Page 53 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE
IN INDONESIA

Volksraad members visit The short Japanese occupation had provided considerable opportuni-
Goodyear factory in Buitenzorg,
one company that utilized rubber ties for the national movement to solidify the plans for independence.
as raw material. Although the Japanese’s role in realizing Indonesian independence was
(Source: Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad, still debatable, the fact was that the Japanese formed an agency to sup-
3 February 1937) port the preparation for Indonesia’s independence.

The agency was called the Investigating Agency for Preparatory Work
for Indonesian Independence (Dokuritsu Junbi Chosa-kai). It was through
this agency that the Indonesian people, through the nation’s founding
fathers, designed and formulated an independent Indonesian state, from
its foundation and territorial sovereignty to its structure. Another orga-
nization that was also formed during the Japanese occupation was the
Chuo Sangi-In, the Central Advisory Board.

On August 1, 1943, the Commander-in-Chief of the 16th Army announced
the drafts for the Indonesians’ participation in the government which in-
cluded the Chuo Sangi-In or Central Advisory Board and Shu Sangi-kai or
Regional Advisory Board in 17 residencies, Special Municipality of Jakar-
ta, the Special Regions of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, and other high-level
positions. The Chuo Sangi-In’s function was merely advisory.

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