Have you ever heard the song Thanksgiving, one of the Indonesian national songs that are very pleasing to hear, a song of gratitude to God Almighty for the independence of the Indonesian nation that has been achieved?
You should know that the creator of the Thanksgiving song was one of the founders of Paskibra in Indonesia, namely Habib Muhammad Husein bin Salim bin Ahmad Al-Muthahar or better known as Husein Mutahar, born in Semarang, Central Java, August 5, 1916, and died in Jakarta, June 9, 2004, at the age of 87, he is one of the composers of Indonesian music, especially for the category of national and children's anthems.
His popular songs are the Thanksgiving Hymn introduced in January 1945 and the Merdeka Day Mars in 1946. His last work, the song Dirgahayu Indonesia, became the official song for the 50th anniversary of Indonesian Independence. And his children's songs include: "Happy", "Cross Applause", "Let's Clap", "Safely", "Don't Give Up", "When You Say Goodbye", and "Scouting Hymn".
He is very active in scouting activities and is the main figure of Pandu Rakyat Indonesia, an independent scouting movement with nationalist leanings. And he is also known to be very anti-communist. When the entire scouting movement was merged into the Scout Movement, Husein Mutahar also became one of the main figures in it. His name is also involved in establishing and fostering the Heritage Flag Raising Troop (Paskibraka), a team consisting of students from various parts of Indonesia whose job is to raise the Heritage Flag in the commemoration ceremony of Indonesian Independence Day.
Husein Mutahar spent a year's education at the Faculty of Law, Gadjah Mada University from 1946-1947, and after graduating from MULO B (1934) and AMS A-I (1938). In 1945, Mutahar worked as Secretary to the Commander of the Indonesian Navy in Yogyakarta, then became a high official at the State Secretariat in Yogyakarta (1947). Furthermore, he got positions that jumped up and down between departments. The pinnacle of his career was as the Indonesian Ambassador to the Holy See (Vatican) (1969-1973). He masters at least 6 (six) languages actively. His last position was as Acting Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs (1974).
As one of the President's aides, Habib Husein Mutahar was given the task of arranging the flag-raising ceremony when the Republic of Indonesia celebrated its first independence anniversary, on August 17, 1946. According to his thinking, the flag-raising should be done by youths representing Indonesian regions. He then chose five youths who were domiciled in Yogyakarta (three boys and two girls) as representatives for their region.
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| Raising the Red and White Flag August 17, 1946 |
In 1967, as director general of youth and scouting affairs, the Ministry of Education and Culture, Husein Mutahar was asked by President Soeharto to draw up the procedure for raising the Heritage Flag. And the procedure for raising the Heritage Flag was arranged to be hoisted by one troop which was divided into three groups:
Group 17 as accompanist or guide
Group 8 as the core group of flag bearers
Group 45 as bodyguards.
The division into three groups is a symbol of the date of the Proclamation of Independence of the Republic of Indonesia.
The story of Husein Mutahar, Mr. Paskibraka who saved the Heritage flag from the Dutch attack
Along with the growing popularity of his duties as a Heritage Troop (Paskibraka), not much is known about Mr. Paskibraka's struggle in saving the red and white flag from the Dutch attack. At that time, the capital of Indonesia was still in Yogyakarta.
Mr. Paskibraka and Husein Mutahar once separated the heritage flag into two different strips of cloth. Red and white in color. Not without reason. He did this in order to save the heritage flag, after Gedung Agung, Yogyakarta was surrounded by the Dutch on December 19, 1948.
Quoting from the writings of Purna Paskibraka 1978 Budiharjo Winarno, President Soekarno summoned Husein Mutahar after the completion of government affairs. They talk to each other in his private room.
Based on the book Bung Karno: The Tongue of the Indonesian People by Cindy Adams, Soekarno gave Husein Mutahar an assignment. He wants the heritage flag to be maintained even if his life is at stake. This task he gave personally to the aide.
"It must not fall into the hands of the enemy," said Bung Karno at the time.
"If God allows it, you will return it to me alone and to no one except the person who replaces me if my life is short," Soekarno said as quoted from the book.
Separating the Red and White Fabrics
He added if Mutahar died while on duty, he wanted Mutahar to pass on this task to someone else and it had to be handed over to Soekarno alone.
After praying and contemplating while the attack was still in progress, Mutahar immediately removed the stitches that held the red and white cloth on the flag. Using a needle and assisted by Perna Dinata, he removed it carefully.
Finally, the flag that Fatmawati had sewn was successfully separated into two different fabrics. This is to avoid confiscation by the Netherlands.
Bung Karno and Bung Hatta were finally exiled to Sumatra. Meanwhile, Husein Mutahar and several presidential staff were also exiled to Semarang and detained there. However, the two flags remained safe.
Husein Mutahar finally managed to escape to Jakarta. He asked someone to sew the two parts of the heritage flag back together to send it to Bangka via Sujono, an Indonesian delegation.
Sang Saka Merah Putih finally managed to be returned to Soekarno. The flag made by his wife managed to return to his hands.
H. Husein Mutahar during his life never married but had 8 children with the landlord (6 boys and 2 girls). Some were "handed over" from their widowed mothers or their fathers sometimes before they died. There are also fathers/mothers who voluntarily surrender their children to be recognized as their own children. All of them are married and have 15 grandchildren (7 boys and 8 girls). He died in Jakarta at the age of almost 88 years, June 9, 2004, and was buried at Jeruk Purut Cemetery, South Jakarta.
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