Bung Hatta Criticizes Bung Karno Often Arrests Political Opponents In Today's History, January 19, 1962

Through a letter, Mohammad Hatta criticized Soekarno who was deemed reckless in arresting Sutan Sjahrir (right) in today's history, January 19, 1962. (Special)

JAKARTA – Today's history, 61 years ago, on January 19, 1962, Mohammad Hatta wrote a letter to his close friend Soekarno. It contained Hatta criticizing Soekarno's steps, which often used the ego of power to push back his political opponents. Hatta took the example of Sutan Sjahrir's arrest.

Previously, Bung Karno and Hatta were the dual pride of the Indonesian nation. Both are considered icons of Indonesia's proud struggle to let go of the shackles of colonialism. They were then asked to become the first President and Vice President of Indonesia.

Soekarno and Hatta are two important figures in the growth and development of the history of the Indonesian nation. the leadership of the two is often predicted to bring Indonesia in a better direction. Moreover, the form of their sacrifice in liberating the Indonesian nation is second to none.

They work together to produce policies that are able to prosper the Indonesian people. The intimacy lasted for quite a long time. Later, a problem arose. Soekarno and Hatta often had great debates, and both of them often changed greatly.

Hatta considered Soekarno to grow into a selfish person. Hatta acknowledged that his ideas in leading were always good. However, the steps taken by Sukarno tended to distance that goal. This tendency is present in various cases. Moreover, Bung Karno did not want to accept input. Finally, Hatta chose to give in. He gave Soekarno the opportunity to carry out all of his policies. Hatta officially resigned as Vice President of Indonesia on December 1, 1956.

The moment of Dwitunggal intimacy, Soekarno-Hatta in the 1950s. (ANRI)

“Hatta decided to resign. On July 20, 1956, Hatta sent a letter to the DPR and copied it to President Soekarno and the Council of Ministers. But the letter was not considered by the DPR. Finally, Hatta sent another letter on November 23, 1956, and announced that as of December 1, 1956, he would resign.

"On November 30, 1956 the DPR convened and accepted Hatta's request. Since then Hatta lived as an ordinary citizen. However, this does not mean that he is no longer involved in national affairs. If there are things that are not in line with his thoughts, he will not hesitate to give advice to the government," explained Anwar Abbas in the book Bung Hatta and Islamic Economics (2010).

Hatta also enjoyed his retirement as the number two person in Indonesia. However, Sukarno's egotism bothered him many times. The climax was when Bung Karno began to arrest his political opponents on January 16, 1962.

At that time Bung Karno arrested Sutan Sjahrir. Even Hatta did not want to hide his frustration with Soekarno's decision. He immediately wrote a letter containing criticism to Bung Karno on January 19, 1962.

From left: Sutan Sjahrir, Lieutenant Colonel Van Beek (Yogyakarta KST Commander), Soekarno, Mohammad Hatta. (nationaalarchiev.nl)

Hatta considered the arrest to be reckless. In fact, Indonesia is a country of law. Instead of using legal procedures, Bung Karno made Indonesia follow his lust for power.

"According to Hamid Algandri, initially in the letter Bung Hatta called the President's action a colonial action. However, later the editorial changed and softened the sound. In that letter, Bung Hatta strongly defended Sjahrir, who in his opinion was a true democrat and could not have been involved in terrorist activity as the President suspected or alleged."

“Before that Bung Hatta was asked whether it was not good for him to talk to the President himself about it. Bung Hatta replied: Not yet time. So, sending Bung Hatta's letter to the President can be considered as the maximum thing Hatta can do today," said Rosihan Anwar in the book Sukarno, Tentara, PKI: Segitiga Kekuasaan Sebelum Prahara Politik 1961-1965 (2006).