Indonesia National Anthem

Indonesia Raya

Written 1924

Adopted 1945

Lyrics Wage Rudolf Supratman

Music Wage Rudolf Supratman

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Key Facts

1. Wage Rudolf Supratman first performed Indonesia Raya on a violin at the 1928 Youth Congress, when he was twenty-five years old.
2. Supratman's printed lyrics and the first records sang "Mulia, mulia" ("glorious") in the refrain, but young nationalists sang "Merdeka, merdeka" ("free") instead, the words of today's anthem; questioned by Dutch police, Supratman showed his printed text to argue that "Merdeka" came from the public, not from him.
3. The full song has three stanzas. Government Regulation No. 44 of 1958 makes the first stanza, with its refrain sung twice, the usual sung form, and also sets out how all three stanzas are sung when the song is performed in full.
4. Supratman wrote both the words and the music; the familiar symphonic arrangement was created by the Dutch composer Jos Cleber in 1950 at the Indonesian government's request and tailored to President Sukarno's wishes.
5. After Supratman died in 1938 the rights passed to his heirs, his four sisters; once the song became the national anthem its copyright was treated as state property, with Supratman always named as its creator, and in 1959 his heirs formally handed the copyright to the government.

Indonesia National Anthem Lyrics

Under Government Regulation No. 44 of 1958, the anthem is normally sung as the first stanza with its refrain twice. The complete work has three stanzas, and the regulation also sets out how to sing all of them.

Indonesia tanah airku, Tanah tumpah darahku, Di sanalah aku berdiri, Jadi pandu ibuku. Indonesia kebangsaanku, Bangsa dan tanah airku, Marilah kita berseru, Indonesia bersatu. Hiduplah tanahku, Hiduplah negeriku, Bangsaku, Rakyatku, semuanya, Bangunlah jiwanya, Bangunlah badannya, Untuk Indonesia Raya. Indonesia Raya, Merdeka, merdeka, Tanahku, negeriku yang kucinta! Indonesia Raya, Merdeka, merdeka, Hiduplah Indonesia Raya.

Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals

Analysis

Editorial

"Indonesia Raya" ("Great Indonesia") was written by Wage Rudolf Supratman after he read a magazine's challenge to compose a national anthem; sources date the song to 1924 or to after the First Youth Congress of 1926. He first performed it publicly on his violin on 28 October 1928 at the Second Youth Congress (Sumpah Pemuda) in Batavia, today's Jakarta, where it became a rallying point for the nationalist movement. On 10 November 1928 the Chinese-Indonesian weekly Sin Po printed its notation and words. As young people and nationalist associations took up the song, the Dutch colonial authorities declared it a threat to public order and banned it in 1930. It became the national anthem when Indonesia proclaimed independence on 17 August 1945, and its status was later formalised by Government Regulation No. 44 of 1958 and Law No. 24 of 2009. The widely heard orchestral arrangement was written by the Dutch composer Jozef "Jos" Cleber in 1950 and approved by President Sukarno.