Mohammad Sanusi Hardjadinata (born as Samaun; 24 June 1914 – 12 December 1995) was an Indonesian politician who served as the second chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) from 1975 until 1980. Prior to serving as party chairman, held numerous positions during the presidencies of Sukarno and Suharto, including as governor of West Java, member of the Constitutional Assembly, and cabinet minister in the Djuanda and Ampera cabinets.
Sanusi was born to a well-off aristocratic family in Garut, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). He was educated at a Dutch school, and worked as a teacher after graduating. Following the proclamation of Indonesian Independence, he was appointed the vice resident of Priangan. In April 1948, he was arrested and detained by Dutch authorities for his opposition to the creation of the Dutch-backed State of Pasundan. He was released in July 1948, and he left for Yogyakarta and later Madiun. There, he helped rebuild the city after the failed communist uprising which occurred a few months earlier. In 1949, he was appointed acting Resident of Priangan, and during the transition from a federal state to a unitary one, he served as the Pasundan state's head of education. In 1951, Sanusi was appointed governor of West Java, though his appointment was initially challenged by the provincial assembly. As governor, he helped organize the Bandung Conference and established Padjadjaran University in 1957.
In 1955, he was elected a member of the Constitutional Assembly, and participated in constitutional debates up until the assembly's dissolution in 1959. In April 1957, he was appointed Minister of Home Affairs by Prime Minister Djuanda Kartawidjaja. Following President Sukarno's 1959 Decree, Sanusi was dismissed as minister, and was appointed Indonesia's ambassador to Egypt instead. He returned to Indonesia in 1964, and was appointed rector of Padjadjaran University. Following the transition to the New Order, Sanusi was appointed as a cabinet minister in the Ampera and the Revised Ampera cabinets under president Suharto. In 1975, he was appointed the Chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party, replacing Mohammad Isnaeni. Under his leadership, the party suffered from a number of internal conflicts, and he resigned as chairman in 1980. After his resignation from the party, he became involved with the Petition of Fifty. Sanusi died on 12 December 1995, after suffering from complications in his lungs, kidneys, and liver. His body was interred at the Sirnaraga Public Cemetery in Bandung.
Early life
Mohammad Sanusi Hardjadinata, initially given the name Samaun, was born in the village of Cinta Manik, Garut, on 24 June 1914. He was born to a well-off priyayi family, and was the third child of four children. His father, Raden Djamhad Wirantadidjaja, was a local village head, while his mother, Nyi Mas Taswi, was a female aristocrat. At the age of six, he was brought to Cibatu, a small town located in the northern part Garut. There, Samaun lived with Raden Yuda, a doctor and relative of his father. He was then enrolled into the Tweede Klasse Inlandsche School, an elementary school which used local language as its language of instruction. During his time in Cibatu, his name was changed from Samaun to Sanusi, as according to Yuda, it was too similar to the name of Semaun, the first chairman of the Communist Party of Indonesia.
Later on, Sanusi moved to Tasikmalaya, where he lived with Bik Endeh, Yuda's daughter. However, due to the harassment he received from Bik Endeh he moved to the neighboring house of Bik Mariah. While in Tasikmalaya, he resumed his education at a different Tweede Klasse School. However, he wasn't able finish his education, as he moved back to Cibatu after only finishing his first grade. Back in Cibatu, he was raised by his older brother, Idris Hardjadinata, and entered the local Hollandsch-Inlandsche School (HIS). In the school, he became known as Sanusi Hardjadinata, as most students in the school mistakenly recognized Idris as his father. After two years in Cibatu, Sanusi moved to Bandung. There, he enrolled at the local Hollandsch Inlandsche Kweekschool (HIK), graduating in 1936. From there, he became an educator, and began working as a teacher at a Muhammadiyah school in Jakarta. As a teacher, Sanusi made around 25 gulden a month. After a year of teaching at the school, a friend offered him a teaching position at a school in Muara Dua, Palembang. He accepted the offer, and moved to Muara Dua. While his pay was doubled to 50 gulden a month, Sanusi only taught at the school for 6 months, as his physical condition worsened. He later left for Baturaja, in what is today Ogan Komering Ulu Regency. However, Sanusi didn't stay long as he moved back to Bandung, with his teaching duties being substituted by future-major general Abdul Haris Nasution.
National Revolution
Several days following the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, Sanusi was elected to the office of Vice Resident on 1 September 1945, by the Indonesian National Committee of Priangan. During the first few years following the proclamation, the residency was an instrumental part of running the government. As the government system was still largely influenced by the Japanese system, which prioritized the residency as the center of local government. As Vice Resident, Sanusi became very close with State Minister Oto Iskandar di Nata. When Oto was kidnapped by a group called the "Laskar Hitam", Oto sent a letter to his wife, telling her ask Sanusi if she needed any form of assistance. Oto was eventually murdered by the "Laskar Hitam". During the National revolution, heavy fighting took place in the city of Bandung, which was then set ablaze. As a result, the Provincial Government of West Java evacuated to Garut, with his house being used as the office of the government of Priangan Residency. Around , Sanusi was elected the Chair of the Indonesian National Party (PNI) branch in Garut.
