"The students lived in a boarding house belonging to Sie Kong Liang. The house stands at what is now Jl. Kramat Raya 106. Kong Liang was so irate at the nonpayment of rent that he brought the case to court in 1934." (THE JAKARTA POST SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2000)
Kramat Raya 106: Birthplace of the Youth Pledge By Ida Indawati Khouw Every Oct. 28 Indonesia celebrates Hari Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge Day), to commemorate the day in 1928 when youths from various islands vowed to unite and found an independent state. This article, the 60th on historic and protected buildings and sites in Jakarta, provides a brief history of the building where the young activists made their pledge. JAKARTA (JP): A bitter fact unwritten in history: Many of the heroic youths who organized the historic Youth's Pledge on Oct. 28, 1928, were so poor they could not pay the rent for their boarding house. It was in this house that the youths pledged to unite despite their different ethnic, religious, social and political backgrounds to found an independent Indonesia. If you were not aware of the dire financial straits of the youths, you are not alone. The history books, of course, focus on the heroic side of their lives. The students lived in a boarding house belonging to Sie Kong Liang. The house stands at what is now Jl. Kramat Raya 106. Kong Liang was so irate at the nonpayment of rent that he brought the case to court in 1934. There is no record of how much in arrears the youths were to Kong Liang. However, the Goddess of Fortune was apparently on the youths' side, as Kong Liang lost the legal battle. The students' victory was attributed to their lawyers, Muhammad Yamin and Amir Sjarifoeddin from the Indonesische Clubgebouw (IC Indonesian Clubhouse), which was also a tenant of Kong Liang's building. The owner, who did not live in the house, appealed the decision but Yamin and Sjarifoeddin urged IC chairman Roesmali not to appear in court and to avoid the case. At the suggestion of friends, Roesmali fled to his hometown in Sumatra. It is unclear how this little legal drama ended. The historic event at Kong Liang's house that Indonesia observes every year as Hari Sumpah Pemuda was in fact the second Youth Congress. It was during this event that the patriotic song Indonesia Raya (Great Indonesia) by Wage Rudolf Supratman was first sung to mark such an auspicious occasion. The song later became the national anthem. Youths living in the house belonged to various ethnic associations, such as Jong Java (Younger Generations of Java), an organization grouping students from Java. It was a trend among students to rent a house during their study in Batavia (the former name of Jakarta). These rented houses were known as in de kost, Dutch for boarding and lodging. The rent for each student was 7.5 guilders per month. Education was still not universal, especially for people outside Java, and those who wanted to continue their studies had to do so in Java, most often in Batavia. It was normal for students to associate only with other students from the same area, and they formed groups based on their place of origin, such as Jong Celebes from Sulawesi, Jong Sumatranen Bond from Sumatra, Jong Ambon from Maluku, Jong Bataks Bond from North Sumatra. Aside from being a place to stay, the Javanese youths made use of the boarding house to hold political discussions and to rehearse for traditional Javanese performances, which were put on by the Langen Siswo arts group. Unlike Dutch houses which had large rooms and spacious yards, the rooms in the boarding house were not very big. The house consisted of numerous rooms with a comfortable veranda in the back, and the property was large enough to accommodate the approximately 1,000 youths who attended the youth congress. The congress was able to go forward only after the various youth groups were able to agree on a common agenda: to unite and fight for freedom from Dutch colonial rule. Numerous documents suggest that by the end of 1927, segregation among the youths began to fade to the point where the students living at Jl. Kramat Raya 106 were not only Javanese. They then named the house Indonesische Clubgebouw. The activities of the students included reading the house contained