Who is Soetardjo Kartohadikusumo?

Who is Soetardjo Kartohadikusumo?

By Johannes Simbolon

JAKARTA (JP): When the descendants of the late Dr. Soetardjo
Kartohadikusumo presented his collection of books, manuscripts
and documents to the National Archives this month, the first
question that struck most reporters invited to cover the event
was "Soetardjo who"?

The brief ceremony received scant coverage and was even passed
up by two dignitaries invited to the event, former defense
minister Gen. (retired) L.B. Moerdani and Coordinating Minister
of Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman.

It was simply a brief exchange of words by Soetardjo's fourth
son, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Setiadi, and the National Archives
Director, Noerhadi Magetsari. After snacks and soft drinks the
entire ceremony was over.

A little research or recollection of one's school history
books will give some insight into the man Soetardjo, and also
raise questions about why has the nation failed to give him his
due credit.

In the 1930s, Soetardjo, according to the schoolbooks, was a
member of the Volksraad, the Dutch East Indies parliament with
limited, semi-sovereign powers. Real control was still retained
by The Hague.

Soetardjo made a major breakthrough in August 1936 when he
filed a petition, through the parliament, calling on the
Netherlands to give full sovereignty within 10 years.

After weeks of heated debate, the 60-member House, which also
included Dutch and other European settlers, agreed to endorse the
document. Hence the name the "Soetardjo petition".

But when the petition was presented to the Netherlands, it was
rejected outright by Her Majesty, stating that Indonesians were
not capable of governing the country.

This appears to be the only mention of Soetardjo in the
national history books -- a small, but significant action given
the place and the time.

When he pushed his petition, he had the support of two close
friends in the Volksraad -- Muhammad Husni Thamrin and G.S.S.J.
Ratulangi.

These two names are more familiar. Both have been named
national heroes and have also been immortalized in the names of
two major streets in Jakarta. A university in Manado, where
Ratulangi came from, has also been named after him.

But not Soetardjo.

Though most are descendants, the few that remember him are,
however, quite proud of him.

"We've never asked and won't ever ask others to have him named
as a national hero. My father always told us to let others make
their judgments freely," says Setiadi.

More information about this historic figure who failed to gain
greater recognition can be found in the memoir entitled
Soetardjo: `Petisi Soetardjo' dan Perjuangannya (Soetardjo: the
'Soetardjo's Petition' and his Struggle), written posthumously by
close friends and relatives

Soetardjo, as the memoir suggests, was a "constitutionalist".
Though he deplored the political system of the time, he never
attempted to violate the constitution and continued his fight
through the Volksraad, rather than through outside channels.

After graduating from SOVIA, a special training school for
ambtenaar, or civil servants, at the beginning of the century,
Soetardjo started as an aide clerk in a local village. He was
loved by his superiors, both the Dutch and the Indonesian, for
his excellent work and loyalty to the Dutch-Indies
Administration. His career kept rising.

At the peak of his career in 1930s, he was offered two
alternatives of either becoming a regent, a very eminent position
at the time, or a member of the Volksraad, representing the party
of civil servants. He chose the latter. This decision, and his
eponymous petition, later allowed him to carve a niche in the
nation's history, albeit a very small one.

During the Japanese occupation of 1942-145, Soetardjo was
offered the job of syuutyookan, or chief administrator, over the
Greater Jakarta area. He gladly accepted it and when Indonesia
proclaimed independence in 1945, he was named by President
Sukarno as West Java governor.

Loyalty

Soetardjo's life was far from illustrious. His loyalty to
several administrations -- the Dutch, Japanese, and Indonesian --
allowed him to survive most of the turmoils sweeping the nation.
If his closest friends, Thamrin and Ratulangi, were incarcerated
by the Dutchmen, he was spared because he always played by the
rules.

Though bold in nature, his petition at the Volksraad was
still constructed within Dutch law. There were no grounds for the
Dutch colonial authorities to jail him or send him into exile as
they did with Sukarno, Mohammad Hatta and Sutan Syahrir, who
fought for independence from outside the system.

One probable reason why Soetardjo was never made a hero by the
nation was because he became what his colleagues of the time saw
as a "collaborator", either with the Japanese or the with the
Dutch.

Soetardjo, says his son Setiadi in the introduction of the
memoir, believed in evolution, a belief that perhaps has its
roots in his long tenure as a civil servant.

He lived a relatively peaceful life, even during the nation's
tumultuous days. Unlike the legendary freedom fighters, he was
not used to improvisation, rebelling, or any maverick style. His
Volksraad petition was proof enough that he had done his best, in
spite of his personal limitations.

He may not be a hero, but he did make a major contribution to
the nation. Now his collection of books, manuscripts and
documents have been donated to the National Archives, which now
should further enrich the nation's historical records.