X-URL: http://www.tempointeraktif.com/majalah/eng/lit-1.html
NO. 49/I/August 14 - 20, 2001
Literature
Hatta, The Voice That Never Fades Away
After 99 years, Indonesia continues to remember Mohammad Hatta as one
of the two figures that proclaimed Indonesian independence and the
first leaders of this nation. If he were still alive today and turning
99 years in the middle of August, Hatta would always be remembered as
one of the rare leaders, one of a kind, even today. He was honest,
incorruptible, lived within his means for the sake of principles,
firm, skilled in organization, incomparable intellectually, and a
loyal believer in socialism. His three prescriptions for the economy
to stem the flow of economic injustice-the control over assets by the
government, control over the private sector, and development of an
independent people's economy-did not go smoothly because there were so
many constraints. Which of Hatta's teachings are still relevant to
today? Why are leaders with morality like Hatta very rare? Why wasn't
Hattanomics implemented smoothly at his time? Iqra greets the
publication of a series of books on Hatta's thoughts with the
following:
_________________________________________________________________
Once upon a time a paper was published one fine day in 1960. It was
published in Panji Masyarakat magazine and was written by Mohammad
Hatta-and it made Sukarno furious. The magazine was subsequently
banned. The article, which criticized the concept of Guided Democracy,
may very well be one of the best means for us to reflect on the
democracy that we once had. Hatta seemed to be disappointed with
Sukarno's character and flamboyant nature, which interfered with the
state structure. But his hopes didn't dim. "Democracy can be
suppressed temporarily, due to its own faults. But after it has
undergone bitter trials, it will resurface full of remorse," said
Hatta.
Born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Hatta reminded us again about the
anomaly of democracy. In the hands of someone ultrademocratic,
democracy can turn into a wild, unbridled horse. According to Hatta,
Sukarno was the opposite of Mephistopheles, a figure created by Goethe
in Faust. Mephistopheles is a figure full of bad intentions but who
generates good things. Sukarno, however, "...always set good goals but
the steps he took often took him far away from them," wrote Hatta.
Throughout the centuries, anomalies in democracy have had their own
variations. Not just during the times of Sukarno, Suharto or Habibie.
Now, in the aftermath of the transfer of power from Abdurrahman Wahid
to Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesia will naturally experience yet
another transition period in democracy. In the famous paper entitled
Our Democracy, Hatta gave the guideline that at all times, the
metabolism of democracy can run naturally if it's guarded by
rationality and the constitution.
Hatta is famous as a believer in socialism. As a student in the
Netherlands, the foundations of his thoughts were shaped among the
socialists. He wrote many articles for socialist bulletins such as De
Vlam, De Socialist, Recht in Vrijheid. However, what's prominent in
his political attitude was that he grew to be a rational socialist. In
other words, Hatta didn't blindly embrace the ideology or become a
socialist with a romantic and melancholic view of the raging spirit of
struggle. Political observers are even of the belief that Hatta's
rational attitude "unconsciously" contributed to the early beginnings
of this republic.
History notes that the "lion" of the Pujangga Baru (New Poets or Men
of Letters), Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, was the most popular figure in
emphasizing the importance of aufklarung (brightening) of the mind in
the cultural strategy. This can be seen in the cultural polemic
against Sanusi Pane's thoughts. "However, Hatta was actually the first
leader who took Indonesia towards a more rational culture," said
economic expert Sarbini Soermawinata to TEMPO. Sarbini's argument can
be used as a reference because indeed before Hatta's departure to the
Netherlands he'd never indicated any signs of interest in anything
that was eastern.
History expert Akira Nagazumi noted that nearly all radical
nationalist figures such as Radjiman Widjodiningrat, Tjipto
Mangoenkoesoemo, Soewardi Soerjaningrat, Douwes Dekker, Armijn Pane,
Sanusi Pane and Mohammad Yamin were members of Theosophy. At that
time, Theosophy was known as an organization steeped in mysticism
established by an aristocrat of Russian descent called Helena Petrovna
Blavatsky. This was an era where various movements succeeded in
mesmerizing many Netherlands Indies youths.
However, young Hatta refused the invitation to become a member of
Theosophy in Batavia. To his dying day, Hatta hardly wrote any
arguments that were based on eastern mysticism. Sukarno, on the other
hand, had his childhood years in Surabaya filled with theosophy
literature because his father, Sukemi, was an active Theosophy member.
"My father was a theosopher. That's why I was allowed to enter this
treasure chest (meaning the library). For a long time I swam in this
spiritual world. From there I met big people. Their aspirations formed
my basic principles..." wrote Sukarno. Consequently, Sukarno's
tendency to think sincretically-mixing many isms such as Nationalism,
Religion and Communist (Nasakom)-is a reflection of his background in
theosophic education.
Hatta's typical attitude was that he could be rational without
becoming westernized. So many people who knew him repeatedly told of
stories of how this deeply religious figure stayed away from dances
and various "nuances" of western social interaction. He took from the
western vision their disciplined attitude and their skills in
organization. In the meantime, his thoughts were heavily orientated to
the people and the empowerment of local things through a long
struggle.
