The role of newspapers published in North Sumatra during Indonesia's independence struggle between 1916-1925: A discourse analysis

Publishing Indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra

European influence became the main factor that pushed the press publishing business in North Sumatra forward in the early twentieth century. In 1902 the Dutch began to publish a newspaper for the indigenous people of East Sumatra which was named Pertja Timor. In addition to using the Malay language in each edition, the Pertja Timor newspaper also provided an opportunity for the indigenous people of North Sumatra to be involved in this newspaper by appointing Mangaradja Salembuwe from Angkola (South Tapanuli) as editor-in-chief. The opportunity to be actively involved in the publishing business for the indigenous people finally prompted the publication of the Pewarta Deli newspaper in Medan in 1910. Pewarta Deli was the first indigenous newspaper published in North Sumatra, because this newspaper was fully managed by the Indonesians themselves, starting from the shareholders, editors, directors, clerks, and printing presses, all of which belonged to the indigenous people without European intervention. That's why Perwata Deli was given the title as the first national newspaper in North Sumatra.⁶

The emergence of Pewarta Deli in the press in North Sumatra eventually prompted the publication of various other indigenous newspapers. Indigenous people have been the most active and most widely published in newspaper publishing in North Sumatra since the publication of Pewarta Deli in 1910. Indigenous newspaper publishing in North Sumatra is spread across various regions, from the east coast of Sumatra to the west coast of Sumatra. In Table 1 it can be seen that Medan, which became the capital of the East Sumatra Residency, became an area with as many as twelve names of newspapers. Sibolga, the capital of the Tapanuli Residency, which is located on the west coast of Sumatra, is the second area that publishes the most indigenous newspapers with a total of five newspapers. Seven other indigenous newspapers, published in different areas: Sinar Merdeka published in Padang Sidempuan, Soara Batak published in Tarutung, Bataksche Studiefonds published in Kota Nopan, Seroean Kita published in Perbaungan, Almoektabas published in Tanjung Balai, Nias Berita published in Gunung Sitoli, Soeara Kita is published in Pematang Siantar.

The year of publication of the 24 indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra in Table 1 also varies. Pewarta Deli became the first indigenous newspaper published in North Sumatra. In 1916, two new indigenous newspapers emerged, namely Benih Merdeka and Soeara Djawa. In 1918 the Soeara Bondjol newspaper appeared. In 1919 five newspapers appeared: Tapian Na Oeli, Sinar Merdeka, Soara Batak, Sama Rata, Perempoean Bergerak. In 1920 the Hindia Sepakat newspaper was published. In 1921 the Sinar Zaman newspaper was published. In 1922 three newspapers were published: Bataksche Studiefonds, Pantjaran Berita, Seroean Kita. In 1923 Warta Timoer was published. In 1924 the newspapers Benih Timoer, Boemipoetera, Almoektabas, Pertjatoeran, Nias Berita were published. In 1925 four newspapers were published: Soeara Kita, Soeara Tapanoeli, Oetoesan Sumatra, Poesaka.

Indigenous newspapers as a tool within the Indonesian independence struggle in North Sumatra in 1916-1925

The focus of this research is to find newspapers that feature news about the struggle for Indonesian independence. The first step of data analysis is to read one by one the articles from 24 indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra in Table 1. This first stage uses macrostructural analysis to find topics or themes contained in a text.⁷ The topic of Indonesia as the colonized and the Dutch as the colonizing became the main guide. The results of the analysis of Table 1 found 13 newspapers that featured news about Indonesia as a Dutch colony. These thirteen newspapers are Soeara Djawa, Pewarta Deli, Benih Merdeka, Perempoean Bergerak, Soeara Bondjol, Sinar Zaman, Orgaan Bataksche Studiefonds, Andalas, Mandailing, Warta Timur, Al Moektabas, Tjermin Karo, Soeara Batak. In the thirteen newspapers found as many as 162 articles consisting of various titles and publishing times which can be observed in Table 2. However, the 162 articles have the same theme, namely about Indonesia as a Dutch colony. In terms of the time of publication, Table 2 provides information that the article with the earliest published year was June 1, 1916 (Soeara Djawa) and the article with the latest date was December 24, 1925 (Soeara Batak).

