"The tale of Mrs Fatmawati, who sew the red and white flag, cannot be separated from her (role as) wife of President Soekarno," the governor noted in a statement received in Surabaya on Monday.
Parawansa said she was amazed to see that the house, located in Penurunan Village, Ratu Samban Sub-district, Bengkulu City, was in a clean and prime condition.
Fatmawati's item collections are kept in a tidy manner in the house with wooden walls, she noted.
The house has four rooms comprising the main space, two bedrooms, and another room at the back of the house. In front of the house is a sculpture bearing Fatmawati's face, which shows that the house belonged to a national hero from Bengkulu, she pointed out.
Some items, such as a sewing machine, red and white flag, and some authentic outfits in well-maintained condition, are found in the front section of the house, she added.
"This is the sewing machine that she used to sew the Red and White Flag that later becomes the national identity of Indonesia," she explained.
After visiting Fatmawati's house, the governor continued her trip to the house where Soekarno was staying during his exile on Soekarno Hatta Road No. 8, Anggut Atas Village, Gading Cempaka Sub-district, Bengkulu.
The first president was exiled to Bengkulu from 1938 to 1942, some years before Indonesia gained its independence, she remarked.
Some of his items, such as a roadster bicycle, books, Monte Carlo group's costume, and script for play, are still kept in that house, according to Parawansa.
Moreover, hundreds of books in Dutch fill a corner of the house that used to be the president's workspace, she stated. The governor noted that those books accompanied Soekarno during his exile.
"During his exile, he read a lot. No wonder that his wisdom as a leader is obtained from the whole world," she recalled.
While in Bengkulu, Soekarno consistently motivated others to fight for freedom, and it serves as a relevant lesson for current Indonesians, she concluded.
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Translator: Abdul Hakim, Hanif Nasrullah, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
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