Mohammad Hatta

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Mohammad Hatta : biography

12 August 1902 – 14 March 1980

Post vice presidency

Impact of Retirement

Hatta’s retirement caused shockwaves all around Indonesia, especially for those of non-Javanese ethnicity. In the eyes of non-Javanese people, Hatta was their main representative in a Javanese-dominated Government.

The impact of Hatta’s retirement was evident in the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) rebellion which wanted to break free from Indonesia, and the Universal Struggle (Permesta) movement, which asked for decentralization. In negotiations with the central government, both PRRI and Permesta listed the reunification of the Sukarno/Hatta leadership as one of the concessions that they wanted from the central government.

Government critic

Now outside the government, Hatta began to openly criticize Sukarno. One of his criticisms was Sukarno’s lack of commitment towards national development. Hatta said that the revolution ended with the Dutch recognition of Indonesian sovereignty and that the government’s focus should be on development. Sukarno rejected this idea outright and responded to it during his 1959 Independence Day speech by saying that the revolution was not over.

In 1960, Hatta wrote a book called "Our Democracy". In it, he criticized Sukarno’s Guided Democracy as another form of dictatorship. Sukarno immediately banned the books. The same year Sjahrir’s political party was banned and 2 years later he was imprisoned on conspiracy charges. Hatta wrote a personal letter to Sukarno calling the arrest ‘colonial’ and ‘non-rational’, but to no avail. The old revolutionary trinity had definitively broken down.Mrazek, Rudolf Sjahrir: politics in exile in Indonesia (SEAP Cornel South East Asia program, 1994) ISBN 0-87727-713-3 P.465

Transition from Old Order to New Order

During the tumultuous time which saw the Presidency changed hands from Sukarno to General Suharto, Hatta remained in the background. However, he would break his silence in June 1970, just a week before Sukarno died. In a letter to Suharto, Hatta said that he was disappointed that Sukarno was put under house arrest instead of being put on trial. Hatta’s reason for this was not malicious: he just wanted matters relating to 30 September Movement coup attempt of 1965 to be cleared up and for Sukarno to be given a chance to defend his actions, as many believed that he was not guilty.

New Order

Hatta’s involvement with Suharto’s government came at the beginning of 1970 when there were protests were made about corruption within it. In January 1970, Suharto appointed Hatta, along with three others as members of a commission to investigate corruption within the government. The results of the commission’s investigation was never revealed to public until they leaked in July 1970. It then became apparent that the suspicions of the protesters were correct: there was widespread corruption within the government. Controversially, however, in August 1970, Suharto disbanded the commission and allowed for only two cases of corruption to be looked at by the Government.

In July 1978, together with Abdul Haris Nasution, Hatta set up the Institute for Constitutional Awareness Foundation (YLKB), set up to act as a forum for critics of Suharto’s regime. Suharto’s government moved quickly and did not allow YLKB to conduct its first meeting in January 1979. The YLKB did not give up. In August 1979, it managed to hold a meeting which DPR members attended. Perhaps significantly, members of the Indonesian Military members also attended. During the meeting, Nasution criticized the New Order for not fully implementing the Pancasila state ideology and the 1945 Constitution.

Vice Presidency

Election and first months In office

On 18 August 1945, Hatta was selected as Indonesia’s first Vice President by the PPKI to accompany Sukarno, who had been elected as the nation’s first president.

As Vice President, Hatta quickly established himself as the day-to-day administrator of the government, with Sukarno setting government policy and then trying to win support for it. Although they had different styles of governing, many agree that the style difference complimented both men’s talents perfectly. They were nicknamed the Duumvirate (Dwitunggal) and until today are hailed by many as the best President and Vice President partnership in Indonesia’s history.