In Table 2, Soeara Batak became the newspaper with the most articles, which amounted to 41 articles published from February 21, 1920, to December 24, 1925. Perempoean Bergerak became the second-largest newspaper with 22 articles published from May 15, 19191, to December 15, 1920. Soeara Djawa, Benih Merdeka, Warta Timur took the third position where the articles found in these three newspapers each had 16 article titles. For the time of publication, these three newspapers are different. The article on Soeara Djawa is dated June 1, 1916, to July 1, 1918. Benih Merdeka from July 2, 1918, to April 8, 1920. Articles in Warta Timur had the shortest period time of one month, from 8 October 1923 to 29 November 1923. The Mandailing newspaper had 15 articles published from March 3, 1923, to December 13, 1923. Tjermin Karo had eight articles published from December 28, 1924, to January 13, 1925. Pewarta Deli and Al Moektabas reporters each found seven articles. Pewarta Deli was published from July 2, 1917, to August 1, 1917. The seven articles in the Al Moektabas were published on the same day, January 31, 1924. Andalas newspaper has six article titles with publication dates from November 1, 1923, to November 6, 1923. Soeara Bondjol has four articles published from June 1, 1920, to August 1, 1922. Orgaan Bataksche Studiefonds had three articles published from February 1, 1921, to March 31, 1922. The last one is that Sinar Zaman has only 1 article dated October 8, 1921. Complete information regarding the publication date of each article can be seen in Table 3.

The next stage is to analyze the 162 articles in Table 2 using macrostructure, superstructure, and microstructure analysis⁷ in stages to find which articles contain news about the struggle for Indonesian independence. The results of the analysis found that there were only 51 articles featuring news about the Indonesian independence struggle which can be observed in Table 3.

In Table 3 Soeara Batak became the newspaper with the most article titles, namely 12 articles: three articles published in 1920, three articles in 1921, one article published in 1922, two articles published in 1923, and three articles published in 1925. The Mandailing newspaper had 10 articles published in the same year with details: one article published on January 13, 1923, two articles published on January 27, 1923, two articles published on February 3, 1923, three articles published on February 17, 1923, one article published on February 24, 1923, and one article appeared on March 3, 1923. Benih Merdeka has six article titles: four articles published in 1918 and two articles published in 1920 on the same publication date. The Perempoean Bergerak newspaper has four articles with details: two articles published in 1919 and two articles published in 1920. In Soeara Djawa there are three titles of articles published in different editions, namely one article in 1916 and two articles in 1918. Pewarta Deli also has three articles published in the same year, namely 1917. Two articles published by Pewarta Deli were published on the same publication date, namely 27 July 1917. Warta Timur also has three articles published in 1923, one in October and two in November. Al Moektabas also has three titles of articles published in the same edition on January 31, 1924. The Tjermin Karo newspaper had two articles published in 1924 and one article published in 1925. Soeara Bondjol, Sinar Zaman, Orgaan Bataksche Studiefonds, and Andalas each had only 1 article title published in 1920, 1921, and 1923.

The macrostructure is the first stage of analysis carried out to get the results from Table 3. Macrostructure only analyzes the surface or general things of a text. The topic or theme of the text is used as an indicator in this data analysis process. The struggle for Indonesian independence is the topic used. This analysis produces data from articles and newspapers that display news about Indonesian independence in ‘the macrostructural analysis results from indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra (1916-1925)’ (see underlying data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17894687).

The macrostructural analysis results in ‘the macrostructural analysis results from indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra (1916-1925)’ (see underlying data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17894687) show that the titles of the articles in the indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra published in 1916-1925 did not openly write about the demands for Indonesian independence. However, when the topic of the text is found, the statement regarding the demands or struggle for Indonesian independence is very clear. This can be observed in the Soeara Djawa newspaper with the article title “The Pen Turns to the Honorable Brother” which turns out to have a topic to support the era of movement. “The era of movement” refers to the period of the struggle for independence that took place from 1900-1942. In the article “Memory Fate!” in the Benih Merdeka newspaper, the topic was Indonesia can be independent. Al Moektabas has an article entitled “Aspirations and Feelings” with the topic tax rules in the city of Tanjung Balai are a form of protest against the high taxes that people have to pay to the Dutch colonial government. If examined one by one from the titles and topics written in Table 4, there are hidden or implicit messages that the author wants to convey regarding the struggle for Indonesian independence.

