Mohammad Hatta

Mohammad Hatta

Mohammad Hatta is my hero because he is an important person in my life. He is almost a perfect person to me. He took us out from the darkness into the light. He is the father of cooperative economic enterprise in Indonesia. He was a political leader. I admire his thoughts about politics and economics. And there are many reasons why I became one of his admirers.

Mohammad Hatta was born in West Sumatra in 1902. He comes from an aristocratic family. Mohammad Hatta got the best education available in the Netherlands Indies. Then he continued his studies in economics at the Rotterdam School of Commerce. He joined the Indonesian Independence Movement and edited a journal, “Indonesia Merdeka." He was arrested in 1927 by the Dutch colonialists. He had a court trial, but he was released. Hatta returned to Sumatra in 1932 and he became the chairman of the Indonesia National Education (Pendidikan Nasional Indonesia), a nationalist organization. He was again arrested by the colonialists and exiled in 1935 for his activities.

Hatta, Soekarno, and other nationalist leaders decided to cooperate with the Japanese to further the purpose of Indonesian independence. So, on 17th of August 1945, Hatta and Soekarno joined in proclaiming the birth of the independent Republic of Indonesia. Soekarno became the president, and Hatta became the vice president. The Indonesian people were very happy because they got their freedom, but the Dutch colonialists resisted the nationalists. Hatta became premier and defense minister in 1948 to fight against the Dutch troops. Again he was imprisoned by the Dutch in 1948. Then he became a minister again, as before, as vice president of the republic.

After Soekarno went down, Hatta returned to his governmental position. He became an adviser of President Soeharto. Hatta died in 1980, leaving behind his family and all of the Indonesian people. But his spirit and his thoughts live on in our memory. I think he is the hero of the revolution in Indonesia. Because of him and his negotiations with the Dutch, we have our freedom again.

Hatta was the man who saved Indonesia from the colonialists. He will be my hero forever. I think if Hatta was still alive now, he would save Indonesia from destruction once again. He is the best and he is still alive in my heart.