Gemala, Halida and Meutia Hatta
Honoring Their Father

The three daughters of the late Mohammad Hatta, Indonesia's first Vice President and co-proclamator of the nation's declaration of independence in 1945, recently got together in Jakarta to witness the launching of a reprint of their father's book on cooperatives.

It was an auspicious occasion for the Hattas Meutia, Gemala and Halida whose father wrote Membangun Kooperasi dan Kooperasi Membangun ('Building Cooperatives and Cooperatives Build') back in 1971. Bung Hatta, as he was popularly known, believed that cooperatives were an alternative economic system that could work in building a democratic society. The book contains a compilation of the thoughts and speeches of Bung Hatta on a number of topics that stress on the principle of gotong-royong, or mutual assistance.

December 1, 2015