BM Diah, An Important Figure For Spreading News On The Proclamation Of Indonesian Independence Throughout The Country

The independence fighter who is also a national press figure, Burhanuddin Mohammad (BM) Diah (left). (Perpusnas)

JAKARTA - The proclamation of Indonesian Independence is a collective effort of all freedom fighters. From the old to the young. Burhanuddin Mohammad (BM) Diah, especially since. The national press figure became a witness from the start to the signing of this historic momentum.

He was then assigned by Bung Hatta to perpetuate a special mission to spread the news of the Proclamation of Indonesia throughout the archipelago. The task was perpetuated with joy in the midst of other freedom fighters having fallen asleep.

The formulation of the text of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence really extorts energy. The freedom fighters of the old and young classes continued to struggle to find a place to formulate the text of the Proclamation of Indonesia on August 16, 1945.

They initially starred at the Des Indes Hotel (now it has been evicted and replaced with an Ambassador shop) as the main location. Later the plan changed because Des Indes did not heed the meeting until late at night.

The choice fell to the house of Japanese high-ranking Admiral Maeda who was pro with the struggle of the bumiputras. Meeting options at Maeda's house were also able to promise security. Because, there are no Japanese soldiers who dare to disturb their officials.

All freedom fighters began to form a small committee to make the script for the Proclamation of Indonesia. The committee consisted of Soekarno, Hatta, Sukarni, Soebardjo, and Sayuti Melik. The selection was none other than because the five were considered qualified in formulating the script.

That trust was not wasted. Despite the many debates related to the diction used to sound independence. The formulation even lasted until the early hours of the morning. Then, all agreed with the text of the proclamation at 03.00 in the morning on August 17, 1945.

Bung Hatta did not then choose to go straight home to rest. Instead, he chose to give a special mission to the freedom fighter, BM Diah. Bung Hatta considers press figures to have great capacity to spread the news of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence throughout the archipelago.

"So the historic trial ended around 03.00 a.m. on August 17, 1945. Maeda left her bedroom and went down with her assistants, such as Nishijima and several others. They congratulated us on the results we achieved. Mr. Miyoshi had already returned to his home when we moved to the middle room. But he already knew that the late-night meeting would confirm the text of the Proclamation he made, which he saw closely.

"Before we went home, I advised several young people who entered the press class, especially BM Diah: you have worked hard every day but you must also continue with the activeness of the new work, namely increasing the text of the Proclamation and spreading it throughout Indonesia as much as possible. The brothers who work at the Domei Office (now: ANTARA News Agency), wire the news of the Proclamation to the rest of the world that can be achieved, "explained Bung Hatta in the book Mohammad Hatta: Memoir (1979).

BM Diah also perpetuated Bung Hatta's special mission. Moreover, he managed to get a draft of the original proclamation script. He then worked in the middle of another fighter sleeping. He didn't care about time. He immediately went to the printing house in Pecenongan in the early hours of the morning.

Siliwangi's printing, his name is BM Diah, which woke up the printing supervisor who was sleeping. He also offered a proclamation script to print. At first, the printing supervisor was reluctant to serve BM Diah. However, after the printing supervisor read about the spirit of independence to remove his drowsiness.

The printing committee moved quickly. He compiled letters to make news related to the text of the proclamation. BM Diah assured the printing supervisor that he needed approximately a thousand leaflets.

The printing committee works deftly. The results are satisfactory. The news width of the Proclamation of Indonesia has been prepared. All of them were done without asking for payment. The print results were then circulated throughout Jakarta, then reproduced to remote areas of the country.

It could be that without BM Diah's part in the news that the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence will not spread throughout the country. Bung Hatta's special mission was completed well by BM Diah. Even though BM Diah had to pay a heavy price because this task prevented him from attending the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence at Pegangsaan Timur 56. All of them because none of them told him the proclamation plan that was originally in IKADA Field was canceled.

Very words of Proclamation on white paper. "About a thousand sheets of circulars I need. I'll get out of the printing station soon with finished goods. No pay. I invite the truck driver, named Boos, to circle parts of the city, starting with Jalan Nusantara now, to Prapatan and others around Gambir, to spread the proclamation leaflets.."

Saya tidak tahu apa akibat penyebaran ini. Tetapi dari keterangan Jenderal Nishimura, guerrilla politik yang saya lakukan sendiri membawa hasil. Katanya, kira-kira tengah hari itu, ketika saya berada di kantor dengan Kepala Bagian Perencanaan dan lain-lain personel, anak saya menangkap sesuatu paper kumal yang dibawa oleh seorang pejabat yang ketakutan dan dibing, dan semua yang hadir tiba-tiba terkejut, karena mengetahui bahwa itu adalah tutuan propaganda dari sebagian bangsa Indonesia mempiluksikan kemerdekuannya lepas dari kekuatan Jepang, cerita BM Diah dalam bukucatatan BM Diah (2018).