Independence Day

17 August is the Independence Day of Indonesia. History records that on 17 August 1945, the founding fathers were proclaiming the independence of Indonesia in Jakarta. At that time, Japanese troops did not make any resistance because they just lost the WWII war from the Allies. It was the right moment for Indonesians to declare independence.

Indonesian fought for independence very hard. Since 1600s the Dutch has colonized Indonesia. The resistances were usually sporadic and local in nature therefore the Dutch easily defeated them using advanced warfare technology. The Dutch also implemented “devide et impera” strategy to break the cultural bonds between Indonesians.

Spirit of Nationalism was raised in Indonesia in the early 1900s. Young national thinkers and founding fathers have pushed all components the nation to unite and fight against the Dutch colonization. WW II has brought Japan to Indonesia. They defeated the Dutch in Indonesia. Since 1943, Indonesia was under Japanese “ruthless” colonization. But our time come when the Allies defeated Japan in 1945. Indonesians proclaimed the independence.

There was one important factor that played great role in the independence of Indonesia. The enemy was obvious i.e. the Dutch or the Japanese. Because of that, resistance spirit is very high. People did the resistance without any “hidden agenda”. It was always came from the heart. All sacrifices are for the country and independence. There was “spiritual factor” in it. People believe in God the Almighty and with pure intention, God has helped Indonesian to be independent. There were many martyrs died during the fight for Independence.

After the declaration of Independence, the Dutch tried to go back to Indonesia with the help from the Allies. The Dutch has done two military aggressions between 1945 and 1949. The conflict was settled in Den Haag in 1949. For the Dutch, 1949 is the year when they “gave” Indonesia independence. For us, 1945 is the year we finally proclaimed independence. No one gave it to Indonesians except the Indonesians them selves.

After the independence, Sukarno, our founding father, has indicated that there is one big hard to defeat enemy. This enemy is “our selves”. It is very hard to defeat our selves. It is very hard to make one self not being selfish. It is our problem now. One can see that national achievements are decreasing in quality from year to year. In the 60s, Indonesia was strong and solid in all aspects e.g. sports and military. In the new century, Indonesia has come to the lowest point of National history. Corruption and low economic performance and many poor people are some of many signs. Indonesia is not “seriously” considered as a powerful nation anymore. One can always say, Indonesia is now the victim of new colonialism.

It is true that controlling one’s self and greed is very hard. It needs spiritual strength within every person and most importantly the leaders. The leaders must know the way, show the way and lead the way. They must set standards and examples. The strength from God Almighty is very important. If all are based on God then the result will be good.

With all my weaknesses, I tried to start changes from home. I believe that a nation acts like a body and family is the cell. If the cell is in good condition, the body will be healthy. If the family is strong and everybody in it has strong character, the nation will also be strong. Like “ayah Edi” said “Indonesia Strong from Home”. Let’s go back to our families and set the high standard from home.

Free yourself to be the best.