The next stage is to conduct a superstructure analysis (second stage analysis) using the data in ‘the macrostructural analysis results from indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra (1916-1925)’ (see underlying data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17894687). Superstructure analysis analyzes the text framework which consists of the introduction, content, and closing. The three parts of the superstructure contain core information or specific data that a text⁹ wants to convey in the form of "premises" and “conclusions”.¹⁰ Therefore, at this stage a more in-depth analysis is carried out on what messages or information are in the introduction, content, and closing sections of the 51 articles in Table 3. The discourse on the struggle for Indonesian independence becomes the focus of this superstructure analysis.

The results of the analysis succeeded in finding out which part of each article contained a key statement, namely the struggle for Indonesian independence. ‘The superstructure analysis results from indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra (1916-1925)’ (see underlying data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17894687) that the most frequently found key statements are at the beginning of the text, which amounts to 30 citations. Next is at the end of the text with 16 citations. The number of key statements found at least in the middle of the text is 10 citations.

In Benih Merdeka with the article title “Memory Fate”, key statements are found at the beginning, middle, and end of the text. The article entitled “Land for the People” published in the newspaper Benih Merdeka has key statements only at the beginning and end of the text. The article entitled “Aspirations and Feelings” has key statements at the beginning and middle of the text. In the article entitled “Hope” the key statements are found at the beginning and end of the text. ‘The superstructure analysis results from indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra (1916-1925)’ (see underlying data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17894687) also shows that the article “We are responsible! We demand!” found two key statements at the end of the text. Meanwhile in the article entitled “The Matter of Land and the IR Nation (Ireland and Irishmen)” two key statements were found at the beginning of the text. Other articles contain only one key statement at one point in the text.

After the superstructure stage has succeeded in finding the location where the key statement is in a text, the third step is to conduct a microstructural analysis to identify whether the text discusses the struggle for Indonesian independence. The results of the microstructural analysis are the use of words, phrases, or sentences from each article. These words, phrases, or sentences are the essences of the discourse the writer wants to convey to the readers. Readers must understand every word, phrase, and sentence that is often conveyed implicitly by the author in every article written. As a result, the title of the article and the results of the analysis of the microstructure in the column “Use of words/phrases” do not seem to have anything in common with each other.

The results of the microstructural data analysis in ‘The microstructural analysis results from indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra (1916-1925)’ (see underlying data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17894687) show that there are articles that contain unequal amounts of key statements in the form of words, phrases, sentences, or a combination of the three. Most of the key statements were found in the Perempoean Bergerak newspaper with the article title “Marriage to another Nation” with six quotes. The articles entitled “Soekidjo” and “Land for the People” both contain four quotes.

Thirteen article titles in ‘The microstructural analysis results from indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra (1916-1925)’ (see underlying data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17894687) each have three citations: The Grand Meeting of Syarikat Islam in Medan Deli, Newspaper, Reckless, Our Feelings, Brain, Blood, and Unity of the Heart, The position of Mr. Dr. Abdul Rasjid (To demand the progress of the country's children in the Tapanuli Residency to follow the right path), Forced Labor Money and the Situation of the Village, The World Movement of the Mandailing Nation, The Call (especially for my Batak Karo brothers), Economic movements in Tapanuli, Distant sound, The Matter of Land and the IR Nation (Ireland and Irishmen), dan The Great Meeting. Meanwhile, the article which has two citations include: The Pen Turns to the Honorable Brother, Indies Nederland, We are responsible! We demand! Memory Fate! Deliberation, Mandjono is too brave, The aspired progress, British Indies, Intelligence and independence, Independence in Movement, Aceh blood, Yours faithfully, The emergence of a dark case in the political workgroup in Betawi, It's getting harder! Homeland and nation, The Principles of Nation's Progress, Hope, Love the Nation, Four questions and one suggestion, Achieving Independence, The Ideals of Independence, Flying from Europe to America.

Articles containing only one citation in ‘The microstructural analysis results from indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra (1916-1925)’ (see underlying data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.17894687) are entitled: the movement, the welfare of the North Sumatra people can be lost, general court, the cry of the little one, love the homeland, pan Islamism, when will the world be safe? Help! Help! Help! Aspirations and feelings, a brief statement from Langkat Hulu, is it true that Indonesia will soon be given independence by the Dutch, desire to be noticed by the government, and what causes our association to become weak?

