The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was read at 10.00 a.m. on Friday, 17 August 1945. The document was signed by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, who were appointed president and vice-president respectively the following day. The draft was prepared only a few hours earlier on the night of 16 August 1945 by Sukarno, Hatta, and Soebardjo, at the house of Rear-Admiral Tadashi Maeda.
The wording of the proclamation had been discussed at length and had to balance both conflicting internal Indonesian and Japanese interests. Sukarno drafted the final proclamation which balanced the interests of both the members of the youth movement and the Japanese. The term ‘TRANSFER OF POWER’ was used in Indonesian to satisfy Japanese interests to appear that it was an administrative transfer of power, although the term used ‘pemindahan kekuasaan’ could be perceived to mean political power. The wording ‘BY CAREFUL MEANS’ related to preventing conflict with members of the youth movement. The wording ‘IN THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE TIME’ was used to meet the needs of all Indonesians for independence.
Initially the proclamation was to be announced at Djakarta central square, but the military had been sent to monitor the area, so the venue was changed to Sukarno's house at Pegangsaan Timur 56. The proclamation was heard throughout the country because the text was secretly broadcast by Indonesian radio personnel using the transmitters of the Jakarta Broadcasting Station. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?
