The Young Prospect
Sutan Sjahrir was a dashing man. He was clean shaved, his hair was combed and he wore western clothes, but he was no dog ofthe colonials. His appearance was simply because he was well educated. He had the finest education the Ethical Policy can offer, not because of his money or lineage, but becuse he was intelligent, hard working and open to learning. His years in Bandung and Amsterdam was funded by elders of his village who realized these traits in him. He was Minangkabau and he was Muslim, but if anybody asked his nationality, he would answer Indonesian. Although aged now 35, he certainly fit the description of a
Pemuda[1] Quite rightfully so, if the movement ever had a leader, it would have been him.
His prominence within the movement was no incindental occurence, however. Just as his mentor Mohammad Hatta once sent him to lead the
Partij National Indonesia against the Dutch, he was assigned to "influence" young educated Indonesians during the Japanese occupation. He would meet students from many racial, religious, and ideological background in libraries, restaurants and
warung kopis[2]. He was no Soekarno when it comes to public speeches, but at a personal level, he had the communication skills to turn study groups to anti-imperialist bands. He did all this unnoticed by the people and the authorities, while Hatta and Soekarno worked under the spotlight, playing on Japanese propagandic programs and organizations to better accommodate Indonesian indepence. Once in a while they would meet, and Sjahrir would trade information he received underground with those his elder colleagues had from the Japanese.
Today, 14 August 1945, he is in the Kemajoran Airport in Djakarta for one such occasion, although this was not scheduled. Soekarno and Hatta were returning from Dalat in Indochina.They were summoned by General Count Terauchi Hisaichi, commander of the Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army stationed in Saigon. Knowing their position as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the
Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia[3], they are bound to have information on any Japanese change of heart on Indonesian independence. Not that it matters, whatever news they bring home will mean nothing compared to what he knows. Among the sources of intelligence he had were the wireless, illegal under the occupation just like newspapers, magazines, pamphlets and films. Over the last few days the Pemuda had listened to BBC broadcasts and learned a crucial development. With two cities turned to dust, Japan can surrender any moment now.
Under the blinding tropical sunlight he could see two men making their way down the stairs beside the aircraft. The taller one was noticably Soekarno, his kopiah[4] and sunglasses giving it away. The man walking behind him, shorter with a stocky build, was his old friend Hatta. The last man to come out of the plane must be Radjiman Wedyodiningrat. Across the stretch of asphalt was only Sjahrir. There were no guards, no welcoming party. The locals understandably would have been indoors, today was coincidentally in the middle of the dry season and in the middle of Ramadan. As for the Japanese, Sjahrir reckoned they were all still struggling to cope with the latest news from home.
The men met at the open, silently shaked their hands and walked towards the building. As soon as they have reached the shade, Sjahrir opened his mouth.
"Independence," Sjahrir though he could have been screaming, "it is within sight."
"It is, never been closer," Hatta whispered back.
"It's in the BBC, there can never be a better time," Sjahrir was struggling to keep his professionalism, "the people want you to proclaim independence."
"What is in the BBC?" Soekarno was taken aback. The men stopped walking, "our summoning to Dalat?"
"What? No!" Sjahrir looked around and lowered his voice, "Hiroshima. Nagasaki. The American weapons. Nippon has practically lost the war!"
"We have heard of that," Soekarno replied, "that means the results of our summoning is still a mistery, I presume?"
"No, sir." * Nobody spoke. Wedyodiningrat was never in on this, it even took him a while to recognize that the man before them was not their chauffeur. He dared to ask, "Can we trust him?"
As if ignoring him, Soekarno spoke, "Nippon has given us a date."
"A date?"
"For our independence."
"A date for our independence from Nippon."
"Yes, the twenty-fourth of this month. Ten days from now."
"Are you planning to adhere to that? We have to take advantadge of the moment."
It was Hatta who answered, "and we have to work within the frames of legality."
"Frames of legality," Sjahrir copied his fellow Minangkabau, "and by that you mean your PPKI?"
"Yes," Hatta answered patiently.
"But it is a matter of time that Nippon will surrender," Sjahrir tried to keep his voice low.
"I won't be too sure about that," interfered Soekarno.
"Not too sure about that?" Sjahrir is lost for words.
"Yes. As of yet they have not officialy surrendered," Soekarno added, to Sjahrir's disbelief, "we will not risk bloodshed. We have come a long way as a nation, we are no longer seen as primitive barbarians and I would not let the world see us as anarchists."
"So you would rather the world see us as fascist puppets?" Sjahrir raised his voice.
"Don't play with my patience, young man."
"As far as the people are concerned, your PPKI is just another Japanese product. No different than the
romusha[5]," Sjahrir had a visibly disgusted look on his face. Everybody still remembered how the man before him preached on behalf of the Japs how the forced labor was an honorable sacrifice for the nation.
"Sjahrir," Hatta intervened, "We hate the occupiers as much as you do. But we have to be careful. They have power, it is better we benefit from it not just suffer from it. Innocent men will die."
"Honorably! By their own will! The Pemuda and PETA[6]*members are only waiting for a green light. They will rise up and takeover Djakarta when you have proclaimed independence, as a symbol of the people's approval."
"They will not rise up and die, and we will not take the blame!" Soekarno bursted, "we do not need pointless bloodshed. Listen, Sjahrir. The right to proclaim independence lies with the PPKI. It does not lie with me, not with Hatta, and certainly not with you. Don't get any rash ideas."
There was a cold silence. Nobody dared to speak. Then Soekarno walked off, followed by Hatta and Radjiman Wedyodiningrat. Sjahrir watched them leave before he shouted, "it lies with the people of Indonesia, not Nippon!"
Unbelievable! Hatta and Soekarno were supposed to use the Japanese, not obey their commands! Sjahrir could not help but feel betrayed. The two men has entered a car and disappeared. Independence, true independence, has never felt so far away.
***
1 Young Indonesians; students, fresh graduates, educated workers from various racial, religious and ideological backgrounds bound by the same nationalistic cause.
2 Coffee shops operating at night and early morning found in big cities, similar to the Singaporean kopitiam
3 Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence
4 A Malay headgear derived from the Moroccan Fez. Originally a Muslim headgear, it became a secular dress code IOTL for people supporting Soekarno and the republic following proclamation
5 Forced labor; It is estimated that the Japanese tricked or forced 4 to 10 million Javanese men to work without pay throughout Southeast Asia during WWII
6 Pembela Tanah Air - Defenders of the Motherland; Indonesian voluntary army established by the Japanese to defend Indonesia from allied attacks. Notoriously mutinous.
