Back couple a days ago, a friend talk to me about this man, Ilyas Karim. At first I don't know who he was. Never heard of the name until this friend of mine explains who he was.
Who is he?
Well here are a couple articles from Indonesian news site (in Indonesian).
Read: Ilyas Karim Masih Tinggal di Pinggir Rel (Ilyas Karim Still Living on The Side of The Railway) from Kompas.com
Read: Ilyas Karim, Pengibar Bendera Merah Putih Saat Proklamasi, Dapat Hadiah Apartemen (Ilyas Karim, The Flag Raiser on Proclamation Day, Gets An Apartment) from Republika.co.id
He was the man, who said to be a forgotten hero. He said he was the man who raised the first hand-sewn Indonesian flag to the pole. He was pointing to a man wearing a short on a historical photo to be him. As he was now known as a forgotten hero, people grew sympathy towards him because he still live on the side of the railway, and on the verge of eviction.
How can I not recognize his name, if he was suppose to be in history lesson about the day Indonesian independence was declared by our founding father?
This is what I know.
Back in junior high and elementary school. There are three names, I learned as the men who raised the flag. It was Latief Hendraningrat, S.K Trimurti, and S. Suhud. For reference, I found these articles on the internet, dated 2007 and 2008.
Read: Detik-Detik Menjelang Proklamasi 17 Agustus 1945 (Seconds to The Proclamation, August 17,1945)
Read: Tokoh-Tokoh Proklamasi 17 Agustus 1945 dan Perannya Pada Persiapan Pelaksanaan Proklamasi (People Behind The Proclamation, August 17,1945, and The Role in The Preparation for The Proclamation)
Where is Ilyas Karim? Could he be one of them? Name changes? or is it a wrong lesson in
history? Where were he before this year?
If the articles weren't valid enough, I hope this picture could give valid information.
Picture taken from Museum Joang'45.
Written above, the man Ilyas Karim claimed to be him (the one in shorts), was indeed S. Suhud.
My friend was indeed the grand-child of S. Suhud himself. His family is quite shocked with the news, as Ilyas Karim was pointing to the picture of a man who was all this time known to be S.Suhud, the grand-father, the father. My friend said that if Ilyas Karim was right, then all this time history has not been told right and he would be more upset because his grand-father was lying all this time. But if Ilyas Karim was wrong? Then.. you decide.
Perhaps for some-people a flag-raiser was not considered to be somebody important to be fussed about, but if it's not important hey look who's getting all the attention now? I'm not trying to defend or offense anyone, but I am just curious about this history and a little dissapointed on Indonesian media for not doing research before writing the article. I hope I am not misleading in anyway.
May the truth wins.
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