JP/Simon Sudarman
His wrinkled hand reaches for his eyeglasses whenever he wants to read, but his steps remain agile.
Meet 84-year-old Antonius Dahana, one of the early makers of Indonesia’s first banknotes. Antonius lives in a modest home in Timbulharjo, Yogyakarta, with his wife Kristina Mijem.
“None of the people in this village know that I was among those once entrusted the job of printing, sorting out and counting Oeang Repoeblik Indonesia [ORI] post-independence banknotes. They think I’m just an oldest retired employee of a printing firm,” said Dahana.
The elderly couple relies on a monthly pension worth Rp 300,000 from the printing company where Dahana previously worked, and uncertain remittances from their only son who lives in Jakarta.
“We’re just living out our days humbly. We’re just scrimping and saving for a decent existence,” said Dahana with a hearty laugh as he glanced at his wife, who also smiled.
Dahana graduated from primary school in 1940 and secured a job soon after without much ado. He was offered work with the private printing company, Kanisius, located on Jl. Panembahanan Senopati Gondomanan, Yogyakarta.
“Though it was then a relatively small firm, its printing products had a good reputation. At first, I was in charge of book binding,” said Dahana.
Owing to his diligence, when in 1946 the company won the trust of the government to print ORI banknotes, he was named a member of the ORI production team.
“I had no idea why I was chosen, but I felt very proud and grateful. Moreover, the government appointment was also based on a decree from the finance minister at that time,” said Dahana, showing a yellowed document dated Dec. 23, 1946, signed by former finance minister A. Maramis.
“I was practically bathed in money in a building with one door especially designed for sorting and counting banknotes, before they were transported in pushcarts to the Bank Indonesia office, which was west of the printing house,” recalled Dahana, who retired from Kanisius in 1980.
According to him, the single-door building was guarded by dozens of well-armed soldiers, who searched everybody entering and leaving the room. Even team members had to take off their jackets before and after work.
“We were required to wear white uniforms like hospital surgeons who would conduct operations, but our uniforms had no pockets. The soldiers examined us strictly and harshly in the beginning, but as we got to know each other better we started to joke with one another during the searches,” he said.
Although he never made a lot of money from his job, he stories show that he worked with dedication and honesty.
“It’s a noble task and I was really honored to accept the trust of the public, which I couldn’t let down,” Dahana revealed.
Along with several peers, he was assigned to the printing section, which was responsible for cutting, sorting and counting banknotes. Team personnel from state institutions such as Bank Indonesia and the Yogyakarta Financial Settlement Office acted as chairman and supervisors of the ORI processing.
Overseeing every stage in the process, Dahana handled ORI banknotes with the picture of President Sukarno, including denominations of Rp 1, 5 and 10. Before counting, the money sheets were first sorted out to remove those unevenly printed or partially cut off.
“I had 20 women helping me with the sorting. We counted the sorted banknotes together and bundled them into packs of 100 sheets, which were each labeled with the name of the counter. Any miscount would entail interrogation as the process was tightly controlled,” he said.
Thereafter, Dahana and the other colleagues put the packs into handcarts, which they pushed to the Bank Indonesia office, the financial settlement division on the second floor, again under military guard.
“Before delivery, we were asked to count the packs once more, after which they were stamped and signed. Everything was done properly, the stacks of banknotes were turned over to the bank,” said Dahana.
After working with dedication for more than a year, Dahana received another decree from the Finance Ministry dated Jan. 8, 1947, terminating his ORI team membership without compensation.
In fact, he earned no extra pay for working any harder. The ministerial decree stipulated he was only granted an additional food allowance of Rp 4 per day.
“For the meticulous task, I received a Rp 4 food allowance each day,” he concluded with a joyful laugh.
While Dahana is proud to be one of the early makers of Indonesia’s first banknotes, the pension he now receives from the state does not reflect his contribution to the nation’s history. The elderly man now survives with his beloved wife on a monthly pension of Rp 300,000.