a small library full of books and newspapers holding political discussions and playing billiards. Topics of the informal discussions, usually held after dinner and running well into the night, included the qualities of the ideal national leader and how youths from different areas could understand other cultures and languages in order to create a spirit of nationalism. "They could be categorized as idealist utopian youths ... They discussed the idea of nation, national language and the free state, whereas the Dutch colonial government was very harsh against such thoughts," according to the book Peranan Gedung Kramat Raya 106 dalam Melahirkan Sumpah Pemuda (The Role of the Kramat Raya 106 Building in the Birth of the Youth Pledge). Within a short period of time the youths realized their dreams by organizing the famous second youth congress, which became a milestone in the unity of Indonesia. The first congress had been held in Batavia on April 30, 1926, and became known as Youth Congress I. It focused on the importance of fusion among youth organizations. The second congress was held on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, 1928, at several locations. The first session was at the Katholieke Jongelingen Bond (Catholic Youth Organization) building at Waterlooplein (now Lapangan Banteng, Central Jakarta); the second at Oost Java Bioscoop (East Java Cinema) on Koningsplein Noord (the present Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, Central Jakarta). Only the last session, on the night of Oct. 28, was held at the boarding house on Kramat Raya, taking place on the back veranda. Newspapers recorded how people enthusiastically followed the event. Dharmokondo newspaper from Surakarta, Central Java, reported in its Nov. 2, 1928, issue that approximately 1,000 students were present at the event. Persatoean Indonesia, the Batavia based newspaper, said there were approximately 750 in attendance. The newspaper also stated "representatives from various (colonial) government offices were present, including the police. It is clear that the secret service agents were there, secretly trying to go unnoticed among the public, like tigers with the hearts of rats". Several national leaders delivered speeches in the Malay language during the event, with the police interrupting to remind the leaders they were not allowed to discuss certain subjects. Speeches in the Dutch language were immediately translated into Malay by the prominent Muhammad Yamin, who was a first year law school student. The congress was closed with the Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge): "First, we the young men and women of Indonesia profess one homeland, the land of Indonesia. "Second, we the young men and women of Indonesia profess one people, the people of Indonesia. Third, we the young men and women of Indonesia hold in high esteem one language, the Indonesian language." Marie V. Mohr noted in her book The Call of the Hibiscus, Indonesia's Message to the World that Yamin was fired with a zeal and a vision that Malay should be the national language. Yamin, who presented the major address at the congress, was one of the student members of the committee that had planned the congress and also the leader of the Sumatra Youth Group. Mohr interviewed several people who had attended the congress, some of whom said Yamin was inspired to make the Malay language the national language. "An interesting aspect was that Yamin intuitively felt that the national language was to be the Malay language. It was said 'Muhammad Yamin was inspired' and 'He liked to sleep at Borobudur (the magnificent temple in Central Java built around the year 800)," Mohr writes. She also writes that the congress attendants she interviewed recalled how the national language became a major tool for breaking down barriers between different ethnic and tribal groups, and also served as a means to democratize relationships between different groups from the same areas. In 1934 the Indonesian Clubhouse dispersed following the debt dispute with the building's owner, but some of the members continued their activities at Jl. Kramat Raya No. 156. The house was then rented to other people and put to various uses, such as a florist, a hotel and a customs office. In 1960, former IC members