Bung Tomo

“It is better for us to be destroyed than not to be free. Our motto remains ‘Be Free or Die’.”

Good Morning, Dear Judges, all the audiences and my fellow participants, I’m Lialen Mae Patricia
Cerado. Today I’m gonna tell you a story about a great man called Sutomo.

Have you ever heard about him? …

The clue is he is the man behind the National Heroes Day. Well, I’m glad to tell you about him.

Sutomo, or we often call him Bung Tomo, is a great hero of the Indonesian nation from Surabaya. He
was an orator, burning spirit to fight till death, maintaining dignity, someone who will not stand when
he sees his country perish into ashes. Until homeland and nation that was proclaimed on August 17,
1945.

Bung Tomo grew up in a middle-class family. Education was important to be obtained by his family.
He was a determined and religious man. At a young age, Bung Tomo was active in political and
social groups. In 1944, he was a member of the New People’s Movement.

‘“It is better for us to be destroyed than not to be free. Our motto remains ‘Be Free or Die’. Bung
Tomo’s voice boomed at Yamato hotel, where the English men have already planted their prided flag.
This emerged the raging spirits and the voices of all Indonesian warriors. They screamed
‘Aaarrrggghhhh!! We fight till we’re free! Be Free or Die!!’ And they fought with all their might, till the
end. Managed to climb up the Yamato hotel and tore the flag in pieces, only leaving the red and white
colors that represent our Nusantara, Indonesia.

With the huge motivation that Bung Tomo has awakened in the souls of the young people, he led
Indonesia to victory. Ending the war of 10th November 1945, with the winning blood in our veins.

Bung Tomo shows us that no matter how hard the fight may be, no matter how lacking you think you
are, you must remember that you are Indonesian.
Related to our life now, as the next coming generation we need to be more disciplined and
passionate when we study to chase our dreams.

*singing
However big, however small The brightest colors fill my head
Let me be part of it all A million dreams are keeping me awake
Share your dreams with me I think of what the world could be
We may be right, we may be wrong A vision of the one I see
But I wanna bring you along to the world I see A million dreams is all it's gonna take
To the world we close our eyes to see A million dreams for the world we're gonna
We close our eyes to see make

For the world we're gonna make

Every night, I lie in bed

Remember what Bung Tomo said, we will always rise up and come back stronger, shine brighter,
together. With the spirit of Nusantara! We fight till the end and we don't stop till we reach our freedom.
Once again my name is Lialen Mae Patricia Cerado, thank you for listening to my story and I’ll see
you again in another time.
Have a good day everyone!