The Eid al-Adha Assassination Attempt on Sukarno

The Eid al-Adha prayer in the courtyard of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on May 14, 1962, was almost finished when an armed man suddenly stood up and shouted takbir. Seconds later, bullets were fired. Three explosive shots were released toward the front row of the prayer congregation. Police Commissioner Mangil Martowidjojo, commander of President Sukarno's Presidential Guard Detachment (DKP), and his deputy Sudiyo, quickly protected Sukarno.

Soedarjat, a DKP member standing guard behind Sukarno, turned around while pulling out a gun. Unfortunately, a bullet reached him first, knocking him to the ground with blood gushing from his body. Soesilo, another DKP member, was also hit in the head when he turned his body. Meanwhile, the third bullet hit the shoulder of KH Zainul Arifin, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Defense Minister General A.H. Nasution, who was standing next to Sukarno, felt the whizz of the bullet near his ear. "The bullet passed my neck on the left side, closer to me than to the president. Likewise, a bullet approached the imam, who in shock fell from his mimbar (pulpit)," Nasution said in Memenuhi Panggilan Tugas Jilid 5–6. Nahdlatul Ulama Chairman KH Idham Chalid, who acted as the prayer's leader or imam, was slightly injured.

The shooter tried to run towards Sukarno while bowing his body. Sribusono kicked his leg, causing the shooter to fall. Assisted by Musawir, Sribusono struggled with the shooter. The gun was eventually taken and the shooter was subdued.

The fainted and battered perpetrator was then placed in front of the Palace mosque, Baiturrahim. "I briefly took the time to see the man," said Nasution. 

The shooting brought the Eid prayer to a halt. People scattered around the palace; some screamed in fear, some retreated to the back looking for protection, while others lay down to save their life.

An Expected Plan

The day before, the CPM (Military Police Corp) Captain Dahlan, commander of the Presidential Palace guard, met Mangil Martowidjojo. Dahlan shared important information that there would be an assassination attempt on Sukarno during the Eid al-Adha prayer. The two then designed security measures.

Mangil gathered his men, both those in uniform and plainclothes. "Your job is to protect Bung Karno, to be a living fence, meaning that you protect Bung Karno with your own body, as a shield to protect Bung Karno from all kinds of attacks," Mangil said in the book Kesaksian Tentang Bung Karno 1945–1967.

Mangil placed uniformed members in six posts around the prayer congregation, with each post consisting of two members armed with AR-15s. Plainclothed members stood in the row behind Sukarno in a zigzag position. Mangil himself and his deputy, Sudiyo, stood directly in front of Sukarno, facing the congregation. Meanwhile, Dahlan placed his members at the entrance to check everyone who would attend the prayer.

Dahlan's conjecture was proven right. A shot fired at Sukarno brought the Eid prayer to a halt, but the president survived and the perpetrator was successfully arrested. The wounded victims, namely Soedarjat, Soesilo, and Zainul Arifin were rushed to the hospital. After the situation was under control, the Eid prayer resumed. Idham Chalid still acted as the imam, while Nasution delivered the khutbah or sermon after the prayer. "I then went up to the pulpit to read the sermon," said Nasution.

After the sermon, Sukarno was originally planned to give a speech, but it was canceled due to the shooting incident. The congregation dispersed and was checked one by one. Those who didn't have their ID card had to go through further checks. However, everyone was able to leave the palace, except for the attacker who had been secured.

After they left the palace, police officers searched and found a pistol holster and an FN 45 pistol under the prayer mat, a similar weapon to the one used by the shooter. 

The shooter admitted seeing two Sukarnos when he aimed his gun, so he got confused which one to shoot.

Meanwhile, Nasution visited Sukarno who was in good condition. "I reported that the prayer had finished and my sermon had been delivered safely," said Nasution. "His response was in Dutch: Je bent een ferme vent (you're a tough man).” To Mangil, Sukarno asked, "Ngil, your men have contributed greatly to me. How is Soedarjat doing?"

