Indonesia Opens Museum Honoring Hatta and Sjahrir’s Exile

RRI.CO.ID, Sukabumi - Indonesia has opened the Museum of Mohammad Hatta and Sutan Sjahrir’s Exile House in Sukabumi, West Java, as a new space for the public to learn about the country’s struggle for independence. The museum was officially inaugurated by Minister of Culture Fadli Zon on September 12, 2026, following a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, the Indonesian National Police, and the Sukabumi City Government.

The museum preserves the history of Mohammad Hatta and Sutan Sjahrir, two prominent Indonesian figures who played important roles in the country’s journey toward independence. In February 1942, the two nationalist leaders were transferred from Banda Neira to the Sukabumi Police School complex as political prisoners under Dutch colonial rule.

Despite strict colonial surveillance, the house became a place where their ideas, determination, and efforts toward Indonesian independence continued to develop. Fadli Zon said the museum should be understood not simply as a historical building, but as a living space where people can engage with the nation’s past.

“The museum must be more than a place for storing historical objects. It should become a living learning space where the public, especially younger generations, can engage in dialogue with history,” Fadli said during the inauguration.

The Ministry of Culture has revitalized the museum’s physical architecture, interior, and curatorial presentation through its 2026 museum, palace, and cultural park revitalization program. The renewed exhibits present the lives and struggles of Hatta and Sjahrir through timelines, historical documents, newspaper clippings, a map of Hatta’s exile journey, Sjahrir’s gramophone, and an archive of the newspaper Daulat Ra’yat.

Sukabumi Mayor Ayep Zaki, welcomed the museum’s reopening and said the site would serve not only as an important part of the city’s history but also as an educational space for younger generations. “The presence of this museum is not only an important part of Sukabumi’s history, but also an educational space that can introduce the exemplary values of the nation’s founders to younger generations,” he said.

Head of the Indonesian National Police’s School for Officer Formation, Brigadier General Dirin, said the former exile house is an important part of Indonesia’s history that needs to be preserved and utilized as a place of public learning. He emphasized that the building is not merely a historical structure, but a witness to the struggles and ideas of national figures on the path toward an independent Indonesia.

The Ministry of Culture said the museum is expected to bring younger generations closer to Indonesia’s history while strengthening appreciation for the country’s cultural heritage. Through continued collaboration, the government aims to ensure that museums serve not only as places of preservation, but also as spaces for education, research, creativity, inspiration, and the strengthening of Indonesia’s national identity.