Bung Hatta Oath: Will Not Get Married Until Indonesian Independence Arrives

Bung Hatta and Rahmi Hatta during a visit to the Netherlands. Bung Hatta once vowed never to marry before Indonesia's independence arrived. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Indonesia's independence is a fixed price. That is what is engraved in every freedom fighter's heart. Mohammad Hatta, one of them. In fact, Hatta even took an oath not to marry until Indonesia became independent.

Even a real man. He also proved his promise. The time is devoted to study and struggle. He also ended his oath when Indonesia became fully independent. Three months after Indonesia's independence, he proposed to his idol Rahmi Rachim.

Bung Hatta was happy to graduate from the Prins Hendrikschool (PHS) Batavia Trade School. His path to building a career in the Dutch East Indies was wide open. The salary is predicted to be high as well. However, Hatta was not necessarily satisfied.

Instead of wanting to get a high salary, Bung Hatta actually wanted to continue his education to a higher level. The Netherlands is the goal. The dream was made worse because one of the teachers at PHS, Dr. De Kock supports Hatta's move.

De Kock reminded Hatta not to be too carried away by a big salary. Moreover, Hatta is still young. Position and property are impermanent. It's eternal knowledge.

Bung Hatta when he married Rahmi Rachim or who is familiarly called Yuke in a simple event in Bogor on 18 NOvember 1945. (Wikimedia Commons)

Bung Hatta's desire to continue his education was welcomed by his family. Everyone supports the move. Hatta also sought scholarships as a guide to living and studying in the Netherlands. The pinnacle of being loved by scholars arrived. Hatta went to the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, Hatta studied at the Handels Hoogere School, an economics college in Rotterdam. He majored in trade economics. During those college days, Hatta was filled with a strong desire to liberate the nation.

Indische Vereeniging or the Indies Association (later renamed the Indonesian Association) became his political vehicle. He didn't think about anything else. Apart from studying and politics. For the sake of the struggle for independence, Hatta even strengthened his oath not to marry before Indonesia was freed from the shackles of colonialism.

"Indeed, the emphasis of our struggle is to destroy Dutch imperialism, we must not forget in the blink of an eye, that our struggle is related to the Pacific issue. Situated on the edge of the great ocean of the great ocean now called the Pacific, the country will inevitably be drawn into the drama to come.”

“We know that these dramas are the final verdict of racial conflict. As an important part of our foreign propaganda as an important part of our political struggle, the goal should be the unity of the eastern nations. The sharper the racial conflict, the closer we are to the final conflict," said Bung Hatta in the book Mohammad Hatta: Memoir (1979).

Married After Independence

Soekarno and Hatta proclaimed Indonesia's independence on August 17, 1945. Bung Hatta pledged cash. He also began to think about the problem of marriage. His comrades, Hatta, also offered to help him find a mate.

Soekarno's wife, Fatmawati, also revealed that her husband was Bung Hatta's matchmaker. Bung Karno saw that Hatta had an interest in the son of his close friend: Abdul Rachim. He also took the initiative to match Hatta with Rahmi Rachim.

However, Fatmawati's version is considered inaccurate by Rahmi Rachim himself. On several occasions, the woman who is familiarly called Yuke said that she and Bung Hatta had exchanged letters intensely before. Therefore, Bung Karno, only became a 'mouthpiece' alias courier Bung Hatta letter to Yuke.

Even so, both versions emphasize that Bung Karno chose a central role that brought Bung Hatta closer to his future wife. Yuke's parents approved Bung Hatta as their future son-in-law. Even Yuke feels Bung Hatta is the right match.

Bung Hatta married Rahmi Rachim with a dowry in the form of his book entitled The Greek Mind. (Wikimedia Commons)

The two of them were married in a simple and solemn manner on November 18, 1945, in Megamendung, Bogor, West Java. Bung Hatta also made the book he wrote during his exile in Digoel, then Banda Neira as a dowry. The book is the Greek Mind.

“The advice was carried out by my father when he was studying to mainland Europe, then later in his exile. This explains why Digoel is a home away from home for dad. A place to live far from home, but this is also a home to carry out his mission of struggle so that when he lives with the community of fellow prisoners in Digoel.”

“My father raised the spirit of community life by studying together and exercising. To fellow prisoners and their families. I share knowledge. In his solitude, my father wrote an essay on philosophy, which later the collection of essays was entitled The Greek Mind, and became the father's dowry to his mother when they got married on November 18, 1945," said Bung Hatta's children, Meutia, Gemala, and Halida. in the book Bung Hatta in the Eyes of his Three Daughters (2015).