Buya Hamka Imprisoned By The Old Order Government In History Today, January 27, 1964

The portrait of Buya Hamka as a young man. (Special)

JAKARTA History today, 59 years ago, January 27, 1964, the government of the Old Order imprisoned Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah (Hamka). The arrest took place because Hamka was considered to have an evil plan. Hamka was accused of a subversive crime. He planned the murder of Bung Karno.

Many parties protested this unreasonable accusation. Moreover, Bung Karno had often imprisoned his political opponents. From Natsir to Sutan Sjahrir. Even in turn, Hamka, who loudly criticized Bung Karno, was also arrested.

Soekarno's struggle to defend the bumiputras from the shackles of colonialism is second to none. This action amazed the whole of Indonesia. Moreover, his sacrifice for Indonesia is quite large. He was willing to be in prison and exiled to realize the narrative of Indonesian independence.

The flames of Bung Karno's spirit in leading Indonesia are not much different. His enthusiasm was burning in the context of realizing the welfare of the Indonesian people. The sound of prosperity was shouted from stage to stage. Everything is to realize Indonesia's dream as a great nation.

In fact, not all Bung Karno's ideas went well. Recently Bung Karno was actually trapped in the romanticism of revolution. He is believed to grow up as a selfish person. Even though his ideas in leading are often brilliant. However, his actions to realize these ideas tend to distance himself from their true goals.

Bung Karno's move to lead often provoked criticism. All kinds of elements of society criticized Bung Karno. Mainly Bung Karno's colleagues during the struggle: Natsir and Sutan Sjahrir. Instead of receiving criticism, Bung Karno actually imprisoned both of them.

Natsir and his groups were very critical of Soekarno's previous and during the period of guided democracy. As I repeatedly mentioned, Soekarno in defeating his political opponents is no longer bound by the rules of the game (democratic rule of the game).

"The Soekarno regime's method of crippling its political opponents is to imprison them, both those who participate in regional insurgency and those who are not for several years without a court process," said Ahmad Syafii Maarif in the book Islamic and Political Regulations (2021).

Bung Karno's efforts to imprison political opponents continue. In fact, anyone can be affected by government criticism. Buya Hamka magazine, Panji Masyarakat, for example. The weekly dwi magazine was circulated by the Old Order government in 1960.

Then, Buya Hamka as a top magazine official was also detained a few years later, or on January 27, 1964. Hamka was in prison on suspicion of a subversive crime. He is considered to have an evil plan to kill Soekarno.

The accusations are considered by many as a far-fetched step. After all, Hamka was detained without a legal process. However, he was later rescued by the birth of the September 30th Movement. A movement of rebellion that became one of the reasons Bung Karno stepped down. Hamka was released in 1966.

After that, he often commented that he was'said by God'' from the dirt and injustice of the Old Order's last days, the name for the Soekarno era. If he was not arrested and detained, he said, he could be part of the tyranny itself to maintain personal safety.

"However, Allah himself uses the hands of the wrong people, who maintain Hamka from the Old Order stamp. Allah is the one who is considered to have used His power to overthrow the Soekarno regime, end the era of injustice and bring down his figures one by one," said James R. Rush in the book Adi cerita Hamka (2018).