The microstructural analysis also succeeded in categorizing 51 articles in Table 3 into three groups, namely 1) demanding Indonesian independence openly, 2) criticizing various policies of the Dutch Colonial Government to the indigenous people of North Sumatra, 3) building awareness of nationalism through the dissemination of the spirit of nationalism, unity, and the Indonesian independence movement.

1. Demanding Indonesian independence openly.

There are twelve articles in four newspapers openly wrote about the demands for Indonesian independence. Details of the 12 newspapers whose contents openly demand Indonesian independence can be seen in Table 4.

In Table 4 it can be observed that the Mandailing newspaper has the most articles demanding Indonesian independence, namely as many as five articles with the title “British Indies”, “Intelligence and independence”, “Independence in Movement”, “Pan Islamism”, dan “When will the world be safe?”. The next most articles were found in Soeara Batak as many as four articles with the title “Achieving Independence”, “The Great Meeting”, “Is it true that Indonesia will soon be given independence by the Dutch?” dan “The Ideals of Independence”. Benih Merdeka has two articles with the title “Memory Fate!” dan “We are responsible! We demand!” In the Soeara Djawa newspaper, only one article was found entitled “The Movement”.

For the year of publication, Table 4 can be seen that 1923 was the most widely published article demanding Indonesian independence, of which there are as many as seven articles. 1923 was also the last year to publish an article on this theme. The earliest year is 1918 with two article titles. The years 1920, 1921, 1922 each had one article.

The results of the twelve newspapers which are included in the category of demanding Indonesian independence openly are based on the results of the microstructural analysis in the form of the use of words, phrases, and sentences in the text. For more details regarding the results of the microstructural analysis of the twelve articles in Table 4, it can be seen in Table 5 below.

In Table 5 the demands for Indonesian independence in the newspaper Benih Merdeka through an article with the title “Memory Fate!” is seen in the use of the sentences “The Indies nation (Indonesian) can be independent” and “The land of the Indies wants to be independent”. Next up in the article entitled “We are responsible! We demand!”, the author wrote the sentence “An alliance that wants to establish an indigenous (Indonesian) government”. The article entitled “The Movement” demands Indonesian independence through the sentence “To advance the economy and independence of the Indies”. The article entitled “British Indies” wrote, “Demanding the independence of the nation and establishing the Republic of Indonesia”. If we examine one by one Table 8 in the quotation of the text column, it is seen that the choice of words, phrases, or sentences used openly and firmly in the article demands Indonesia's independence from Dutch colonialism.

2. Criticizing various policies of the Dutch Colonial Government to the indigenous people of North Sumatra.

Writings containing criticism and protests against the Dutch colonial government became the next category found from the microstructural analysis of 51 articles in Table 3. The results of the analysis found 19 article titles whose contents were about criticism and protest against all the policies of the Dutch colonial government which were considered to be oppressing the indigenous people. In addition, there are suggestions and requests for the colonial government to do things that can advance the indigenous people. Details of the 19 titles of articles that criticize the Dutch colonial government can be seen in Table 6 below.

In Table 6 above, there are nine indigenous newspapers in North Sumatra which contain articles criticizing the Dutch colonial government. The newspapers of Benih Merdeka and Perempoean Bergerak became the newspapers with the highest number of articles, each with four articles. The next most articles with three article titles are Warta Timur and Soeara Batak. The newspapers of Soeara Djawa, Pewarta Deli, Mandailing, Al Moektabas, Tjermin Karo only had one article title.

The year of publication of the article with the theme of criticism of the Dutch colonial government in Table 6 began in 1917 with an article entitled “Indies Nederland”. In 1918 there were three article titles. In 1919 two article titles. In 1920 there were as many as four article titles. In 1921 there were two article titles. In 1923 there were four article titles. In 1924 there was one article title. In 1925 there were as many as two article titles. The results of the microstructural analysis of the 19 articles in Table 6 can be observed in Table 7.

