By: Prabowo Subianto [taken from the Book: Military Leadership Notes from Experience Chapter I]
In the course of Indonesia’s history, some knights have shown their courage and resilience. Knights who have dared to fight foreign invaders rather than submit to or kneel to the conceited and arrogant foreign powers.
One of the knights who became my role model is the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, Bung Karno. He was a great intellectual, orator and organiser.
There is much we can learn from Indonesia’s first President, President Sukarno. The lessons I learned from him could become a book of its own.
Bung Karno was born in Surabaya in 1901. In 1927, at the tender age of 26, he founded the Indonesian National Party (PNI). Because his numerous writings were influential in stirring the spirit of nationalism among the Indonesian people, in 1929, Bung Karno was arrested by the Dutch and imprisoned in Banceuy prison, Bandung. A year later, he was transferred to Sukamiskin prison. From prison, Sukarno crafted his phenomenal speech, Indonesia Menggugat (Indonesia Rebukes). A historical speech that I deem to be still highly relevant today.
In 1938 until 1942, Bung Karno was exiled to Ende. The Dutch, because of the circumstances then, only freed him during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in 1942. During this time, he actively worked to realise Indonesia’s independence, formulated Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, and set the foundation for the new Indonesian government.
In this book, I would like to draw your attention to some significant historical events that significantly impacted the course of our state and nation. The first was President Sukarno’s courage to proclaim Indonesia’s independence on August 17, 1945.
As one can easily imagine, at that time, our country arguably had nothing. But President Sukarno dared to gather the masses on Jalan Pegangsaan Timur, Jakarta and read out the following speech:
Brothers and sisters, my fellow countrymen! I have gathered you here to bear witness to one of the most significant events in our history. For decades, we Indonesians have fought for the independence of our homeland. For hundreds of years, indeed!
Many of our movements to seize our independence have seen progress and setbacks, but our spirit remains at fulfilling our very goal. Also, during Japanese colonialism, our efforts to achieve our independence have been relentless.
It may seem that we rely on the Japanese, but in essence, we rely on our resolve, on our strength.
Now the time has come to truly take charge of our nation’s destiny, our homeland. Only a nation that dares to control its own fate will be able to stand strong and proud.
So [this past day], we have deliberated with Indonesian leaders from all over Indonesia. We have reached the consensus that now is the time to declare our independence.
Brothers and sisters! We thus resolutely proclaim:
One can imagine Bung Karno’s state of mind at the time. He and Bung Hatta declared Indonesia’s independence. This declaration incited an uprising against the Allied Forces, which were the victors of World War II and possessed atomic weapons. We didn’t have anything back then. The weapons we had were remnants of the Dutch and Japanese arsenal that we managed to seize.
The second event that was pivotal to the formation of Indonesia, and for me, was the speech made by President Sukarno at the Agency for the Preparatory Work for Indonesian Independence (BPUPKI) session on June 1, 1945. At that time, President Sukarno was under enormous pressure to create an ideological foundation for the newly independent Indonesian state. Some pushed for an ideological foundation based on a particular religion or ethnic group. But he calmly decided, before the assembly, that Indonesia would be founded based on Pancasila.
President Sukarno said:
We want to create a country for everyone. Not for one person, not for one group, not for the aristocrats, not for the wealthy – but everyone!
The Republic of Indonesia does not belong to a single group, nor does it belong to a particular religion or ethnic or cultural group, but it belongs to all of us from Sabang to Merauke.
In this book, I also want to discuss Bung Karno from the standpoint of Professor Soemitro, my father. Pak Soemitro was widely known in Indonesian history as one of Bung Karno’s long-time political opponents.
Pak Soemitro even took part in the PRRI/Permesta ‘rebellion’ against President Sukarno’s government.
Since I am the son of Professor Soemitro, some can say that I come from an anti-Sukarno family. But, interestingly, Pak Soemitro always reminded us, his children, that he was against Bung Karno because of opposing political views, especially on communism and the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
He once said, ‘But, my children, you should all remember that I never said that Bung Karno is not a great leader. Bung Karno is one of the most outstanding leaders Indonesia has ever had. Bung Karno united hundreds of tribes, diverse religious groups, political factions, and customs for one purpose: Indonesia Merdeka (A free Indonesia).’
Pak Soemitro once told us that, were it not for Bung Karno, we might never have achieved the independence of a united Indonesia but would have instead ended up with dozens of different republics. And that was indeed what the Dutch wished: to see Indonesia broken up into dozens of different states. That’s also what some other countries around us expected. That was what my late father said to me.
Then, Pak Mitro told me how he, in the early 1950s, tried to convince Bung Karno not to cooperate with PKI. Until one day, Bung Karno was irked with Pak Mitro and reprimanded him. Bung Karno told Pak Mitro, ‘Hey Mitro, when you were still wearing shorts, I was already in and out of prison. Keep that in mind. You just take care of the economy and leave politics to me. I understand Indonesian politics better than you do.’
Pak Mitro told me that Sukarno was right. When Bung Karno was first jailed, Pak Mitro was still 15 years old. But, according to Pak Mitro, ‘I had no bad intentions. I only wanted Bung Karno not to fall into a trap. I was convinced that PKI would one day betray Bung Karno.’
