Page 29 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE
IN INDONESIA

1918–1921:

FROM ‘NOVEMBER PROMISE’ TO

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM

The first Volksraad meeting was held on May 21, 1918, opened at nine o’clock in
the morning by its Chair Koningsberger. Present members, including the chair,

numbered 30 people.

IN contrast to the enthusiasm shown by the leaders of the indigenous
organizations, Europeans were indifferent about the Volksraad. On the
streets of Batavia on May 18, 1918, the day of the council’s opening, there
had been only one flag flying along the route to the meeting venue. The
public seemed to be still resting following a big party at the Botanical
Garden (Planten-en Dierentuin) and avoiding the Hertogspark where the
Volksraad building was located.

Seen from its membership, the Volksraad did not reflect a true repre-
sentation. From its 39 members, 20, including the chair, were Europe-
ans, followed by 15 bumiputra, and then three were from the Vreem
de Oosterlingen (Oriental) group. Half of the members were chosen by
local councils.

In the first sessions, the tribunes dedicated to the public were often
empty. Still, the sessions were warm and exciting after the bumiputra
representatives threw different critiques that spurred the European rep-
resentatives’ attention. Many of the Europeans reacted or mocked the
bumiputra who were outspoken.

Communists, the Indische Sociaal Democratische Vereeniging (ISDV)
members, and the leftist leaders of Sarekat Islam had resisted the forma-
tion of the council. They believed the council was a “puppet show” or a
“farce”, mockeries they often used to refer to the Volksraad. The number
of nationalists questioning the council’s effectiveness increased rapidly
in the 1920s.

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