Table 7 shows that the criticism of the Dutch colonial government in the Soeara Djawa newspaper with the article title “The Grand Meeting of Syarikat Islam in Medan Deli” can be seen in the use of the sentence “People cannot speak in court and are immediately punished”. In the Pewarta Deli newspaper entitled “Indies Nederland” the sentence “Arbitrary acts of Dutch officials” was written. In Warta Timur newspaper entitled “Help! Help! Help!” the author submits a request to the Dutch colonial government through the sentence “Government! Look and pay attention to your people who ask for help”. The contents of the news regarding suggestions and requests to the Dutch colonial government are also contained in the article entitled “The Cry of the Little One” which writes “The Dutch colonial government should have raised the salaries of indigenous employees appropriately”.

3. Building awareness of nationalism through the dissemination of the spirit of nationalism, unity, and the Indonesian independence movement.

Building awareness of nationalism through the dissemination of the spirit of nationalism, unity, and the Indonesian independence movement is the last category of indigenous newspapers that fight for Indonesian independence. The results of the microstructural analysis managed to find twenty articles published in ten newspapers. The ten newspapers and twenty article titles can be seen in Table 8.

Based on Table 8 above, Soeara Batak is the newspaper that has the highest number of articles, namely five article titles: “Economic movements in Tapanuli”, “Distant sound”, “What causes our association to become weak?”, “Flying from Europe to America, Love the Nation”. Mandailing is the newspaper that has the second most articles with the title: “The aspired progress”, “The World Movement of the Mandailing Nation”, “Aceh blood”, “Yours faithfully”. The Pewarta Deli newspaper has two articles with the titles: “The welfare of the North Sumatra people can be lost” dan “Newspaper”. Al Moektabas also has two titles, namely: “Homeland and nation” dan “The Principles of Nation's Progress”. Tjermin Karo also has two titles: “The Call (especially for my Batak Karo brothers)” and “A brief statement from Langkat Hulu”. The Soeara Djawa newspaper entitled “The Pen Turns to the Honorable Brother”. The Soeara Bondjol newspaper entitled “Love the homeland”. The Sinar Zaman newspaper is entitled “Brain, Blood, and Unity of the Heart”. The Orgaan Bataksche Studiefonds newspaper entitled “The position of Mr. Dr. Abdul Rasjid (To demand the progress of the country's children in the Tapanuli Residency to follow the right path)”. The Andalas newspaper entitled “Mandjono is too brave”.

Table 8, 1923, and 1920 were the years with the most articles, namely five articles each. Meanwhile, 1924 had four article titles. The years 1917, 1921, and 1925 each had two article titles. The year 1916 was the earliest and at least one article title. The results of the microstructural analysis of the twenty article titles in Table 11 can be observed in Table 9.

In Table 9 it can be observed that efforts to build awareness of the nationalism of the people of North Sumatra can be seen from the article entitled “The welfare of the North Sumatran people can be lost”. In this article, the author uses the phrase “Don't follow Dutch customs”. The article entitled “Aceh blood” also aims to build a sense of nationalism for readers through the sentence “The hatred of the Acehnese towards the Dutch”. The message regarding national unity can be seen in the article “The Principles of the Nation's Progress” through the sentence “The progress of the nation is the progress made together”. The article entitled “The Call (especially for my Batak Karo brothers)” is also about national unity who written: “Let's unite for common progress”. In the article entitled “Distant sound it is written: Uniting thoughts for the progress of the nation”. The article entitled “The Pen Turns to the Honorable Brother” wrote the sentence “Together we support this new movement” to support the Indonesian independence movement. The article entitled “Brain, Blood”, and “Unity of the Heart” is also related to the Indonesian independence movement through the sentence “Stronger to face the obstacles to the efforts of the independence movement.”

Underlying data

The sources of newspapers in our research exist and can be referred to by other researchers at the Jakarta National Library using their website https://www.perpusnas.go.id/ or contact the email below materjilperpusnas20@gmail.com The librarian on duty will answer the email sent to this email address. In addition, these sources can also be seen (offline access only) at the North Sumatra Press Museum, Sei Alas Road No. 6, Medan. The Medan History House, Kota Cina/Pematang Siombak Road, No. 65, Neighborhood 7, Paya Pasir Village, Medan Marelan District, Medan 20250. The Center for the Study of History and Social Sciences (PUSSIS) Universitas Negeri Medan, Willem Iskandar Road, Pasar V, Medan Estate.

This project also contains data available under the term of figshare (CC BY 4.0):

Extended data

Figshare: Table of indigenous newspapers published in North Sumatra in 1916-1925 10.6084/m9.figshare.17894687