Pada 8 Oktober 1947, PUTERA-AMCJA telah mengeluarkan Panduan Hartal kepada pihak media, memberi penerangan kepada rakyat tentang langkah-langkah untuk berhartal. Berikut merupakan teks dari Panduan Hartal yang disiarkan menerusi akhbar The Straits Echo bertarikh 15 Oktober 1947.
HARTAL INSTRUCTIONS
October 20 has been declared Hartal Day, or our Day of Protest against the Government’s Revised Constitutional Proposals and our Day of Support of the People’s Constitutional Proposals.
This day must therefore be a complete success. The hartal must be observed strictly and properly everywhere.
In order to ensure that this is accomplished, it is essential that in every State, every town, every district, and every kampong, there must be at least one week of active propaganda preceding October 20.
That is, from October 13 to October 20, in every State, town, district and kampong, every means possible must be employed to ensure that ALL the people understand the nature of the hartal, why the hartal is being called, why the date October 20 has been chosen as Hartal Day, how the hartal is to be observed, what are the dangers of the Government’s Revised Constitutional Proposals, why the People’s Constitutional Proposals must be accepted by the Government, etc.
This means that October 20 will come as the CLIMAX to many days of intensive and active propaganda.
October 20 is the day on which the people of Malaya will be called upon to stage the greatest political demonstration that this country has ever seen.
October 20 must therefore be a complete success.
Here are a few suggestions as to how you should carry out the programme outlined above.
In every town, district and kampong, representatives of the organisations affiliated to the Putera and the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action, and the representatives of organisations which are against the Government’s Revised Constitution, must meet, and plan their campaign in the week preceding October 20 – Hartal Day.
The first thing to be done is to arrange that certain organisations must be responsible for propaganda among the Indian people; certain organisations must be responsible for propaganda among the English-speaking section…
These organisations must call meetings, arrange discussions, or debates, or lectures concerning the Government’s Revised Constitution, and explaining the Proposals.
These organisations must set up Propaganda Corps to tour the towns, and districts and kampongs explaining to the people about the hartal, and why it has been called, and what a hartal is, and how the hartal is to be observed, and why October 20 has been chosen as Hartal Day, and why the Government’s Revised Constitution is undemocratic and dangerous to their welfare, and how the People’s Constitutional Proposals will benefit them, and why the People’s Constitutional Proposals should be supported.
At all these meetings, and in all the propaganda, it must be emphasised, at all time, that a hartal is a PEACEFUL and VOLUNTARY method of making a political protest against the undemocratic and harmful policy of the Government.
At all those meetings, and in all the propaganda, it must be emphasised that the workers in the public essential services are not asked to join actively in the hartal, but are asked to issue statements saying that they are in sympathy with the hartal.
At all these meetings, and in all the propaganda, it must be emphasised that the best way of observing the hartal is to remain indoors on October 20, from six in the morning until midnight.
It is urged upon all the members of associations affiliated to the Putera and the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action that they spend October 20 inside the premises of their various unions and associations, studying and discussing the People’s Constitutional Proposals.
It is also advised that our supporters and sympathisers, in all the States and towns and districts and kampongs, should write in to all the newspapers, in every language, supporting the hartal, and urging and advising the people to observe the hartal.
It is also necessary that after the hartal, the various Hartal committees set up in every town and district and kampong, should make a report about the way the hartal was observed in their respective areas. This report should be sent into the Secretary, Putera-All Malaya Council of Joint Action, 59, Klyne Street, Kuala Lumpur.
Finally, ONE WORD OF WARNING. There will undoubtedly be attempts, by hostile elements, to spoil the peaceful and voluntary nature of our hartal. In every State, town, district and kampong therefore, you must be on your guard against such elements, who in many cases will pretend to belong to one of the organisations affiliated to the Putera and the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action. You must see to it that the attempts of these bad elements are not successful. YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT IF THEY PROVOKE YOU AND YOU RETALIATE THEN THEY HAVE SUCCEEDED IN SPOILING THE NON-VIOLENT NATURE OF THE HARTAL. Therefore you must practise, and you must call upon the people to practise, proper and dignified self-control on that day. They must not retaliate, no matter how great is the provocation.
The best way to achieve this, is that they should remain indoors during the whole of October 20, from six in the morning until midnight. This will greatly lessen any chance of the hostile elements meeting with success in their evil task.
Sumber: Akhbar The Straits Echo, 15 Oktober 1947
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