Prijono (20 July 1907 – 6 March 1969Vickers, Adrian.
A History of Modern Indonesia
'. Cambridge .a. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007. pp. 146-147) was an Indonesian politician and academic. Prijono was a leading figure of the Murba Party and the Indonesian Peace Committee. Prijono served as Minister of Education and Culture between 1957 and 1966. He was one of the intellectual ideologues who surrounded President

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader ...

. In December 1954 he was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize.Australian Institute of International Affairs.
The Australian Outlook
', Volume 12-13. ydney Australian Institute of International Affairs, 1958. p. 265

Academic

Prijono studied in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and obtained a Ph.D. at the Leiden University (studying medieval Javanese texts). In 1954 Prijono presented a proposal for a new orthography for

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesia ...

. Prijono suggested that letter combinations such as 'nj' and 'ng' be substituted with

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioner ...

characters. A similar orthography, 'Ejaan Kongres', was in use in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

. The Indonesian government appointed Prijono as chairman of a spelling commission. In 1960 Prijono's orthography was the basis of the MELINDO proposal for a joint Melayu-Indonesian orthography. The

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n and Indonesian government agreed to implement the MELINDO orthography, but the project fell into oblivion as relations between the two countries became increasingly hostile.

Minister

Prijono was appointed as Minister of Basic Education and Culture in the Djuanda Cabinet formed in 1957. His appointment was met with opposition from anti-Communist sectors, who claimed that he was linked to the

Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965. ...

.Lev, Daniel S.
The Transition to Guided Democracy: Indonesian Politics, 1957-1959
'. Jakarta: Equinox Publishing, 2009. p. 35 Prijono continued to serve as a minister in all cabinets until the end of the

period.Mujiburrahman.
Feeling Threatened: Muslim-Christian Relations in Indonesia's New Order
'. Leiden: ISIM, 2006. pp. 228-229 As a government minister, Prijono was frequently targeted by the army and Islamic organizations. In October 1960 Prijono introduced the principle of ''Pancawardhana'' ('five principles of development') in the primary and secondary education system. This was followed by Prijono's linking of ''Pancawardhana'' to the principle of ''Pancacita'' ('five loves') in February 1963. The secular ''Pancacita'' principle was developed by National Education Institute, an institution dominated by the Communist Party. However, Prijono's policies met with opposition from General Nasution.Bresnan, John.
At Home Abroad: A Memoir of the Ford Foundation in Indonesia, 1953-1973
'. Jakarta, Indonesia: Equinox, 2006. p. 43 From 1961 Prijono would share the Ministry of Education with Sjarif Thajeb (a high-ranking officer with links to Islamic organizations, Minister of Higher Education and Science). Prijono was pro-Soviet whilst Sjarif Thajeb was pro-American. And whilst Prijono promoted secularism in the primary and secondary education system, Sjarif Thajeb introduced compulsory classes on religion in the universities. Thus the wider political confrontation between the army and the Communist Party was reproduced within the walls of the Ministry of Education. During his government tenure, Prijono established various cultural institutions with the objective to promote new national and revolutionary culture. These institutions taught new worker-peasant folk dances and revolutionary songs. On March 16, 1966 Prijono was kidnapped by activists of the Islamic students movement KAPPI and Laskar militia. He was brought to the headquarters of KOSTRAD.

Honour

Foreign honour

* : ** Honorary Commander of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

(PMN (K)) - Tan Sri (1959)

References

{{Authority control Indonesian politicians 1907 births 1969 deaths Sukarno Stalin Peace Prize recipients Honorary Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm