Page 41 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE
IN INDONESIA

When Yahya addressed the Volksraad on June 16, 1927, he did something
unusual. He gave his speech in Malay. Besides Agus Salim, Yahya was
the only person to use Malay in his first speech. He appealed to the mem-
bers of the Volksraad to interrupt him if there was anything inappropriate,
but they must do so in Malay.

Another Volksraad bumiputra member was Teu-
ku Nyak Arif (1899–1946) from Aceh, appointed
in 1927. After completing his civil service study
from the Kweekschool in 1908 in Bukittinggi, he
The arrests of figures became active in politics, becoming a member of
the Nationale Indische Partij (NIP) — previously
considered dangerous known as Insulinde — in 1918.

to the government A few months before the Youth Congress was

predominated the end held in October 1928, during a Volksraad session

of the 1920s. on June 18, 1928, Nyak Arif delivered a speech in
Dutch about the idea of “Indonesia”. At the time,
“Indonesia” was still an ideal and a sensitive sub-
ject for the colonial government. In his speech,
Nyak Arif stated that if the Volksraad were to
discuss the political situation in this country, it
would undeniably touch on the subject of “Indo-
nesia”. Later Nyak Arif, with M. H. Thamrin, would form the National Fac-
tion within the Volksraad.

During the 1930s, the Dutch East Indies Colonial Government tightened
its grip on radical parties. The arrests of figures considered dangerous
to the government predominated the end of the 1920s. Nevertheless,
the idea of national unity became stronger. Various internal and
external issues provoked debates in the Volksraad sessions, saturating
the council’s historical record regarding the colonial government’s
reactionary policies.

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