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.