brought the Panama Canal treaty under local control. 

He also mediated talks between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, which led to the two countries establishing full diplomatic and economic relations. 

Carter was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. His family said he hoped to live through the November 5 election, and bet on Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. 

HOLIDAY NEWS -- Mantan Presiden Amerika Serikat, Jimmy Carter, merayakan ulang tahun ke-100 pada Selasa (1/10).

Carter merayakan ulang tahun di tempat kelahirannya di Plains, Georgia, sambil menjalani perawatan kesehatan di usia senja.

Jimmy Carter merupakan presiden tertua yang masih hidup, sekaligus presiden yang paling lama menjabat dalam sejarah AS.

"Saya rasa dia punya warisan yang rumit, tetapi bagi saya dan baginya, intinya adalah dia menjalankan imannya dan perintah untuk mengasihi sesama seperti mengasihi diri sendiri," kata cucu Carter, Jason Carter, dikutip Al Jazeera.

Warisan pasca-kepresidenan Carter menuai banyak kritikan dan kontroversi di kalangan masyarakat AS.

Pada 2006 lalu, dia menjadi salah satu tokoh politik sekaligus eks presiden, yang mempertanyakan kebijakan Israel di wilayah Palestina yang diduduki. Dia juga menyebut sistem kontrol di wilayah pendudukan sebagai "apartheid".

Pada 2009, dia mengatakan warga Palestina di Gaza diperlakukan lebih seperti binatang daripada manusia.

Kata-katanya semasa jadi presiden juga disebut "meletakkan dasar" bagi parlemen AS, untuk mendesak pemerintah Presiden Joe Biden menyetop transfer senjata ke Israel di tengah agresi ke Gaza.

Lahir pada tahun 1924, Carter tumbuh membantu usaha pertanian kacang tanah milik ayahnya, yang diambil setelah bertugas di Angkatan Laut AS.

Selama menjabat, perekonomian AS sempat lesu akibat inflasi tinggi dan pengangguran yang kian parah. Usahanya untuk mengalihkan konsumsi energi AS ke sumber-sumber terbarukan gagal di Kongres AS.

Carter juga membantu membangun hubungan diplomatik dengan China, menengahi pembatasan senjata nuklir dengan pemimpin Soviet saat itu Leonid Brezhnev, dan membuat perjanjian Terusan Panama di bawah kendali lokal.

Dia juga menengahi pembicaraan antara Presiden Mesir Anwar Sadat dan Perdana Menteri Israel Menachem Begin, yang membuat kedua negara menjalin hubungan diplomatik dan ekonomi penuh.

Carter kini didiagnosis menderita kanker pada 2015. Keluarganya mengatakan dia berharap bisa hidup hingga pemilu 5 November mendatang, dan bertaruh pada calon dari Partai Demokrat Kamala Harris.