The government remained in Garut for most of the revolution, with only a short stint in Tasikmalaya, after the signing of the Linggadjati Agreement, which ended after the Dutch launched Operation Product. In Garut, the officials of the government began to be arrested by Dutch forces after refusing to cooperate with the Dutch in establishing the State of Pasundan. This included officials such as Mayor of Bandung, Ukar Bratakusumah, Secretary of the Governor of West Java, Raden Enokh, and the resident of Priangan, Raden Indung Ardiwinangun. Sanusi continued to live in his village in Garut, but his location was later discovered by Dutch authorities. Sanusi and his family took refuge in the valley located on the east side of the village. This attempt failed, as a few days later, a group of Dutch soldiers came looking to arrest him.
He was then brought to Bandung, and was officially arrested on the Tampomas street, with an official letter dated 14 April 1948. Several months later, on 25 July 1948, he was freed from prison on the condition that he must leave West Java and set for Yogyakarta, where the Republican government's capital was at the time. On 28 October 1948, he left Yogyakarta for Madiun. In Madiun, he was appointed as a high ranking employee for the Resident of Madiun. There, Sanusi had to recover the war-torn Madiun Residency, which was devastated by the 1948 Communist rebellion, led by the People's Democratic Front. Several months later, on 18 June 1949, Sanusi returned to Bandung. There, he was appointed by the Indonesian Government as the Acting Resident of Priangan in the shadow government of West Java, competing with the Dutch-backed government of the State of Pasundan. Later, during the handover of the State of Pasundan to the central government of the United States of Indonesia, Sanusi was appointed as the state's head of education.
Early Political career
Governor of West Java
On 7 July 1951, Sanusi was officially inaugurated as Governor of West Java, replacing Sewaka, who was appointed Minister of Defense in the Sukiman Cabinet. He was inaugurated together with the Governor of Central Sumatra, Ruslan Muljohardjo and the Mayor of Jakarta, Sjamsuridjal. His appointment was initially challenged by the West Java Regional Representative Council (DPRD), specifically by the Masyumi Party. Oja Sumantri, a member of the DPRD from the Masyumi, protested that the appointment of the Governor was a violation of the province's autonomy, as it was the Ministry of Home Affairs who appointed him governor, not the DPRD. Despite these challenges, he was supported by other factions of the DPRD, including by the West Java commissariat of the Indonesian Civil Service Association faction. In the end, the DPRD gave up the challenge, and Sanusi remained as governor. During his term, he presided over the Afro–Asian Conference, which was held in Bandung. Ini his capacity as governor, Sanusi was tasked with organizing preparations for the conference. Ensuring the security of Bandung and its surroundings against the threat of the Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosuwiryo's Darul Islam rebellion.
Additionally, Sanusi had to provide the accommodations and provisions for the delegates. He also checked himself the conditions of the Savoy Homann Bidakara and Prama Grand Preanger hotels, which were planned to be used to accommodate the delegates. A day before the conference, Sanusi was seen riding his Chevrolet car around the site of the conference to ensure the success of the conference. After the end of the conference, Sanusi focused on creating a state university in Bandung. On 14 October 1956, a Committee for the Formation of State University in Bandung was formed, and he was chosen as the patron of the committee. A few months later, on 11 September 1957, the university, Padjadjaran University, was finally established. In 1955, Sanusi was elected a member of the Constitutional Assembly, representing West Java. He participated in constitutional debates up until the assembly's dissolution in 1959. He left the governors office on 9 April 1957, when he was appointed Minister of Home Affairs in the Djuanda Cabinet. He was replaced by his deputy-governor, Ipik Gandamana.
Minister of Home Affairs
After being appointed the Minister of Home Affairs by Sukarno, Sanusi was deeply involved in the debates of whether to form a new constitution or return to the Constitution of Indonesia in the Constitutional Assembly of Indonesia. Due to the prolonged debates and the West Irian conflict that became more alerting, the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army Abdul Haris Nasution declared that Indonesia is in the state of emergency and forcing the prolonged debates to be ended quickly. Finally, on 5 July 1959, President Sukarno issued a presidential decree. Djuanda returned his mandate as the prime minister to Sukarno, and Sanusi Hardjadinata was replaced as the minister of Home Affairs by Ipik Gandamana, which previously had replaced him as the Governor of West Java. Due to his affiliation with the Indonesian National Party, there is an assumption that during his term, members of the party had many advantages in the bureaucracy.
Ambassador to Egypt
Sanusi was appointed the ambassador of Indonesia to Egypt, following his dismissal as the Minister of Home Affairs. At first, Sanusi was worried about becoming an ambassador. He felt that he had no previous diplomatic background. When he asked about the problem to Subandrio, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at that time, Subandrio gave him a thick book about the tasks and duties of an ambassador. He read the book before and during his term as the ambassador from 1960 until 1964. The book was very helpful, as Sukarno commenting that his work as an ambassador "wasn't disappointing".
University rector