Hatta went to the Netherlands to become a communist. At that time, the
leftist leanings were something that aroused fascination, stimulated
thoughts. Communism was a zeitgeist, a calling to the spirit for
youths from the Third World. It seemed to beckon as the only tool to
force the imperialists out. However, young Hatta immediately
maintained a safe distance. He seemed to understand quickly that there
was something of a scientific superstition in communism's appeal.
Especially since the characteristics of communism didn't seem to fit
with his own: since childhood he could bear isolation, but communism
tended to celebrate the physical use of crowds.
He left the Anti-Imperialist League because communists dominated it.
Since he had arrived in the Netherlands, wrote John Ingleson, Hatta
was enemies with Semaun, an activist in the Indonesian Communist Party
(PKI) who was in Amsterdam in 1924. When Hatta returned to Indonesia,
he brought with him a series of his criticisms against communism, and
he firmly responded to Tan Malaka's attacks against the duumvirate
(two working as one). "Although they were both born in Minangkabau,
they were enemies," said Harry A. Poeze, Tan Malaka's biographer from
KITLV (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal, Land en Volkenkunde), in the
Netherlands to TEMPO.
The conflict between Tan Malaka and Hatta escalated especially during
the Japanese occupation. The former accused Sukarno and Hatta of
collaborating with the Japanese. Many articles debated the
Sukarno-Hatta strategy against Japan: What Sukarno andHatta did, was
it collaboration or a type of strategem? Why did Hatta keep silent in
the face of the romusha policy of forced labor? Had fascism bound
Hatta tightly to the samurais' wishes? Of course not. Those who
believe that Sukarno-Hatta's cooperation with the Japanese was a
strategy will always refer to the success of the proclamation. It can
be said that the proclamation was the climax of the strategy. Those
who consider the duumvirate as collaborators will always question the
romusha policy.
Hatta's political milestone post-proclamation was his role in
converting the Presidential Democracy to Parliamentary Democracy. With
Decree X dated October 16, 1945, Hatta signed the conversion.
Political expert Lambert Giebels, who recently launched a book
entitled Biografi Sukarno (Sukarno's biography), considered the action
a quiet coup. "Imagine, with only a piece of paper and scratches in
ink, the presidential system stated in the 1945 Constitution was
changed. After this embarrassing episode, Sukarno had to calm himself
down in Pelabuhan Ratu," said Giebels to TEMPO.
In the book entitled Indonesia Free: a Political Biography of Mohammad
Hatta, Mavis Rose, a researcher from Cornell University, said that in
Hatta's idealistic mind, power shared widely was the closest to his
ideas of democracy. Legal expert Daniel Lev thinks that the
parliamentary cabinet in the past was higher in quality than the
presidential system during the era of any presidential leadership in
Indonesia. "During the Hatta parliamentary period, the existing elite
was of high quality. During the New Order, the parliamentary system
had a bad image," Lev told TEMPO.
Hatta's other dream was of a type of federal country. But he must have
realized that the system was not popular yet in Java. As noted by
Deliar Noer, Hatta didn't persist in implementing his federalism
concept, although-as admitted by Harry Poeze-the idea of federalism
was burning quietly in Hatta. Poeze noted that Hatta withdrew from his
position as vice president in 1957 because he felt that-according to
the Interim Constitution 50-the duties of a vice president were merely
ceremonial, and brought about the start of converging the Javanese in
the power circle. "All the local coups in Sulawesi and Sumatra against
the central government were inspired by Hatta's withdrawal," said
Poeze. However, many historical and political experts regretted
Hatta's resignation because with his departure from such a strategic
post the door to the arrival of Guided Democracy was open wide.
After his withdrawal from the government, Hatta continued to develop
his economic-political ideas. He increasingly became an Indonesian
thinker who tried to struggle to find a contextual economic vision.
Economist Anne Booth once said that our thinkers had never seriously
studied the history of the Dutch Indies economy. Consequently, up to
now the Indonesian economic thinkers have never come up with a rooted
paradigm for the economy. This is very different from the South Asia
situation. Many Indian and Pakistani historians and economists
successfully conducted studies of the history of the colonial economy
of South Asia. They succeeded in coming up with a canon of economic
thinking that wanted to free itself from the games played by the free
market powers. Such patterns of thinking, for example, can be found in
an economist such as Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize for
Economy in 1988. Like Sen, Hatta's commitment to economic rights was
extremely strong," said Chatib Basri.
Hatta might not have produced such a "canon of thoughts". However, his
obsession was to dissolve the economic structure etched by Dutch
administrators. "Hatta's idea for cooperative units was basically to
weaken the governing bureaucracy, because the civil service is a
legacy from the colonials," said Daniel Lev. Many people think that
Hatta's idea of cooperative units continues to be relevant even today,
although it must be interpreted again in accordance with changes which
have been taking place (read: Hattanomics, Half a Century On).
According to Dawam Rahardjo, for example, during Hatta's era two small
economic projects were successful, batik cooperative units and Gresik
Cement. At that time, batik cooperatives were granted the rights to
import textile material. They united and became Joint Indonesian Batik
Cooperatives (GKBI). GKBI-directly under Hatta's leadership-grew to be
a "conglomeration" with their own factories. "GKBI still exists. We
are independent in the textile business. We can practically dominate
the textile industry," said Dawam.
