The legacy of Maeda's residence<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
The former official residence of Rear. Adm. Tadashi Maeda, a
\nsenior naval officer during the Japanese occupation here, on Jl.
\nImam Bonjol No. 1 in Central Jakarta has been turned into an
\nhistorical building since it was the place where the text for the
\nIndonesian declaration of independence was drafted. This is the 59th
\narticle on the old and protected buildings of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Once located in Weltevreden, one of the more
\nprestigious areas of old Batavia (former name of Jakarta), the
\ntwo-story building on Jl. Imam Bonjol is now known as the Museum
\nPerumusan Naskah Proklamasi, the Museum of the Drafting of the
\nProclamation Text, for its important role in the country's
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
The building's art deco architectural style with few ornaments
\nbut plenty of doors and windows does not look particularly
\nspectacular compared to nearby buildings, most of which have a
\nsimilar style.<\/p>\n
There is no precise data about when the building was first
\nconstructed. However, some people believe that it was around
\n1920.<\/p>\n
Literature mentions that the building was initially designed
\nas the residence for an official from a certain Dutch private
\ncompany. Documents show that in 1931 it was owned by insurance
\ncompany PT Asuransi Jiwasraya Nilmy (Nederlands Levenzekerring
\nMaatschappij) and at that time had a total width of 4,380 square
\nmeters.<\/p>\n
The building has changed owners several times. Once, when the
\nstreet was called Oranje Nassauboulevard, the house was occupied
\nby the British Council General until the Japanese occupation
\nhere. The Japanese later changed the name of the street to
\nMyakoodoori street.<\/p>\n
For Indonesians, the building became important when it was the
\nofficial residence of Rear. Adm. Tadashi Maeda, head of the
\nJapanese naval liaison office in Batavia.<\/p>\n
The senior naval officer's name is familiar to most
\nIndonesians since it often appears in books on Indonesian history
\nboth for students and the general public.<\/p>\n
Maeda, who lived in the house right after the Japanese
\nmilitary occupied the country in 1942, was a military figure who
\nhad sympathy toward the Indonesians' struggle for independence.
\nHe had a principle that \"all nations should gain their
\nindependence\". As a consequence he volunteered his house to be
\nused as the place to draft the text for Indonesian independence.<\/p>\n
The naval officer told the magazine Media Joang 45 that he was
\nhappy when the Japanese government promised to give Indonesians
\ntheir independence in 1944, but he felt guilty and disappointed
\nknowing that the promise would not soon be realized.<\/p>\n
Moments<\/p>\n
The historical moment took place in the house only hours
\nbefore the proclamation text was read out by Sukarno (who then
\nbecame Indonesia's first president) at 10 a.m. on Aug. 17, 1945.<\/p>\n
It has been widely known that during the struggle for
\nindependence, youth groups and nationalist leaders such as
\nSukarno and Mohammad Hatta (the first vice president) held
\ndifferent stances on the timing of the proclamation.<\/p>\n
The youth were eager to proclaim independence after knowing
\nthat Japan had surrendered to the Allied Forces on Aug. 15, 1945
\n-- a fact that the Japanese tried to cover up -- while the
\nleaders, who did not believe the news, preferred to wait until
\nJapan granted it.<\/p>\n
The youths then kidnapped Sukarno and Hatta and brought the
\ntwo of them to Rengas Dengklok, a small town in West Java which
\nhad been occupied by Indonesian troops on Aug. 16, 1945. The
\nyouths attempted to force the two future leaders to proclaim
\nindependence and it was agreed that it would be proclaimed in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Maeda sent a message that if the two leaders were returned
\nsafely, he could arrange that the Japanese would not disturb the
\nproclamation of independence. Then, it was also agreed that
\nMaeda's house was the safest place to draft the proclamation
\ntext.<\/p>\n
But Maeda said in a report to Audretsch, attached to the
\nAttorney-General of the Netherlands East Indies in 1947, that it
\nwas Sukarno -- who arrived with Hatta at his house at 11 p.m. --
\nwho asked him to allow the house to be used for the declaration
\nmeeting.<\/p>\n
The meeting began at midnight until early in the morning and
\nwas attended by around 50 people. In the meantime a great number
\nof youths were waiting for the results of the meeting.<\/p>\n
Maeda himself was not involved in the drafting process as he
\nleft the meeting and went to bed on the second floor.<\/p>\n
The drafting process of the declaration of independence itself
\nstarted at around 3 a.m. and involved Sukarno, Hatta and Ahmad
\nSoebardjo, head of the Office of Consultants for Political
\nAffairs of the Japanese Navy in Java.<\/p>\n
Hours after the draft was finished, it was read out before
\nIndonesians at Sukarno's residence on Jl. Pegangsaan Timur No. 56
\n(now the site of the Proclamation monument on Jl. Proklamasi in
\nCentral Jakarta), instead of in an open field to avoid clashes
\nwith Japanese troops.<\/p>\n
Apart from the place where the proclamation text was prepared,
\nthe building was also a witness to other momentous diplomatic
\nnegotiations between Indonesia and the Dutch on Nov. 17, 1945 and
\non Oct. 7, 1946. At that time the building was used as the
\nheadquarters for the English troops.<\/p>\n
The building was turned into a museum in 1984.<\/p>\n
The dining room is now called the room of the drafting of the
\nproclamation text. Inside, there are displayed statues of
\nSukarno, Hatta and Soebardjo, and replicas of chairs and a table
\nused during the drafting process.<\/p>\n
Next to the room, there is the so-called typing room where the
\ntext was typed by Sajuti Melik. Due to the lack of a typewriter
\nat that time, the machine was borrowed from a German military
\noffice, said Maeda's assistant Satzuki Mishima in a book Sejarah
\nPerumusan Naskah Proklamasi (The History of the Drafting of the
\nProclamation Text).<\/p>\n
Another historical room is a big hall where Maeda used to hold
\nmeetings. It is now called the room of the signing of the
\nproclamation text, because in that room Sukarno repeatedly read
\nout the text before signing it along with Hatta on behalf of the
\npopulation of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Maeda himself was imprisoned in the Glodok area (West Jakarta)
\nin April 1946. He was granted the Nararya medal in 1976, a
\nspecial honor given for extraordinary services to the Indonesian
\nstate and nation, a year before his death.<\/p>",
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