Burhanuddin Harahap

Harahap was born in Medan, North Sumatra on December 27 1917. His father, Junus Harahap, was a prosecutor. Burhanuddin studied law as well. In 1939 he passed the entrance exam for the Rechtshoogeschool te Batavia,[1] the first law school in the Dutch East Indies, but it was interrupted by the Second World War and the Japanese invasion. He would end up completing the degree at the newly founded Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta. In 1946, during the Indonesian Revolution, he joined the Masyumi Party (the Council of Indonesian Muslim Associations), an Islam-oriented party.

A previous attempt at an appointment of Harahap to the position of prime minister was made in July 1953, but talks with the rival party PNI collapsed[2] and their candidate Ali Sastroamidjojo ended up forming cabinet.

Harahap's time as prime minister was short, as he was the last of a rapid series of prime ministers during the period 1950 to 1955. As coalitions between different parties rose and fell, the governments in turn would also fall. The preceding administrations during this time were Mohammad Natsir of Masyumi (September 1950–April 1951), the Sukiman Wirjosandjojo of Masyumi (April 1951–February 1952), the Wilopo cabinet of the PNI (April 1952–June 1953), the first cabinet of Ali Sastroamidjojo of the PNI (July 1953–July 1955), and finally the Harahap cabinet (Masyumi) starting in August 1955.[3]

In July 1955, the previous cabinet of Ali Sastroamidjojo was unable to stay in government due to a disagreement with the army.[4] It was suggested that Mohammad Hatta be appointed the new prime minister, but the PNI blocked this move, and so Harahap was appointed instead.[4]

Although Harahap's cabinet was led by Masyumi, it had the support of a number of small parties: PIR-Hazairin, PSII, NU, PSI, Democratic Fraction, PIR, Catholic, PRN, Labour, Parindra, Parkindo, and Indonesian People’s Party.[5] The deputy prime ministers serving under Harahap were Djanu Ismadi of the PIR-Hazairin and Harsono Tjokroaminoto of the PSII.[5] At this moment the Masyumi and their allies were attacking the previous PNI government vigorously in the press, but Harahap still managed to make a deal with them and give them three cabinet posts (Deputy PM, Foreign Affairs, and Public Works) in exchange for his becoming prime minister.[6] But he also managed to get representatives of all the major Muslim parties in cabinet as well, all of whom were in opposition to the PNI.[7] Thus, according to historian Herbert Feith, his cabinet came into power as the "polar opposite" of the previous one, "based explicitly on a platform of hostility" to them and their policies.[7]

The Harahap cabinet's main contribution was to organize the first general election in independent Indonesia, the 1955 Indonesian legislative election. Although this election campaign was full of bitter attacks between parties, the actual day of the election on September 28 was a very celebratory affair, with extremely high voter turnout.[8] The other main accomplishment it is remembered for is an aggressive anti-corruption drive, which fell quite hard on members of his political enemies, the PNI.[9]

In February 1958, Harahap followed a number of other dissident national leaders from Sumatra into a breakaway movement called Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia or PRRI. Many Masyumi members were involved at the highest levels, including Sjafruddin Prawiranegara as prime minister, Harahap as minister of security and Mohammad Natsir as minister of security and justice and the spokesman of the PRRI.[10]

In 1984 Harahap signed a petition critical of the status quo called the Petition of Fifty (in Indonesian, Petisi 50) alongside many old Masyumi colleagues such as Sjafruddin Prawiranegara and Mohammad Natsir, as well as a number of retired generals and younger politicians.[11]