In the course of his relationship with Bung Karno, Pak Mitro also recounted to me that actually, Bung Karno’s first choice as WAPERDAM 1 (First Deputy Prime Minister) at one time was him, not Doctor Subandrio. But when he was offered the position, he once again urged Bung Karno not to cooperate with PKI. Bung Karno was enraged by Pak Mitro’s persistence, and he chose Doctor Subandrio instead.
When Pak Mitro told me the story, I told him, ‘Pak, I think you made a mistake. You should not have left Bung Karno. If you were by his side, you might have been able to prevent PKI manoeuvres.’
Pak Mitro pondered what I said for quite some time before he admitted: ‘I suppose you are right, Bowo. I should have never left Bung Karno.’
Years later, I heard from my younger brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo that about a month before Pak Mitro passed away, when he was lying sick in bed, Pak Hashim asked Pak Mitro, ‘Pak, do you have any regrets in your life? What is it that you regret most in your life?’
Pak Mitro’s reply was, ‘There is one thing that I regret the most: I left Bung Karno. I should have stayed by his side.’
Those are the lessons that I took note of. And that is a norm among the ’45 Generation—they have opposing views, but they respect each other. Also, I learned that we must always be flexible and should not be too rigid in our stances as, at some point, our stances may become less relevant when seen from a different context and different era.
There is one more thing that impressed me. I remember when Pak Mitro took me to the Istana Merdeka (Merdeka Palace) when I was five. I saw Bung Karno standing at the top of the stairs. He was tall, well-built, charismatic, with a wide smile on his face. His voice was deep, thunderous.
I remember that he lifted me up like I was about to be tossed into the air. Then he lowered me back on my feet. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I remember him as an amicable, pleasant figure. I could feel his warmth. That’s my impression of him from my interaction with Bung Karno.
Maybe it was because of Bung Karno that I always want to lift a young child every time I see them. It reminded me of him. I also remember the all-white attire he wore at the time. Maybe that’s also why I prefer to dress in white, and why I chose white as the colour of the political party I founded, the GERINDRA Party.
I also want to tell you the story behind the party’s name. My friends once advised that if I wanted to play an active role in the betterment of the nation, I must be willing to be involved in practical politics. I was encouraged to form a political party rooted in the Pancasila ideology, the 1945 Constitution, and the Republic of Indonesia. This national party would stand on the people’s side, pursue self-sufficiency and encourage the nation to stand tall and proud. Such ideals reminded me of a story I was once told by my grandfather – a story that we can also find in history books.
One day in the 1930s, a day before Bung Karno was about to be exiled to Ende, East Nusa Tenggara, he called my grandfather Margono Djojohadikusumo.
Then, Bung Karno said to Pak Margono: ‘Pak Margono, PNI has been dissolved by the Dutch. Our party’s leading figures are in detention, and I will be exiled tomorrow out of Java. I don’t know where exactly. I will leave this mandate letter to Pak Margono. I assign Pak Margono to form a political party to continue the fight of PNI.’
Through this mandate letter, Bung Karno named the party that would become the successor of PNI, PARINDRA (Partai Indonesia Raya). Pak Margono was entrusted to be its chairman. The Dutch did not arrest and exile Pak Margono because he was a civil servant in the Dutch administration.
Several years later, Bung Karno returned to Jakarta after having been released from exile. Pak Margono immediately went to Bung Karno and handed him back the mandate letter. Pak Margono said, ‘Bung, I now return this power of attorney to you, and as such, PARINDRA is to dissolve and merge into the greater independence struggle movement.’
This story clearly illustrates how past figures looked up to their leaders and recognised that once they have finished carrying out their duties, and if the leaders can regain control, they would hand back the mandate. Although Pak Margono was more senior than Bung Karno, he was loyal and obedient to the independence movement leader.
When I was about to set up a political party, I was reminded of this story, so I chose the name PARINDRA. But when we registered it with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (KEMENKUMHAM), I could not use the name because it had been used before, during the 1955 election.
Finally, after a lengthy discussion, Pak Hashim proposed using Gerakan Indonesia Raya instead, shortened GERINDRA. This was the genesis of the GERINDRA Party. Thus, whenever I meet Ibu Megawati, I like to jokingly quip, ‘If PDIP is the ideological child of PNI, then GERINDRA is its grandchild.’
Last but not least, I also want to tell you this one story. It may sound trivial, but I think it is crucial. In early 2015, I got hold of a photograph of President Sukarno riding a horse during the first Armed Forces Day ceremony from the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI). It captured an important event in the history of the Indonesian nation.
The picture was dated October 5, 1946, only a year and two months after the proclamation of Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945. The new President of the Republic of Indonesia needed to show the world that the Republic was strong, capable, and prepared to safeguard its independence even at a very young age.
On the instruction of President Sukarno, the People’s Security Army (TKR), led by General Sudirman, was tasked with the preparation of a grand military ceremony for the newly independent nation at the Yogyakarta city square. One of the key events was a troop inspection on horseback.
President Sukarno struggled to learn how to ride a horse the whole day ahead of the ceremony. However, on D-day, he managed to ride a horse in a stately posture. His gesture on that day sent a clear, unmistakable message to domestic and international audiences: Indonesia is an independent nation and has its own armed forces.