Remembering Sayuti Melik, the Proclamation Typist, Amid Concerns Over His Descendant's Welfare

The name Sayuti Melik has recently returned to public conversation, not for his role in Indonesia’s history, but due to the condition of his son, Baskoro, whose reportedly impoverished life has been widely discussed on social media. This has led many to recall the figure of Sayuti Melik, a key contributor to the birth of Indonesia’s Proclamation of Independence on 17 August 1945. His name may not be as popular as Soekarno or Mohammad Hatta, but his contribution is an inseparable part of the history of the Republic of Indonesia’s founding.

Born Mohammad Ibnu Sayuti on 22 November 1908 in Kadilogo, Sleman, Yogyakarta, he later adopted ‘Melik’ as his surname. His greatest role in Indonesian history occurred on the eve of the Proclamation of Independence. In the early hours of 17 August 1945, Soekarno, Mohammad Hatta, and Ahmad Soebardjo drafted the proclamation text at the residence of Admiral Tadashi Maeda in Jakarta. After the handwritten draft was completed, Sayuti Melik was given the crucial task of typing the document using a borrowed typewriter belonging to Major Dr. Hermann Kandeler of the German Navy.

Beyond merely retyping, Sayuti Melik also made several editorial refinements with the approval of the draft’s authors. One significant change was replacing the phrase ‘Wakil-wakil bangsa Indonesia’ (Representatives of the Indonesian nation) with ‘Atas nama Bangsa Indonesia’ (On behalf of the Indonesian Nation). This alteration became part of the Proclamation text read by Soekarno on the morning of 17 August 1945. For this role, Sayuti Melik is remembered as the typist of the Indonesian Proclamation of Independence manuscript.

Following Indonesia’s independence, Sayuti Melik remained active in national political life. He served as a member of the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP), which functioned as a provisional legislative body at the time. He was also entrusted with a position in the House of Representatives (DPR) during the early years of independence. His extensive experience in journalism and political movements earned him respect as a national figure who consistently fought for the nation’s interests.