tried to purchase the building and have it named an historical site. At first the owner agreed to sell the property, but then changed his mind. Several Sumpah Pemuda figures continued to fight to preserve the property. No further developments were recorded, and in 1974 the Jakarta administration declared the building the Sumpah Pemuda museum, which consists of photographs of Indonesia's struggle for independence and statues of national leaders. "We are now facing difficulties processing the building's title because its transaction documents have gone missing," says the manager of the museum, Dalimun St. THE JAKARTA POST SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2000 PAGE 8 --- In budaya_tionghua@yahoogroups.com, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > Mengapa dalam teks literaturnya tidak dibilang bahwa Gedung Soempah Pemoeda > ini adalah didapatkan dari hibah Keluarga Sie Kong Liong (Liang) kepada > pergerakan pemoeda ?? > Juga dalam situs museum Soempah Pemoeda tidak ada kata "hibah" itu, atau > memang tidak pernah di hibahkan ?? Saya pernah baca didua majalah yang > mengatakan bahwa gedung ini adalah hibah dari Sie Kong Liong. Kalau tidak salah pernah > ada prasastinya. Mohon kejelasannya. > salam, > Dr.Irawan. > > In a message dated 10/29/2007 7:28:43 AM Pacific Standard Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > Dari Milis tetangga, semoga bisa menambah wawasan. > > Budiman > ----- Original Message ----- > From: sastrowardoyo > > > > oleh: Dwi Irwanti > > http://www.museumsumpahpemuda.go.id/Sejarah_gdg.htm > > Menurut catatan yang ada, Museum Sumpah Pemuda pada > awalnya > adalah rumah tinggal milik Sie Kong Liang. Gedung didirikan pada > permulaan > abad ke-20. Sejak 1908 Gedung Kramat disewa pelajar Stovia (School > tot > Opleiding van Inlandsche Artsen) dan RS (Rechtsschool) sebagai > tempat tinggal > dan belajar. Saat itu dikenal dengan nama Commensalen Huis. > Mahasiswa > yang pernah tinggal adalah Muhammad Yamin, Amir Sjarifoedin, > Soerjadi > (Surabaya), Soerjadi (Jakarta), Assaat, Abu Hanifah, Abas, > Hidajat, Ferdinand > Lumban Tobing, Soenarko, Koentjoro Poerbopranoto, Mohammad Amir, > Roesmali, > Mohammad Tamzil, Soemanang, Samboedjo Arif, Mokoginta, Hassan, dan > Katjasungkana > > Sejak tahun 1927 Gedung Kramat 106 digunakan oleh berbagai > organisasi pergerakan pemuda untuk melakukan kegiatan pergerakan. > Bung Karno > dan tokoh-tokoh Algemeene Studie Club Bandung sering hadir di > Gedung Kramat > 106 untuk membicarakan format perjuangan dengan para penghuni > Gedung Kramat > 106. Di gedung ini pernah diselenggarakan kongres Sekar Roekoen, > Pemuda Indonesia, > PPPI. Gedung ini juga menjadi sekretariat PPPI dan sekretariat > majalah Indonesia > Raja yang dikeluarkan PPPI. Mengingat digunakan berbagai > organisasi, maka > sejak tahun 1927 Gedung Kramat 106 yang semula bernama Langen Siswo > diberi nama Indonesische Clubhuis atau Clubgebouw (gedung > pertemuan). > > Pada 15 Agustus 1928, di gedung ini diputuskan akan > diselenggarakan Kongres Pemuda Kedua pada Oktober 1928. Soegondo > Djojopuspito, ketua PPPI, terpilih sebagai ketua kongres. Kalau > pada Kongres > Pemuda Pertama telah berhasil diselesaikan perbedaan-perbedaan > sempit > berdasarkan kedaerahan dan tercipta persatuan bangsa Indonesia, > Kongres Pemuda Kedua diharapkan akan menghasilkan keputusan yang > lebih maju. > Di gedung ini memang dihasilkan keputusan yang lebih maju, yang > kemudian > dikenal sebagai sumpah pemuda. > > Setelah peristiwa Sumpah Pemuda banyak penghuninya yang > meninggalkan > gedung Indonesische Clubgebouw karena sudah lulus belajar. Setelah > para > pelajar tidak melanjutkan sewanya pada tahun 1934, gedung kemudian > disewakan > kepada Pang Tjem Jam selama tahun 1934 - 1937. Pang Tjem Jam > menggunakan > gedung itu sebagai rumah tinggal. Kemudian pada tahun 1937 - 1951 > gedung ini > disewa Loh Jing Tjoe yang menggunakannya sebagai toko bunga (1937- > 1948) dan > hotel Hersia (1948-1951). Pada tahun 1951 - 1970, Gedung Kramat > 106 disewa > Inspektorat Bea dan Cukai untuk perkantoran dan penampungan > karyawannya. > > Tiada kata akhir untuk belajar seperti juga tiada kata akhir untuk > kehidupan. > > (Annemarie Schimmel) > > > > > > > > ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >
