Bidar Alam is a ''nagari'' (village) in Sangir Jujuan, South Solok Regency, in the Indonesian province of

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5, ...

, with a population of over 3,000 people. It is known for being the seat of the

Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia The Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintahan Darurat Republik Indonesia, PDRI) was established by Indonesian Republicans after the Netherlands occupied the at the time capital city of Yogyakarta in Central Java, the l ...

for a brief period in 1949.

Geography

Bidar Alam is located around away from the regency seat at Padang Aro. It is one of the five ''nagari'' in Sangir Jujuan, and is further subdivided into seven ''Jorong'' (neighborhoods). Located within the

Barisan Mountains The Bukit Barisan or the Barisan Mountains are a mountain range on the western side of Sumatra, Indonesia, covering nearly 1,700 km (1,050 mi) from the north to the south of the island. The Bukit Barisan range consists primarily of volca ...

, the Batang Sangir River flows through the village.

Demographics

Bidar Alam has a population of 3,339 in 2019 according to

Statistics Indonesia Statistics Indonesia ( id, Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS, ), is a non-departmental government institute of Indonesia that is responsible for conducting statistical surveys. Its main customer is the government, but statistical data is also availabl ...

, making up 799 households.

History

In late 1948 and early 1949, the

(PDRI) moved inland to evade Dutch pursuit, initially from the city of

Bukittinggi Bukittinggi ( min, Bukiktinggi, Jawi: , formerly nl, Fort de Kock) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010 and 121,028 in 2020, and an area of 25.24 km2. It is in the Minangkabau Highlands ...

, then to

Payakumbuh Payakumbuh (Indonesian: Kota Payakumbuh, Minangkabau: Payokumbuah, Jawi: ) is the second largest city in West Sumatra province, Indonesia, with a population of 116,825 at the 2010 Census and 139,576 at the 2020 Census. It covers an area of 80.4 ...

, before leaving urban settlements. By 9 January 1949, one of the groups, led by PDRI head

Sjafruddin Prawiranegara Sjafruddin Prawiranegara ( EYD: Syafruddin Prawiranegara; 28 February 191115 February 1989) was an Indonesian statesman and economist. He served as the head of government in the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia, as Minister of F ...

, had reached Bidar Alam and shelved plans to advance further towards

Pekanbaru Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern part of Sumatra, Sumatra Island. Its name is derived from the Malay language, Malay words for 'new market' ('pekan' is market and 'baru' is new). ...

due to Dutch advances. The local population was generally supportive of the PDRI and provided accommodation and food to the government officials. Supported by

Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU), literally "''Indonesian National Military-Air Force''") sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF, is the aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The ...

personnel, PDRI established a mobile radio station at the town to communicate with the outside world. One villager's house (today known as Jama's House) was used by Sjafruddin, and doubled as the printing location for PDRI's currency. The relative safety at the village allowed PDRI to communicate with guerrilla fighters in Java and consolidate a provisional government. PDRI remained at Bidar Alam until late April 1949, when they moved once more following the news of negotiations between the Dutch and Indonesians. Compared to the other towns and villages which the PDRI had been based from, Bidar Alam hosted it the longest, for three and a half months. A small monument in the village commemorates PDRI's presence there.

Economy

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

and

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

are cultivated in the village. It is accessible by road to the rest of the district and regency, and hosts the sole

puskesmas Puskesmas ( id, Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat, ) are government-mandated community health clinics located across Indonesia. They are overseen by the Indonesian Ministry of Health and provide healthcare for the population on sub-district level. ...

in Sangir Jujuan.

References

{{reflist Villages in West Sumatra