Page 21 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE
IN INDONESIA

A WISH FOR PARLIAMENT

THE bumiputra elites of the Dutch East Indies had expressed the peo-
ple’s wish for a representative government long before the formation of
the Volksraad. For example, Indonesia’s founding fathers proclaimed the
idea for representation at the beginning of the 20th century through po-
litical organizations and writings.

Such organization was the Indische Partij (the Indies Party), the first polit-
ical party in the Dutch East Indies. The party was established in Bandung
on September 6, 1912 by E. F. E. Douwes Dekker (1879–1950), a radical
journalist who sought to raise awareness on the importance of equality
among nations.

The organization’s goal was “to awaken patriotism among the Indies
people of the Indies that had provided them with a livelihood, to urge
them to work together on equal political standing which brings about
development in the Indies, and prepares the people for independence.”

Most of the Indische Partij members were of mixed heritage. A few bu-
miputra among them included Cipto Mangunkusumo (1886-1943), an
alumnus of School Tot Opleiding Indische Artsen (STOVIA) or the Java-
nese Medical School, and Suwardi Suryaningrat, who would later be
known as Ki Hajar Dewantara (1889-1959), a Paku Alam royalty who had
been a student at STOVIA but later became a journalist.

A year after its establishment, the Indische Partij still did not receive a
permit from the colonial government to be acknowledged as an official
political party. According to the Dutch East Indies government, the party
had gone too far in its propaganda to oppose racial discrimination and
promote an independent Indies free from the Netherlands.

On March 4, 1913, Governor General A. W. F. Idenburg issued a letter to
Indische Partij. The letter contained a rejection to recognize Indische Par-
tij as a legal, political organization (rechtspersoon).

Indische Partij had reapplied for legality but again received a rejection.
The Dutch East Indies believed that Indische Partij was too dangerous
an organization for the continuity of the colonial government. As a result,
almost each of their meetings was guarded and monitored by the police
and prosecutors.

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