Osa Maliki

Osa Maliki Wangsadinata (30 December 1907 – 15 September 1969) was an Indonesian politician who was chairman of the Indonesian National Party (PNI) and a deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) from 1966 until his death.

Born in Padalarang, Osa was educated at a ''Taman Siswa'' school. In 1926, he took part in a communist rebellion against the colonial government. The failure of the rebellion led to his exile to the Boven-Digoel concentration camp. After returning from exile in 1938, Osa worked as a teacher. A few years later, during the Japanese occupation, he worked in the propaganda section of a ''Hōkōkai'' and became a member of the ''Suishintai''. However, he was briefly detained by the ''Kenpeitai'' over his connections to an underground resistance movement.

Following the proclamation of Indonesian Independence in 1945, Osa joined the newly-formed Republican government where he served in various positions. He also co-founded a new political party, Serindo, which later became the PNI. During the Indonesian National Revolution, Osa was imprisoned by the Dutch shortly after Operation Product in 1947. However, he was released a year later following the signing of the Renville Agreement. Osa remained politically active after the end of the revolution, being elected to the House of Representatives in the 1955 elections.

In the early 1960s, the PNI suffered from internal disputes as right-wing and left-wing factions developed within the party, with party chairman Ali Sastroamidjojo belonging the latter group. Osa became leader of the right-wing faction and was suspended from the PNI by Ali. Nevertheless, following the turmoil of the mid-1960s, Osa—with the support of major general Suharto—successfully ousted Ali and became party chairman in 1966. He was also appointed a deputy speaker of the MPR that same year. As chairman, Osa attempted to reform the PNI, but his efforts were cut short by his own death. Following his death, the PNI would be forcefully merged into the Indonesian Democratic Party by the New Order regime in 1973. Provided by Wikipedia