The Rengasdengklok Incident: Purpose, Characters, and Results of the Agreement

Klinik Farma – Looking back at the Rengasdengklok incident, do you know who was involved and how the agreement was reached?

The Rengasdengklok incident took place on August 16, 1945, the day before the independence of the Republic of Indonesia.

Rengasdengklok event numbers

On 14 August 1945, Soetan Sjahrir heard the news that Japan had surrendered to the Allies in the Greater East Asia War and Sjahrir immediately met with Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta to break the news.

Read also:Contents of the 1945 Indonesian Independence Proclamation and its history

At that time, Sukarno-Hatta had just returned from Dalat, Vietnam, after meeting with Japan’s top military leader in the Southeast Asia region, Marshal Terauchi. Sukarno-Hatta Terauchi promised Indonesian independence.

Syahrir demanded an immediate declaration of independence, while Sukarno and Hatta were unconvinced by the news of Japan’s defeat and preferred to wait for confirmation, waiting for a promise of independence from Dai Nippon. Of course, Sukarno and Hatta didn’t want to take the wrong step in their decision.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, young leaders supported the idea of ​​Sharir, namely, they called on Sukarno-Hatta to immediately proclaim the independence of Indonesia.

However, Sukarno-Hatta still wanted to discuss this issue in advance at a meeting of the PPKI, precisely on August 16, 1945, waiting for the latest news from the Japanese government.

Unfortunately, the young people did not fully agree and continued to insist on an early declaration of Indonesian independence.

Read also:The day before the independence of Indonesia, a bloody event took place in Chinank

Timeline of the Rengasdengklok event

The youth group held a meeting on the evening of August 15, 1945 at Pegangsaan Timur, Jakarta. At a meeting chaired by Chaerul Saleh, it was decided that Indonesian independence is the right of the Indonesian people, independent of other parties, including Japan.

Then at 10:00 pm that same day, Wikana and Darvis became the youth group’s messengers for a meeting with Sukarno-Hatta. They again demanded and insisted that the declaration of independence be made the next day, namely August 16, 1945. If it is not implemented, there will be turmoil.

However, Sukarno again firmly refused. Failing to convince Sukarno-Hatta, the youth group held another meeting attended by young leaders, including Chayrul Saleh, Johar Nur, Kushnandar, Subadio, Subianto, Margono, Vikrana, Armandja, Sukarni, Yusuf Kunto, Singgi, Dr. Muwardi from the Pelopor Front and others.

It was then decided to withdraw Sukarno-Hatta from the city to keep them safe from Japanese influence.

Fighters from the young group took Sukarno-Hatta to Rengasdengklok and security went smoothly because he was assisted by Latif Hendraningrat, a PETA (Defender of the Homeland) soldier with the rank of Sudanese or company commander.

Agreement Result

Then at 04:30 on the morning of August 16, 1945, Sukarno, along with Fatmawati, Guntur, and Hatta, were taken to Rengasdengklok to be placed in the home of a Chinese citizen named Chiau Ki Song.

This “kidnap” action was originally intended to put pressure on Sukarno-Hatta to both be ready to immediately declare Indonesian independence. However, due to the authority of the two national figures, the youth felt reluctant.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, Ahmad Subarjo, who belongs to an older group of figures, learned of the incident and met Vikana, one of the youth leaders. Negotiations were held, then it was decided that independence should be immediately proclaimed in Jakarta.

Then Ahmad Subarjo, along with Sudiro and Yusuf Kunto, went to Rengasdengklok to pick up Sukarno-Hatta and bring him back to Jakarta.

Then, discussions were held on plans for the implementation of the Indonesian Declaration of Independence. In the evening, at the residence of Rear Admiral Maeda, a Japanese officer who advocated the independence of Indonesia, the text of the appeal was formulated.

The next day, August 17, 1945, Sukarno-Hatta read the text of the Indonesian Independence Proclamation at Jalan Pegangsaan Timur No. 56, Jakarta. Indonesia has indeed become independent, and this is not a gift from Japan.

This is the chronology of the Rengasdengklok incident, starting with the target and the defendants.

Authors: Rishna Maulina Pratama