Dutch Call Budi Utomo Too Elitist In Today's History, 19 June 1933

STOVIA Student Portrait (photo: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Today, 89 years ago, June 19, 1933, the Dutch colonial government considered the Budi Utomo (BO) organization to have no significant influence on the bumiputras. Even the organization founded by the natives who graduated from STOVIA is considered too elitist.

Dutch East Indies politician E. Gobee was behind the report. He reported his findings to the Governor-General Bonifacius Cornelis de Jonge. However, E. Gobee was not the first. This opinion was also voiced by the triad (Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo, Soewardi Soerjaningrat, and Ernest Douwes Dekker).

The narrative of independent Indonesia was strengthened when it entered the period of the national movement. A period that became the most decisive moment in the history of the Indonesian nation. The emergence of the organization with the old spelling Boedi Oetomo (BO) is the reason.

BO is an organization dominated by educated bumiputras from the Bumiputra medical school, School tot Opleiding van Inlandsche Artsen (STOVIA). The organization exists to defend the rights of the natives. Mainly education that focuses on the natives in Java and Madura.

After that, Boedi Oetomo became the first indigenous and modern organization for the natives. BO did not run smoothly. Lack of funds is a problem.

Boedi Oetomo, only among the elite.

However, it is not a big problem. Boedi Oetomo's vision of wanting to educate the nation's life is to make BO famous. Many of the STOVIA students then joined in it.

“The decision was taken to form a student organization to advance the interests of the lower priyayi. In May 1908, a meeting was held which gave birth to BO. This Javanese name (which should be spelled Budi Utama) was translated into Dutch by the organization as het schoone streven (beautiful endeavor).”

"But according to the various connotations of the Javanese language, the name also has the meaning of a noble scholar, character, or culture. At the first meeting, there were student representatives from STOVIA, OSVIA (Pangreh Praja School), teacher schools, as well as agricultural and veterinary schools. Budi Utomo's branches were established in these educational institutions," said historian MC Ricklefs in the book History of Modern Indonesia 1200-2008 (2008).

BO's presence attracted a lot of sympathy from other educated bumiputras to join. The members are also abundant. Gradually, the purpose of BO's presence began to be felt not to touch the grassroots. BO is considered only a mere elitist organization. The members are priyayi too.

This opinion was also expressed by the figures of the Three Series. They think BO is too elitist. The lower class bumiputra barely benefited from it. Dutch politician E. Gobee also felt the same way. He gave his findings in the field to Dutch East Indies officials. He said the same thing: BO was not able to touch the lower classes.

“One thing that is felt as a weakness in Budi Utomo's organization is as stated by the Dutch reporter: Er zit geen Kromo in (There are no ordinary people in it). E. Gobée in his report to the Governor General De Jonge, June 19, 1933, said that the general chairman of Budi Utomo RMAA Koesoemo Oetoyo showed that Budi Utomo's efforts to make the villagers more self-aware (zelfbewust) had so far been very successful. Close contact with the rural population, except from the Sragen branch, did not materialize,” concluded Rosihan Anwar in the book “Petite Histoire” Indonesia Small History Volume 1 (2004).