In memory of Sir Laurens -- A man of noble ideas

By Tamalia Alisjahbana

JAKARTA (JP): Sir Laurens van der Post, writer, philosopher, spiritual adviser to Prince Charles and Margaret Thatcher and godfather to Prince William, is primarily known for his books on the Bushmen of Africa, as well as his advocacy of spiritual values in an increasingly materialistic world.

What is perhaps less well-known are his years of being a prisoner of war in Java and his later role in Indonesia's struggles for independence.

Sir Laurens, who was born in South Africa in 1906, died on Dec. 16. A selamatan (prayer) was held recently at his former residence, Jl. Imam Bonjol 2 -- now the residence of the deputy head of the mission of the British Embassy -- to commemorate the 40th day of his death.

Sir Laurens, who was an early and outspoken opponent of apartheid, left South Africa in the 1920s. He settled in England as a writer and dairy farmer in Gloucestershire. There he struck up the first of his many famous friendships with John Maynerd Keynes, Virginia Woolf and other leading Bloomsbury personalities. Although he was successful in his works, he later described this period of success as the unhappiest part of his life because he was oppressed by a sense of impending doom which later took the form of World War II.

It was during this time that Sir Laurence traveled to Japan, where he learned Japanese and made some lasting friendships. Later, when he enlisted in the British army and ended up as a prisoner of war in Java, this put him in the unique position of being one of the few prisoners of war able to speak Japanese. That apparently helped save his life because when he walked into a Japanese patrol in the jungle readying their guns to shoot him, an inner voice led him to call out in the highest and politest form of Japanese -- such as one would use in addressing the (Japanese) Emperor -- "Excuse me gentlemen, please wait one moment."

The startled soldiers did not shoot at him and he ascribed his action to "that other person within". The incident was an important step in his journey of self-discovery and his deep interest in the intuitive and nonrational aspects of the human psyche, which he felt modern man needed to express in order not only to remain psychologically healthy but to survive.

All of Sir Laurens' books reflect a Jungian psychology and a concern with the collective unconscious. "Without myth, the life of a people lacks direction and meaning," and he felt that "the great need of our time was to recapture our myths."

Sir Laurens' experience as a prisoner of war in Indonesia can be read in his book The Night of the New Moon. The book was written to explain why Sir Laurens felt that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary. In explaining this, he told the story of his imprisonment in Java and the surrender of the Japanese.

Based on his experiences in Java, he also wrote The Sower and the Seed, which was later successfully adapted into the film Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, starring David Bowie and the Japanese pop idol Ryuichi Sakamoto.

The Allied victory was made known to Sir Laurens in a very stirring fashion at the end of the war. One day, he was removed from his camp and driven out into the night without any explanation.

He assumed that he was to be shot but instead, he was taken to a large house with many military cars in the driveway. Inside were the Japanese high command officials in Java, all gathered around a table in full uniform. He was led to the table and an adjutant arrived with wine glasses. The leading general then raised his glass and said: "We sincerely drink to your victory."

The first Allied troops to arrive in Indonesia were British troops, who were given the task of disarming the Japanese and releasing the prisoners of war. The Japanese asked Sir Laurens to accompany them in a small boat to meet the H.M.S. Cumberland which brought in the first British troops and a number of Dutch members of the colonial administration. The Japanese asked Sir Laurens to try to inform the British and the Dutch of the true situation in Indonesia.

The Netherlands Indies colonial government, which had withdrawn to Australia at the time of the Japanese invasion, was now broadcasting from Australia that they would soon be returning and that they intended to hang nationalist leaders Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta as collaborators. They had no idea of the real situation and expected the Indonesians to greet their return with open arms. According to Sir Laurens, "They thought Java was ready for tourism when in fact the Indonesians had declared their independence and did not want them back."

On the Cumberland, Sir Laurens briefed Admiral Patterson of the nature of events in Indonesia and for a time, he and the admiral were in charge of managing the situation in Java. Sir Laurens was then sent on to Sri Lanka to speak to Lord Mountbatten, who was in charge of Allied forces in Southeast Asia and later he was sent on to Europe to speak to the British prime minister and the Dutch cabinet.

Sir Laurens was one of the few people who strongly urged the British to recognize Indonesian nationalist leaders and negotiate with them. As he expressed it later, "I felt that we had all suffered so much, having gone through years of war and surely we deserved something better now than more fighting."

Mountbatten apparently agreed with him and he returned as Mountbatten's special envoy, He worked tirelessly to get the Dutch, the Indonesians and the British to sit down at a negotiating table. He did not want to see the British drawn into a colonial war on Holland's behalf when Britain was itself in the process of giving India and Burma (now Myanmar) independence.

During the Battle of Surabaya, Sir Laurens was in Europe arguing his case and he looked back with regret at a battle he felt should never have been fought. He advocated an independent Indonesia within a Dutch Commonwealth much like the British model later for Malaya (now Malaysia).

For his efforts, he was ostracized by most of the Dutch colonial administration and by many British officers, who sympathized with the Dutch. Among the many Indonesian nationalist leaders that he knew were Sutan Syahrir, Hatta, Sukarno, Amir Syarifuddin, Haji Agus Salim, A.K. Gani and Maria Ulfah. Many of these became his personal friends.

In 1994, journalist Aristides Katoppo and I went to interview Sir Laurens in London. As we climbed the stairs to his apartment, I mentioned that we ought to ask him to write a book about his experiences in Indonesia during the struggle for independence because he was in the unique position of having witnessed behind- the-scene struggles of the Indonesians. His account would be of great value to anyone interested in modern Indonesian history.

As Sir Laurens opened the door to us, his first words were, "Have you ever heard of synchronicity?"

We said that we had and he then told us, "Two weeks ago I just finished a book about my experiences in Indonesia after the Japanese surrender. In 50 years, no Indonesian journalist has ever asked me for an interview and now my book is ready. I have not yet announced it when two Indonesian journalists asked me for an interview. I consider this a good moment."

In my interview with him, what struck me most in his stories about our leaders at that time was not only the idealism of the young men and women who led our nation to independence, but also their unconquerable sense of humor at a time of great stress and danger. I have often heard that our first prime minister, Sutan Syahrir, had a fine sense of humor but Sir Laurens was the first person I met who actually remembered one of Syahrir's jokes.

Apparently, when Britain pulled out its troops, Syahrir held a farewell party for them and it was a great success. He told them that although they had met on the battlefield, the Indonesians had found many qualities in them to respect, such as their innate courtesy, their sense of fair play and so forth. When the Dutch heard of this, they were furious because it was not in their interest to see the British and the Indonesians getting on well together.

Later, when Syahrir met Lt. Gov. Van Mook he reassured him, "You must not be angry. I promise you, when the Dutch leave Indonesia we will make an even bigger party. In fact we'll make one every year!"

Another story was when A.K. Gani met the notorious Westerling, who committed mass murder in Sulawesi. One day while Gani was in his office, Westerling came suddenly barging in. He slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Do you know who I am? I am Westerling."

Gani, a small man compared to Westerling, apparently looked up and responded mildly, "And I am A.K. Gani ... Osterling (a pun on Westerling's name)."

Perhaps such gallant humor is the exclusive domain of the young and idealistic, but whatever the reason, it is sorely missed in our present political situation. All our officials seem to take themselves very seriously. How refreshing it would be to have a politician who could occasionally make us laugh.

At the end of an operation, the commander in chief usually writes a report, but Mountbatten never wrote one on Indonesia. The only report ever written was by Sir Laurens. However, for fear that its contents might offend the Dutch foreign office, the British foreign office kept it closed. It is only now, 50 years later, that this report is open to the public. It appears as probably the most interesting item in Sir Laurens' recently published book The Admiral's Baby.

The book will be published in Indonesia this year, both in English and in Indonesian as a joint publication of Pustaka Sinar Harapan and Dian Rakyat.