So, if Hatta were still alive and successful in achieving the
Indonesia of his dreams, how would our beloved country look today?
Let's play a game of pretend. Indonesia, in Hatta's hands, would have
a civil government with a slim cabinet consisting of professional
ministers just like in his day. Power would not be concentrated in
Jakarta because each region would have a strong economy and could
stand on its own feet economically, federalism the way he dreamed it.
Cooperative units of people's industries would be found everywhere.
Like the farmers in Canada, our farmer cooperative units would have
their own fertilizer factory. Like in the United States, our farmers'
cooperative units would have their own oil industry. Like in the
villages in Japan, these cooperative units would have small
supermarkets. In short, since this is only a dream, there would be a
middle way between capitalism and socialism. Cooperative units would
become some type of tool of jointly controlling the market.
Obviously, those were just the grandest of fantasies. In reality,
other than the people's industries that Dawam Rahardjo pronounced
successful, there were many that collapsed. "Hatta's socialism has not
been truly tested," said history expert Taufik Abdullah. Cooperative
units in their implementation suffered from deviations. It's still
fresh in our minds the case of distributing money at the 1999 general
election which gave birth to fly-by-night cooperative units.
"Cooperative units can only work on a small scale. On a national
scale, let alone a global one, no, they will not be successful," said
Sarbini Sumawinata.
In his twilight years in 1976 Hatta shocked the Indonesian people. His
name was mentioned in connection with the case of an attack against
the government of a somewhat mystical nature, which was later called
the Sawito case. Sawito Kartowibowo, a son-in-law of R.S. Soekanto
Tjokroadiatmojo's-the first Indonesian Chief of Police-was accused of
a subversion attempt because he planned to dethrone President Suharto.
Sawito claimed to have received divine inspiration after meditating in
Muria Mountain. He was told to force Suharto into surrendering his job
peacefully to Hatta. Sawito collected signatures of those supporting
the "elders" in addition to Hatta. Among those were his father-in-law,
R.S. Soekanto Tjokrodiatmojo, Cardinal Justinus Darmojuwono (Head of
the Majelis Wali Gereja Indonesia/Indonesian Churches), Buya Hamka
(Head of the Indonesian Ulemas) and T.B. Simatupang (Head of the
Council of Indonesian Churches). In his plan to "implement" the divine
revelation, Sawito prepared five statements. While the other figures
only signed one, Bung Hatta signed three.
Naturally, people didn't swallow this easily. However, they might have
been asking, would Bung Hatta, who didn't like political adventures,
really be involved? Or, was it just one of Sawito's tricks? Who was
Sawito, really?
Sawito's trial inevitably attracted many visitors. "I myself was
surprised, Hatta? Involved?" said Sarbini, remembering those days. The
Attorney General's Office prepared written questions to ask Bung
Hatta. Sawito insisted that he was only a liaison. He described the
meetings in Hatta's office in Megamendung (Puncak). The signatories
admitted to having made a mistake and felt they were persuaded by
Sawito. They asked for Suharto's forgiveness. "Bung Hatta was
deceived," said Taufik Abdullah. This was confirmed by Bung Hatta's
daughter, Meuthia Hatta. "Bung Hatta was really hurt by Sawito and
felt he was tricked," Meuthia told TEMPO. She was convinced that it
would be impossible for her father, who was extremely rational, to
believe Sawito.
Twenty-four years on, does Sawito still harbor secrets? TEMPO visited
Sawito in his simple house in Cimanggis, Bogor. Aged 69 years, Sawito
spoke of his first meeting with Bung Hatta in 1954 and subsequent
meetings. "I met with Bung Hatta at least three times a week, or even
every day, until the day I was arrested. The venues changed. Sometimes
at his house, sometimes at mine, sometimes at the house of other
people from the Generation of 45," said Sawito.
Sawito claimed that while he was imprisoned, Hatta continued to write
letters to him through a middleman. Until today, the Sawito case and
Hatta's alleged involvement remain a big mystery. What's clear,
however, is that the case didn't diminish people's respect for Hatta.
He was not one for seeking excuses in the political arena, but his
ability to restrain himself was an asset, because it goes without
saying that he would always hold fast to the constitution.
In a country undergoing a transition period, as Vaclav Havel writes,
there will always be difficulties in determining the best order to
take. Sluggishness in dealing with things will cause the country to
collapse like a house of cards. In such a vulnerable state, a leader
is needed, one who's honest, strong, consistent, has clear planning,
and places rationality and morality above all else. Hatta, buried in
Tanah Kusir-as he requested- could be a mirror.
At the end of the paper, Our Democracy, Hatta quoted a line by a
German poet, Schiller: "A great century is born. But, it finds small
generations." Hatta was criticizing the political party leaders of the
time, whom he considered to have failed in their duty as the nation's
leaders. It was his harshest criticism of the other half of the
duumvirate, Sukarno. Apparently, Hatta's criticism still applies to
Indonesia today, as the nation is currently experiencing a crisis in
leadership.
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