Soedjojo Hok
Soedjojo Hok (1933–1998), né Hok Tsji Houw, was a Soendanese schoolteacher, revolutionary, and archaeologist. He was a major figure in the East Indies Crisis, serving as vice-premier of the PKKN for thirteen years — a position that led him to become the first President of Soenda in 1977. Hok was forced to resign from politics altogether following rife anti-Chinese sentiment in the 1978 Batavian riots. In his retirement, he would dedicate the remainder of his life to the preservation of Borobudur Temple, composing numerous educational works on religion, national republicanism, and politics until his death at the age of 65.
Personal details | |
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Born | Hok Tsji Houw (郝智豪) 19 February 1933 Masai, Djohor, Dutch East Indies |
Citizenship | Dutch East Indies (1933–1962) Soenda (1977–1993) |
Political party | PKKN (1958–1983) |
Early life and the kongsi
Soedjojo Hok was born Hok Tsji Houw (Chinese: 郝智豪, Hãw Zì Háw) in the Malayan satellite town of Masai on 19 February 1933. His family owned a small rice mill in rural Djohor, one of 183 family-owned businesses party to the Royal Rice Mill League. His father, Toon Hok, was subsequently targeted by local Chinese kongsi for his economic alignment with the Djohor royal family. Following Toon Hok's murder in 1950, Tsji Houw fled to the Djohor captial of Medini Iskandar, where he adopted the Indo–Javanese name Soedjojo in order to conceal his identity and Hokkien origin in an increasingly politically tense environment.