Page 22 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

FROM VOLKSRAAD TO THE CENTRAL INDONESIAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
(1917–1949)

All government employees who were members of Indische Partij re-
ceived a warning. A few companies even discharged employees for be-
ing a member of the party. Due to the colonial government’s attitude to-
wards the party, party members declined to about 700 from 4,000 in one
to two years. The declining membership happened although members
joined the party secretly.

Although Indische Partij was not recognized as an official organization,
Douwes Dekker and his comrades continued to voice their ideas and
critiques towards the government. For example, when the Dutch East In-
dies Government planned to celebrate the Netherlands’ centennial free-
dom from France in 1913, a committee was formed in Bandung under the
name Comite Boemi Putra. Cipto Mangunkusumo chaired the committee
with Suwardi Suryaningrat as secretary. Abdul Muis and A. Wignyadisas-
tra were members.

The committee’s goals included revoking Article 111 of the Regerings
Reglement on the prohibition on gatherings or trials discussing govern-
ment/political matters in the Dutch East Indies, forming an effective par-
liament/people representative council, and allowing freedom of speech
in the colony.

As an outcome of the committee’s formation, Cipto Mangunkusumo,
Suwardi Suryaningrat, Abdul Muis, and Wignyadisastra were detained.
They were charged for insulting the Dutch East Indies Government and
inciting unrest. However, they persisted. Suwardi reaffirmed matters re-
garding the formation of parliament in his defense record after he was
detained.

Other than Indische Partij, the wish for parliament was also expressed Abdul Muis, c. 1916.
by Cokroaminoto, a figure from Sarekat Islam. Cokroaminoto expressed (Source: KITLV 7814)
this longing during the Sarekat Islam National Congress I in Bandung on
June 17–24, 1916. He stated the need for decentralization, zelfbestuur, and
autonomy in various regions in the Dutch East Indies.

The idea to establish a parliament in the colonies also arose in the
Netherlands. A few years approaching World War I in 1914, the colonial
government had begun realizing the possibility of a military attack from
the outside in the event of a war. As a result, they began to consider
the need for additional ground troops to defend the expansive Dutch
East Indies and to, of course, protect the Dutch citizens in the Dutch
East Indies.

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