Wage Rudolf Soepratman, composer of the Indonesian national anthem “Indonesia Raya”
Jakarta, IO – One of the milestones in Indonesia’s struggle for independence is the Youth Pledge of 1928. The idea for holding the Second Youth Congress on October 27–28, 1928, originated from the Indonesian Students’ Association (PPPI), a youth organization comprising students from across Indonesia. The Congress aimed to unite the youth in the spirit of independence and nationalism.
The congress declared, “We, the sons and daughters of Indonesia, acknowledge one motherland, Indonesia. We, the sons and daughters of Indonesia, acknowledge one nation, the nation of Indonesia. We, the sons and daughters of Indonesia, uphold the language of unity, Indonesian.”
For the first time in Congress, the national anthem “Indonesia Raya,” composed by Wage Rudolf Soepratman, aired. Sadly, WR Supratman was not available to witness his song inaugurated as Indonesia’s national anthem. He passed away on August 17, 1938, at the age of 35.
Wage Rudolf Soepratman was born in Purworejo on March 19, 1903, as the seventh child of nine siblings to Djoemeno Senen Sastrosoehardjo, a soldier in the Dutch KNIL, and Siti Senen. When he was six years old, he enrolled in the Boedi Oetomo school in Jakarta, although he did not finish school as his mother had passed away.
Roekijem Soepratijah, his eldest sister, and Willem van Eldik, his brotherin-law, took Soepratman to Makassar in 1914 to enable him to attend a Dutch school (Europese Lagare School) after inserting the name “Rudolf” to be accepted as a student there, as children classified as “Inlanders,” like Soepratman, would find it difficult to go to Dutch schools. He was soon expelled from the Dutch school after it was revealed that he was not Willem van Eldik’s biological son.
Wilful Soepratman secretly enrolled in a Malay school, and his siblings eventually approved of it. Soepratman was very diligent in his studies. After returning from school, Soepratman would practice the guitar and violin. Willem van Eldik was the one teaching him the violin. Soepratman received his first violin from his brother-in-law van Eldik as a memento, which encouraged him to develop his talent.
After completing his studies at the Malay school in 1917, Soepratman joined an evening Dutch language school until he finally passed the Klein Ambtenaar Examen, known as the K.A.E. diploma, in 1919. He continued studying at the Normaalschool, a teacher training school.
He was only 20 years old when he became a teacher at “Sekolah Angka 2” (Numeral School 2). In the following two years, he earned the Klein Ambtenaar certificate and worked for a trading company. He then moved to Bandung from Makassar and worked as a journalist for the daily newspapers “Kaoem Moeda” and “Kaoem Kita.”
He continued his work even after moving to Jakarta, where he started to take an interest in the nationalist movement and became associated with many national movement figures. His discontentment with Dutch colonialism grew, and he poured it into his book “Perawan Desa” (The Village Maiden). The book was confiscated and banned from circulation by the Dutch government.
Soepratman was transferred to Sengkang, where he soon ordered to resign and returned to Makassar. His sister Roekijem, who was very fond of drama and music, enjoyed playing the violin, a hobby that sparked Soepratman’s interest in music. Many of Roekijem’s compositions were performed in the military.
It was not long before Soepratman became proficient in playing the violin and later composing songs after receiving music lessons from his brother-inlaw, Willem van Eldik.
One time in Jakarta, he read an article in the Timbul magazine that challenged Indonesian musicians to create a national anthem.
Provoked by the challenge, he began composing a song in Bandung until, in 1924, when he was 21 years old, he composed “Indonesia Raya.”
On October 28, 1928, Soepratman played his composition, “Indonesia Raya,” in front of the participants with only his violin, as suggested by Soegondo Djojopuspito, for the very first time, leaving everyone mesmerized. The song quickly rose to prominence among the nationalist movement. “Indonesia Raya” was afterwards perpetually aired in congresses, as the song represented a sense of unity and the will for independence.
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Composing “Indonesia Raya” cost him detention, as he was relentlessly pursued by the Dutch East Indies police until he finally became ill. Due to his intense work in 1932, Soepratman began to suffer from a neurological disorder.
He composed his last piece, “Matahari Terbit,” in early August 1938, when he was finally arrested while broadcasting the song on Embong Malang Street, Surabaya, and was detained in Kalisosok Prison, Surabaya.
He passed away on August 17, 1938, and rests in the public cemetery of Kapas, north of Kenjeran, Tambaksari Surabaya. The Monument Committee of the Department of Education, Culture, and Teaching of East Java moved his grave to Tambak Segaran-Wetan, south of Kenjeran Tambaksari Street, Surabaya, on March 31, 1956. (rp)