Oto Iskandar di Nata (

Sundanese Sundanese may refer to: * Sundanese people * Sundanese language * Sundanese script Standard Sundanese script (''Aksara Sunda Baku'', ) is a writing system which is used by the Sundanese people. It is built based on Old Sundanese script (' ...

: , also spelled Otto Iskandardinata, called Otista and nicknamed Si Jalak Harupat; born 31 March 1897 – disappeared 19 December 1945, retrospectively declared dead 20 December 1945) was an Indonesian politician and

National Hero The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...

Work

In his activities during the period before independence, Oto had served as Deputy Chairperson of the

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

branch of Budi Utomo between 1921 and 1924, as well as Deputy Chairperson of Budi Utomo in Pekalongan branch in 1924. At that time, he became a member of Pekalongan's Gemeenteraad ("City Council") representing Budi Utomo. Oto was also active in

cultural organizations called Paguyuban Pasundan. He became Secretary of the Executive Board in 1928, and became chairman between 1929 and 1942. The organization is engaged in education, socio-cultural, political, economic, youth and women's empowerment. Oto also became a member of the

Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa *Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) *Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia Re ...

("People's Council", equivalent to present-day DPR) between 1930 and 1941. During the

Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history. In May ...

, he became the head of the Tjahaja newspaper. He was also appointed to the Javanese

Central Advisory Council The , lead=yes was the name given to bodies established by the Japanese military administration in Java and Sumatra in 1943 during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies to notionally provide Indonesians with popular representation. Bac ...

, also set up the occupation government, and later became a member of the

Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for independence The Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence ( id, Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan, BPUPK; ja, 独立準備調査会, Hepburn: , Nihon-shiki / Kunrei-shiki: ), sometimes referred to as the Investigating Co ...

(BPUPK) and the

Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence The Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence ( id, Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia), PPKI, ja, 独立準備委員会, Dokuritsu Junbi Iinkai, lead=yes) was a body established on 7 August 1945 to prepare for the transfer of auth ...

(PPKI) formed by the Japanese Sixteenth Army to help prepare for Java's independence.

Disappearance

Based on witness information, Oto was murdered on a beach in Mauk District,

Tangerang Regency Tangerang Regency is a regency of Banten province, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Java. The current regent is Ahmed Zaki Iskandar. Though commonly misunderstood as being a part of Jakarta, Tangerang is actually outside Jakarta City but ...

Banten Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta on the east, the Java Se ...

(formerly

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

). He was abducted by a group called "The Black Troop" ( id, Laskar Hitam), who killed him and dumped his body into the sea; the body was never found.

Aftermath and legacy

On 21 December 1952, his funeral was held ''in absentia''. His body was replaced by sand and water taken from the beach, and interred in a cemetery in

Lembang Lembang is a town and administrative village of West Bandung Regency in the province of West Java on Java, Indonesia. The town has about 17,000 inhabitants (at census 2010). The population of the Lembang District was 173,350 at the 2010 Census. ...

, now of

West Bandung Regency West Bandung Regency (''Kabupaten Bandung Barat'') is a landlocked regency of West Java. It was established in 2007, formerly it was part of Bandung Regency. The capital of this new regency is Ngamprah, an industrial district on the west side of ...

. He was designated as a

National Hero of Indonesia National Hero of Indonesia ( id, Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia) is the highest-level title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic, defined as "actual deeds which can b ...

on 6 November 1973, thus legally declaring him dead, as the title is awarded posthumously. His image appears on the 2004–2016 series of the 20,000

Indonesian rupiah The rupiah (Currency symbol, symbol: Rp; ISO 4217, currency code: IDR) is the official currency of Indonesia. It is issued and controlled by Bank Indonesia. The name "Rupee, rupiah" is derived from the Sanskrit word for silver, (). Sometimes, I ...

note. His name is now used as

street name A street name is an identifying name given to a street or road. In toponymic terminology, names of streets and roads are referred to as hodonyms (from Greek ‘road’, and ‘name’). The street name usually forms part of the address (th ...

in various cities in Indonesia on different formats; Otto Iskandardinata, Otto Iskandar Dinata, Otista, and ''Jalak Harupat''. The latter is a Sundanese-mythical strong and courageous cock. It is used as name for

Jalak Harupat Stadium Si Jalak Harupat Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Kutawaringin Subdistrict, Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia. It is currently used for association football matches and was used for the 2018 Asian Games men's football tournament ...

, located in his hometown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nata, Oto Iskandar Di 1897 births 1940s missing person cases 1945 deaths Indonesian activists Indonesian collaborators with Imperial Japan Kidnapped politicians Male murder victims Members of the Central Advisory Council Members of the Volksraad (Dutch East Indies) Missing person cases in Indonesia National Heroes of Indonesia People declared dead in absentia People from Bandung Regency Prime Ministers of Indonesia Sundanese people Unsolved murders in Indonesia

Work

Disappearance

Aftermath and legacy

See also

References