Bung Karno's testament

Bung Karno's testament

From Merdeka"

Indonesia's first president Bung Karno's family have made
statements, which I have read in various newspapers, that
Soekarno wrote a testament describing the place he wanted to be
buried.

The site was peaceful and comfortable, surrounded by trees and
a river, filled with pristine water, flowed nearby, according to
the testament. The gravestone would carry the following
inscription: "Here rests in peace Bung Karno, the spokesman of
the Indonesian people."

I myself did hear this testament mentioned during one of Bung
Karno's addresses, aired through the Radio of the Republic of
Indonesia (RRI), in a repeat broadcast (the address being
broadcast live during the day) some time in 1965 or 1966 when I
still lived in Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta.

According to Bung Karno's family, his testament refers, in
fact, to "Ing Puri Bima Sakti", located on Jl. Batu Tulis, Bogor.
The environment is peaceful and comfortable with leafy trees and
the pristine Cisadane river flowing nearby. This is indeed what
Bung Karno meant in his testament.

Let me quote the opinion of Kh. Fadholi el Manik, chairman of
the Indonesian Moslems Assembly -- a mass organization affiliated
with the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). In the June 28 issue
of Terbit" (if I am not mistaken), Fadholi said: "According to
Islam, every testament, oral or written, must be fulfilled. And
if the testament is not fulfilled, those carrying the testament
will have committed a sin and will be doomed to disaster. While
those preventing the fulfillment of this testament must be made
to understand the reasons behind the need to fulfill the
testament."

(Bung Karno is buried in the town of Blitar, East Java,
despite his wish to be buried in Bogor).

Let me now write a brief account of Bung Karno's struggle for
independence during the Dutch colonial years.

From the time he graduated as an engineer from THS (now the
Bandung Institute of Technology, ITB) in 1926, Bung Karno devoted
himself to the political struggle to liberate Indonesia from the
Dutch colonial yolk.

He set up the Bandung "Generasi Study Club" in 1926 and served
as club secretary. Then in 1927 he established a new organization
based on the concept of nationalism under the name of the
Indonesian Nationalist Association. This later became the
Indonesian Nationalist Party (PNI) and Bung Karno himself became
chairman. This party was based on the principle of non-
cooperation with Dutch colonial rule.

Bung Karno (Soekarno) was intellectual, handsome, brave,
possessed charm and charisma and excelled as an orator. In a
short time he had established support for PNI and successfully
fostered cooperation with a number of moderate leaders.

He became known to the Priangan community as "the wounded bull
of Priangan" or "the hero of Priangan", titles bestowed on him by
those involved in the movement for Indonesia's independence.

In late 1929, a young Soekarno was arrested along with his
colleagues. He was brought to the court and was sentenced to four
years in prison. He was incarcerated in Sukamiskin jail. In late
1931 he was set free.

However, in 1933, he was again arrested and then exiled to
Ende, in Flores, before being transferred to Bengkulu. Following
the banishment of Soekarno, all other party leaders suffered
repressive action and the new PNI chairman, Syahrir, was also
exiled.

Then in early 1942 the Pacific War began and in March of that
year the Japanese troops occupied Indonesia. Bung Karno, Bung
Syahrir and others were set free by the Japanese troops and
returned to Jakarta.

(On Aug. 17, 1945, two days after the Japanese surrendered to
the Allied forces, Soekarno was named president of the newly
proclaimed Republic of Indonesia).

E. KARTAAMIDJAJA

Bogor, West Java