"Soedarjat and Soesilo have been sent to the hospital for help. Their condition is not so worrying," Mangil said. Both Soedarjat and Soesilo received an award from Sukarno later on.

Sukarno's escape from death was seen as mystical. This was stated by Maulwi Saelan, former deputy commander of Tjakrabirawa, the presidential guard. "During the investigation, the shooter admitted seeing two Sukarnos when he aimed his gun, so he got confused which one to shoot. His shot missed and hit the shoulder of Zainul Arifin, Speaker of the House of Representatives," said Maulwi.

The shooting attempt didn't cancel the scheduled cabinet meeting which was held only a week after the cabinet reshuffle from Kabinet Kerja II to Kabinet Kerja III. Sukarno chaired the session at the State Palace. "We continued with the core cabinet meeting, to ratify the government's statement on economic policy," Nasution said.

Through the Radio Republik Indonesia, the government gave an official statement regarding the assassination attempt on President Sukarno, announcing that President Sukarno survived, five people were injured, three of them were seriously injured, while the perpetrators were arrested.

Various mass media quoted the press release. However, the United Press International (UPI) news agency in Singapore broadcast sensational news that President Sukarno was killed during the Eid al-Adha prayer. 

Although the news was later corrected, Rosihan Anwar wrote in Sukarno, Tentara, PKI (Sukarno, the Army, the Indonesian Communist Party), the leftist groups and public opinion strongly pressed for UPI to be banned from working in Indonesia. "The president apparently agreed with the agitation of the left. So yesterday (May 21, 1962), he decided that the UPI office in Jakarta be closed," Rosihan wrote.

When Boes Effendi and Ganis Harsono from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported it to Foreign Minister Subandrio, Subandrio asked them "Do you defy the President?". "If the president says close UPI, then close it."

The Perpetrators

The investigation of the arrested perpetrators revealed that they were part of the Darul Islam/Islamic Armed Forces of Indonesia (DI/TII) led by S.M. Kartosoewirjo. "The shooters were three people, they managed to get into the Jakarta Palace by holding invitation cards they obtained from one of the community organizations," said Mangil. The three perpetrators were Sanusi alias Fatah alias Soleh alias Uci Sanusi Firkat alias Sanusi Ufit, Kamil alias Harun bin Karta, and Jaya Permana bin Embut alias Hidayat bin Mustafa.

From the investigation of Sanusi, it was revealed that the assassination attempt on Sukarno was planned to be carried out during the Eid al-Fitr prayer on March 9, 1962. At one time, Sanusi met up with his old acquaintance, Kadri. He was invited to Haji Machfud's house in Matraman Belakang, Jakarta. There, he saw nine DI/TII members who received orders to kill Sukarno on Eid al-Fitr. They were Dachya, Harun, Abudin, Kadri, Hidayat, Cholil, Hamdan, Anwar, and Iding. The weapons provided were two Carl Gustav rifles, five pistols, and one grenade.

Two days after the meeting, they went to see Jaya Permana, who gave lodgings to several DI/TII members. Sanusi overheard an argument between Iding and Hidayat. Iding was accused of betraying Dachya, Anwar, and Cholil, resulting in them being arrested, which automatically made the plan to assassinate Sukarno on Eid al-Fitr fail.

Abudin reported the failure of the assassination plan to Marjuk bin Akhmad alias MD Nugraha alias Jiwa Praja, a DI/TII leader on Mount Galunggung, West Java. Meanwhile, Sanusi, along with Kadri, Harun, Hidayat and Hamdan, headed to his home in Kampung Ciranjang, Pamejanan Village, Bogor. Abudin returned with an order to kill Kadri who turned out to be the real traitor, not Iding.

Sanusi killed Kadri in his house on March 25, 1962 at 1 am. Two days later, he and Abudin went to Mount Galunggung. Marjuk ordered Sanusi to lead the assassination of Sukarno on Eid al-Adha prayer. "He also received four sheets of documents containing the announcement of the victory of the Islamic State of Indonesia, which had to be given to a general," said Mangil. Marjuk didn't name the general.

