The story that
wouldn’t stop gnawing
Every great nation strives to know the truth of its
foundation, why it exists and who was responsible.
When Dr Frank Palmos, whose words start this story, was in
Jakarta more than a half century ago he was handed a sacred trust.
Neither he nor the donor realized it at the time for the
young Australian was one more face in a sea of students at the since demolished
Ikada Stadium. They were listening to diplomat and revolutionary leader Dr
Roeslan Abdulgani speak on the Principles of the Indonesian Revolution.
The stand-out was that Palmos wasn’t just the only foreigner
in the audience - he’d plonked himself in the front-row. Blessed with confidence, language skills and an
inquiring mind the historian-to-be and the Foreign Minister that was, mixed and
matched.
So when Palmos returned to the capital in 1964 with a degree
in Indonesian Studies as correspondent for several newspapers the friendship
thrived. “Dr Abdulgani was as exciting and funny as President Soekarno,” Palmos
recalled. “He was generous with his
relationship.”
The freedom fighter was also a writer with a strong interest
in history, particularly the birth of the nation in 1945 where he’d been a
midwife. His book One Hundred Days in Surabaya that Shook Indonesia was translated by
Palmos into English.
Till now historians have reckoned it’s one of the few
authoritative texts about youngsters armed with bamboo spears who turned words
into action after Soekarno proclaimed Independence on 17 August.
Six weeks later a British-led force of tough Indian troops
landed to recover the East Java capital for the return of the colonialists.
But the Surabayans defied the battle-hardened Gurkhas,
killed their commander Brigadier Aubertin Mallaby, and fought furiously against
the misinformed invaders, for the Dutch had arrogantly assumed they’d be
welcome back.
The fighting climaxed on 10 November, now recognized as National
Heroes’ Day.
Although the British eventually secured the city and its
port the revolutionaries’ furious resistance inspired the nascent nation to maintain
the struggle for four more years till the Dutch capitulated in 1949.
The story of those tragic times is now to be retold. Tanah Keramat [Sacred Territory] should
be available in Indonesian in time for the 70th anniversary of the
day that determined the Republic would be free.
Palmos developed the book out of his doctoral thesis at the
University of Western Australia.
Inevitably he’s encountered some resentment: What’s a foreigner doing
with such precious national memories?
Recounting any state’s history is a job for the home-grown.
“I have a ready reply,” said Palmos during a visit to East
Java where he’s been supervising the translation and talking to a publisher.
The initial print run could be 5,000 copies – a big order in a culture where
readers browse but seldom buy.
“I could not have written this without access to the
personal papers of Dr Abdulgani, one of the Republic’s founders. These were given to me by his family when he
died in 2005.
“Before everything went to the National Archives I worked through
the collection. It included documents the
1945 History Committee had assembled to
publish a major book.
“However Soekarno was against the project; he didn’t wish to
focus praise or attention on any one ethnic group, or city or incident.
“After Soekarno was deposed by Soeharto, Dr Abdulgani became
Ambassador to the United Nations. [The headquarters are in New York.] While in
the US he was influenced by the way Americans handled their history and kept it
alive.
“Later in the 1990s he was an advisor to Megawati
Soekarnoputri [daughter of Soekarno and later the nation’s fifth President] when
she was opposing the Soeharto government. So he was never able to write the
book.
“Another major
resource was General Purnawarman Suhario’s
Memories of a Student Soldier. I
encountered this by chance and learned the author was still alive.
“I borrowed a
video recorder and rushed to Jakarta.
The old soldier, known as Hario Kecik, came to the Obor Foundation
publisher’s office in his uniform and medals – it was an extraordinary and
moving moment. I also had access to interviews conducted with veterans by the
army. My book is really fulfilling and
extending Dr Abdulgani’s dream.”
[In 2003 Dr Retnowati
Abdulgani-Knapp [ right, with Frank] published a biography of her father titled A Fading Dream.]
After Jakarta Palmos was sent to report on the Vietnam War. In Saigon he survived an ambush that killed
four other journalists. He spent two
years in the US where he covered space missions. Later he worked in Australian
television. “But the Battle of Surabaya
continued to gnaw,” he said. “It was unfinished business.”
Palmos’
trip to Surabaya was funded by the Australia-Indonesia Association. Last year he won the AIA’s media section award
given ‘to recognise and honor Australians who have
made significant contributions to the greater understanding and friendship
between Indonesians and Australians’.
On the award night he told the audience: “I’d like to leave this earth knowing I’d left
behind a legacy of literature and history.”
On a side trip to Malang this month (April) Palmos, 75, told
The Jakarta Post: “The Indonesian
people treated me so wonderfully as a student. It would be wrong for me not to
use the knowledge I’ve gained to repay the Republic for what it has given to me.
“I didn’t expect Indonesian historians to be so
disinterested. But Soeharto had his version of the past written after the 1965
coup and I think many just gave up. They should now read and criticise and add
to my book.
“Serious journalists are beholden to continue writing and do more than just go
home and talk about the old days.
“The people of Surabaya are the first independent citizens
of Indonesia. They saved the Republic,
they defended the Proclamation.
“I hope Sacred
Territory revives young people’s interest in their nation’s history. The older generation has had its chance. Dr Abdulgani
told me long ago that it was a good story; he was right.”
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