A.A. Hamidhan

A. A. Hamidhan (25 February 1909 – 21 August 1997), is the popular name of Anang Abdul Hamidhan, an Indonesian freedom fighter and journalist from South Kalimantan. He established the daily Soeara Kalimantan in 1930. It was he who brought news of Indonesia's unilateral declaration of independence to Borneo.

Early life Hamidhan was born in Rantau, Tapin, South Kalimantan on 25 February 1909. He studied in a Europeese Lagere School in Samarinda before going to Genrum MULO in Batavia (modern day Jakarta). Formal education was rare at the time for natives who were not of noble descent, especially in Borneo. However, Hamidhan was imprisoned several times for his writings opposing the Dutch colonial government; this included two months in Cipinang in 1930, six weeks in Banjarmasin in 1932, and a further six months in Banjarmasin in 1936.

During the Japanese occupation, Soera Kalimantan offices were destroyed during a Japanese offensive on Banjarmasin in February 1942. On 5 March Hamidhan began publishing the daily Kalimantan Raya. Kalimantan Raya was established on orders from the Japanese, Hamidhan remained as an editor and was under intense pressure from the occupation forces, receiving several warnings for his writings. He later wrote Sekitar Mukaddimah UUD 1945: Untuk Memperlengkap Kebenaran Sejarah (Regarding the Constitution of 1945: To Complete History's Recordings), which dealt with his experiences around the period and decried claims that there was conflict over parts of the constitution relating to God's role in the country. The following day Oto Iskandar di Nata held a meeting where he offered governorship of Borneo to Hamidhan, an offer the latter refused. Hamidhan instead suggested Pangeran Mohammad Noor, who was in Java at the time and later became the government's selection.

After the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference in 1949 Hamidhan renamed Soeara Kalimantan as Indonesia Merdeka. He sold the publication in 1961, disheartened by the increasing lack of press freedom. His nephew Fachrudin Mohani then offered him two hotels to manage, Hotel Banyuwangi (Banyuwangi) and Hotel Wisma Andhika (Surabaya), a job offer which Hamidhan accepted. He continued this work, visiting Borneo ever few months, until 1975.

Personal life Hamidhan was married to Siti Aisyah, with whom he had seven children and eleven grandchildren. A biography on him, entitled H.A.A. Hamidhan: Pejuang dan Perintis Pers di Kalimantan (H.A.A. Hamidhan: Fighter and Press Leader in Kalimantan) was written in 1987.

Footnotes