Chasing Hatta’s Dreams
Witnessing the ups and downs experienced by his stepfather in his work as a trader made 11-year-old Mohammad Hatta realize that something was terribly wrong with Dutch colonial financial politics. This enlightenment led to a dream for an independent state that could ensure welfare and social justice for all its people.
In around 1914, Hatta left the cool breezes of Bukittinggi behind to pursue his education in Padang, West Sumatra. He lived in the home of Mas Agus Haji Ning, his stepfather and a big businessman from Palembang. Discussions around the dining table with his stepfather and brothers were something Hatta eagerly awaited every day.
Back then, the economy was deeply affected by World War I. Increasing prices and Ning’s business losses were common discussion topics. Hatta at that time had never even heard of the word economy. However, he intently listened to his stepfather’s words every night.
In his memoir Bukittinggi-Rotterdam Lewat Betawi (Bukittinggi-Rotterdam via Batavia), Hatta wrote that he was moved by his stepfather’s patience facing economic turbulence. “I heard complaints that even after suffering losses taxes must still be paid as usual. From that time, I realized in my mind that there was something wrong with the state’s financial politics, the results of which were accumulative,” Hatta said.
Hatta’s life after that was filled with learning economic theories. Hatta visited a number of countries and studied piles of books to formulate an economic foundation that would most suit Indonesia – which was nothing more than an imaginary concept back then.
On July 11, 1945, Hatta finally realized his framework to chase his dream. His plan for a state economic foundation based on principles of unity and kinship was stated in three points formulated in a meeting of the Finance and Economy Planning Committee established by Radjiman Wedyodiningrat, chair of the Indonesian Independence Preparation Investigative Assembly (BPUPKI).
These three main ideas were included in Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution. “There was a huge debate among our founding fathers on several aspects of the plan for the 1945 Constitution. However, for Article 33 there was no rejection or objection,” Andalas University’s Center for Humanities Studies head Zayiardam Zubir said in late February.
In Hatta’s concept, there is a state, rather than individuals, which rules over all efforts to exploit the country’s natural wealth for the benefit of all. Privatization in sectors that involve the lives of many is contrary to this spirit. University of Indonesia professor Sri Edi Swasono, who is Hatta’s son-in-law, once wrote in a paper titled Demokrasi Ekonomi dan Doktrin Kerakyatan (Economic Democracy and the People’s Doctrine) that Article 33 did not mean that the state was against foreign powers.
“We accept foreign investors as partners, but not to domineer over us. We have to be masters in our own land, rather than merely being servants of globalization,” Sri Edi Swasono said.
Mohammad Hatta’s house in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, as seen on Thursday (23/2), is still well preserved. The house is now used as the Hatta Museum and displays relics belonging to Hatta. In this house, young Hatta was greatly influenced by his uncle and grandfather, who was a successful entrepreneur in that era.
Influence
As a Minangkabau man living in the colonial era, Hatta witnessed the tug-of-war between capitalist and socialist economic systems as many of his relatives were traders.
In his childhood in Bukittinggi, Hatta lived with his mother’s family in Aur Tajungkang, specifically on what is now Jl. Sutan Sjahrir. Hatta’s grandfather, who he called Pak Gaek, owned a postal service serving the route between Bukittinggi and Lubuk Sikaping. The service used horse-drawn carriages.
When we visited the Hatta House Museum in Bukittinggi in late February, the stable where Pak Gaek used to store his horses and carriages was still standing. The museum is cleaned every day.
The large, well-managed house stood to the side of the road, facing the silhouettes of Mt. Marapi and Mt. Singgalang that Hatta once wrote as looking like a romantic couple holding each other’s hands.
Caretaker Rony Chaniago, 48, said that the great condition of the house signified the socio-economic status of Hatta’s family.
In Bukittinggi-Rotterdam via Batavia, Hatta talked about how he was inspired by Pak Gaek running his business applying kinship principles. He treated all of his employees equally and ensured their welfare. In the postal business, all the employees had equal responsibilities, equal opportunities and fair wages.
In his travels to Jakarta during his youth, Hatta saw how his uncle Ayub Rais, a trader in the capital, practiced capitalism in his business. Hatta said that Rais, who he called Mak Etek Ayub, “trades time and speculations.”
In a conversation with Agus Salim in the mid-1920s, Hatta told him of his uncle’s business principles. It was Agus who told him that Ayub was using capitalism. He said that Ayub was a humble trader who promoted social issues. However, he adopted the wrong trade principles.
“That is capitalism. They trade the goods for themselves and they alone determine the prices and other terms. No matter how good he is, we must not help capitalism,” Agus told Hatta at the time. It left a mark on Hatta.
Padang State University historian Mestika Zed said that many of Hatta’s economic thoughts were sourced from Minangkabau culture, which was based on equality, unity and welfare. In more modern terms, this was known as socialism.
Through the generations, the economy of Minangkabau society has been based on collective wealth. This principle enables the Minangkabau people to trade with large assets, send their children to school and building homes. M Nasroen in his book Dasar Falsafah Adat Minangkabau (Philosophical Foundations of the Minangkabau Culture) wrote that the principle of collective wealth prevented any gap between the rich and the poor.
In Minangkabau culture, there was a proverb about a safe and sound society that said: Sawah mendjadi, djaguang maupiah. Labuah nan golong, pasa nan rami (The earth is content, the paddy has ripened and the corn has, too). A healthy economy in the Minangkabau perspective, Nasroen said, meant equitable distribution of welfare. Wealth was not gobbled up by certain individuals. “If we look, we can still see socialism in today’s society in West Sumatra,” Mestika said.
Going beyond
Hatta’s oldest daughter, Meutia Hatta, said that her father’s dream of a prosperous Indonesian society went beyond himself. Hatta never needed valuables to prove his status as an elite official and a national leader. His life goal was to pursue the dream of social welfare for all Indonesians.
Meutia shared the story of Hatta and the Bally shoes that he always dreamed of having. Hatta cut up an advertisement for the shoes from a magazine and kept it in his diary. “My dad could actually afford to buy the shoes. However, he prioritized providing financial aid to people who needed it. He never bought the shoes,” Meutia said.
Hatta is no longer with us. However, the dreams of a simple, stern-looking man remain alive. The nation is still indebted to him fulfilling his dream stipulated in Pancasila’s fifth principle: Social Welfare for All Indonesians.
