INTERESTING FACT BEHIND INDEPENDENCE DAY
All of you may have already known the history of the Proclamation of Indonesia Independence day through books, internet or education taught at school. However, behind all of the story that have been told, there are several suprising facts that you may never heard of before which is :
- Indonesian’s Flag from bed sheet
The red and white heritage flag Is the first official flag for Indonesia, but do you guys know the sacred flag made of? Surprisingly, the white color from that flag was taken from the bed sheet and the red sheet was given from Soto seller.
- President Soekarno’s first command was “Fifty Skewers Chiken Satay”
The first order from Soekarno when he was elected as the first President of Republic Indonesia was not to form a cabinet or sign a decree, but to summon a satay seller. He did it on his way home, after being elected by acclamation as president. On his way to went home, incidentally he met a sate maker who didn’t wear shirt and sandals. He immediately ordered “Fifty skewers of chiken satay!”
- The original manuscript of Proclamation was found in the trash
The original text of Indonesian’s proclamation which was handwritten by Bung Karno and dictated By Bung Hatta, was never kept and owned by the government. Surprisingly, the historical manuscript was actually kept well by the journalist BM Diah. Diah found the draft of the proclamation in the trash in Admiral Maeda’s house on August 17, 1945, after it was copied and typed by Sajuti Melik. On May 29,1992 Diah submitted the draft to President Soeharto after keeping it for almost 47 years.
- Bung Hatta lied for the sake of the proclamation
During the revolution, Bung Karno ordered Bung Hatta to ask Jawaharlal Nehru for weapons for help. The way to go to India was done in secret. Bung Hatta used a passport with the name “Abdullah”. Then he departed on a plane piloted by Biju Patnaik, an industrialist who later became a minister in PM Morarji Desai’s cabinet. Bung Hatta was treated very respectfully by Nehru and invited to meet Mahatma Gandhi. Nehru was an old friend of Hatta’s since the 1920s and Gandhi knew of Hatta’s struggles. After the meeting, Gandhi was told by Nehru that “Abdullah” was Mohammad Hatta. Gandhi was furious with Nehru, for not being told the truth. “You are a liar!” said the charismatic figure to Nehru.
Although it is a sacred and historic event, the proclamation process certainly has unique and funny problems that even Indonesian heroes did not expect to be able to do. This is the recipe for the proclamation that is not told in your textbooks. However, the process of the proclamation is still a sacred thing and must be grateful for and also we have to give respect to all figures.
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