Kartosoewirjo spit fire with his words, ‘Kill Sukarno. He is the obstacle to the formation of the Islamic State…’

Sanusi entered the Palace using an invitation from Haji Bachrun who resided in Bogor. Sanusi decided that he, Harun, and Hidayat would be the executors. Meanwhile, Hamdan and Abudin were assigned to listen to the radio about the result of the assassination attempt.

On the day of the assassination, at 5.30 am they left for Harmoni, near the Palace. They then divided the tasks. Sanusi would fire first as a signal for Harun to begin firing shots at Sukarno, while Hidayat would throw a grenade into the panicking crowd.

Harun entered the Palace and attended the Eid prayer. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with fear of the murder attempt he was about to carry out. Harun then canceled his intention and hid the FN pistol under the prayer mat. After the prayer, he escaped the search and headed to Kampung Pulo, Jakarta, where he met Hidayat. To Hidayat, Harun admitted he didn't shoot because his gun was jammed.

Similar to Harun, Hidayat didn't even enter the palace. He threw the grenade away in the Cisadane River. Hearing about the failure to assassinate Sukarno over the radio, Hamdan and Abudin also immediately fled. They took Sanusi's wife, Cici Sukarsih, and fled to Cianjur.

There were nine people who attempted to assassinate Sukarno on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. All of them were arrested. According to Rosihan, the perpetrators sought justification for their actions in the name of God. "Reportedly the killer, apart from saying that he was ordered by Kartosoewirjo to kill the president, didn't want to confess anything and only answered: 'God told me to.' That was their belief."

Kartosoewirjo ordered his men to kill Sukarno because the president was considered an obstacle to the realization of the Islamic State. According to Sukarno in his autobiography Sukarno: An Autobiography by Cindy Adams, "Kartosoewirjo spit fire with his words, 'Kill Sukarno. He is the obstacle to the formation of the Islamic State. Sukarno is working against us. Sukarno declared that Indonesia should be based on Pancasila, not Islam. In response to this challenge we must kill Sukarno!'" 

The Army Court of War for Java and Madura sentenced Sanusi Firkat alias Usfik and Kamil alias Harun to death on July 16, 1962; Jaya Permana alias Hidayat, Napdi alias Hamdan, and Abudin alias Hambali were sentenced to death on August 7, 1962; and Marjuk bin Akhmad on October 2, 1962. Meanwhile, three other people, Dachya alias Musa, Hermanudin alias Anwar, and Cholil alias Pi’ie were sentenced to life imprisonment on September 11, 1962.

Kartosoewirjo himself was arrested on June 5, 1962. He was found guilty of: "treason to overthrow the state of the Republic of Indonesia, rebellion against the legitimate authority in Indonesia, and treason to assassinate the head of state of the Republic of Indonesia committed successively and finally in the event of Idul Adha." For these crimes, the Army Court sentenced Kartosoewirjo to death on August 16, 1962.

"The government has demanded the death penalty as befits the rule of law and to show others that such acts must be punished accordingly," Sukarno said.

According to Maulwi Saelan, Haji Bachrun, who gave the invitation to enter the palace, was also arrested on charges of organizing the plan and ordering the assassination. After the 30th September 1965 Movement (G30S), he was transferred from Guntur Military Detention Center to Salemba prison, mingling thousands of G30S prisoners. 

"It was also the place where the CPM captain who interrogated him was detained," Maulwi said. "His attitude towards the G30S prisoners was very good. He led prayers and gave khutbah. He was released sooner than the G30S prisoners. 

According to Ario Helmy in KH Zainul Arifin's biography Berdzikir Menyiasati Angin, after the Eid al-Adha assassination attempt, Sukarno never prayed in an open space again. "Meanwhile, for security purposes, a special presidential security task force was formed on June 6, 1963, coinciding with Sukarno's birthday, under the name Tjakrabirawa Regiment," Ario wrote.

"This Eid al-Adha incident would later change the course of my life, because for that reason, I was transferred from Makassar to Jakarta to participate in forming the Tjakrabirawa Regiment in charge of guarding the head of state and his family," Maulwi said.