Background

When he returned to the Indonesian government in Jakarta to Yogyakarta in 1950, following the Dutch recognition of Indonesia, President Sukarno began to consider building a national monument comparable to the Eiffel Tower in the square opposite the Presidential Palace. 17. August 1954, the National Monument Committee was established and the design competition was held in 1955. This attracted 51 entries, but only a model, Frederich Silaban, met none of the criteria of the commission, which included Indonesia, the building reflects the character can take centuries. The second race was held in 1960, but again, none of the 136 items met the criteria. President of the team then asked the jury Silaban shows his drawing of Sukarno. However, Sukarno did not like the project that he wanted the monument in the form of Lingam and Yoni.

Silaban were asked to design a monument, but its design was so high that a monument would be too expensive, given the economic situation at that time. Silaban refused to design a smaller monument, which suggests that construction be delayed until the Indonesian economy improved. Sukarno then asked the architect RM Soedarsono continue planning. Soedarsono included in number 17, 8 and 45, which is August 17, 1945 proclamation of Indonesian independence dimensions of the monument.