The front door of Sumpah Pemuda Museum, with its original ceramic tile and sills (Photo: Brilio.net/Retno Wulandari)
Brilio.net/en - The charming, old colonial building in Kramat Raya Street, Central Jakarta, is usuallyquiet and sleepy. That historical building, which features well-preserved parts of the original site once housed several figures of Indonesia's nationalist movement, such as Soegondo Djojopoespito and Moehammad Yamin. It was also in this building that the initial points of the Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge) was born in 1928.
Diorama showing the scenebefore the reading of the 2nd Youth Congress verdicts, with W.R. Soepratman playing his masterpiece, Indonesia national anthem.
2016 brilio.net/Retno Wulandari
But on a cloudy Thursday morning on October 27, the modern day Museum of Sumpah Pemuda was flooded with hundreds of visitors, most of them children and teenagers visiting with their schools before the commemoration of the 88th Indonesian Youth Pledge Day. They were there to visit the Doctor Moewardi Exhibition, an exhibition held in memory of the doctor who was also part of the 1928 movement. It's been a while since the museum catered to hundreds of visitors within its premises and those who were there were mostly present out of invitation.
It's concerning to admit that Indonesians, especially the youth, have long lost their interest in their own history, let alone the museums that keep them. Sure,larger museums in Jakarta have managed to gain increasing attention following a series of improvements and renovations, but their smaller counterparts, ones put together with a much smaller budget, often find themselves deserted and largely ignored. The Sumpah Pemuda Museum,for example, was forced to stop observingits Youth Pledge Day Ceremony routine due to the lack of funds, despite being an important site with a major starring role in the historical event.
Some dioramas of Sumpah Pemuda Museum, depicting a discussion of three students
2016 brilio.net/Retno Wulandari
The Youth Pledgewasinitiated by a group of Indonesian young pioneers, some of who lived in an old house in the Kramat Raya area,known as Kramat 106 or Indonesische Clubhuis. Those young students rented the building at 12.5 guilders per person per month or an equivalent of 40 liters of rice at the time and had a domestic assistant called Bang Salim who took care of the house.
Display panels in every room tell stories about Indonesian pre-independence youth movements
2016 brilio.net/Retno Wulandari
Diorama of a man listening to an old radio.
2016 brilio.net/Retno Wulandari
It was here that youngintellectuals from various regions across the country would oftengather to discuss different issues faced by the nation, counting historical figures such as Soekarno as a member of their discussions.Some of them were also members of other Indonesian youth organization, such as Jong Java (the Javanese youth association).
These gatherings eventually culminated in congress events that later on gave birth to the Indonesian Youth Pledge we know:
We, sons and daughters of Indonesia, acknowledge one Motherland: Indonesia.
We, sons and daughters of Indonesia, acknowledge one nation: The Nation of Indonesia.
W1e, sons and daughters of Indonesia, honor the language of unity: The Indonesian Language.
These words bear very deep meaning, if one is willing to look a little further. The pledge had united young people from all regions in Indonesia to achieve one goal: national recognition and sovereignty; young souls who took brave steps under the iron-fisted reign of the Dutch East Indies' governor general H. J. De Graff.
But things weren't always so ideal. Even in their fight for unity, they, too, faced issues over tribal influences, which at the time made it difficult to get everyone under a single umbrella of nationalism.
W.R. Soepratman, the composer of Indonesia national anthem, Indonesia Raya
2016 brilio.net/Retno Wulandari
W. R. Soepratman's original violin.
2016 brilio.net/Retno Wulandari
An old house full of memories.
2016 brilio.net/Retno Wulandari
A look back on the history of Indonesia's youth movements beg the question: how are the youth fairing now? Decades after the pledge of unity was declared, it remains difficult to maintain a sense of unity among youngsters, with the storm of today's global influences and modern lifestyles. If today's youngsters need a bit of a boost in seeing the power of unity that eventually led Indonesia's independence, they need only to pay Rp2,000 at the Sumpah Pemuda Museum,even cheaper than a Metro Mini ride.
(brl/red)
