The first daily newspaper in Yogyakarta that was born after Indonesia's independence was the Kedaulatan Rakyat Daily Newspaper. However, the long journey towards the establishment of the People's Sovereignty Daily cannot be separated from the previous newspapers in Yogyakarta, namely the Sedyatama newspaper and the Sinar Matahari newspaper. . During the Japanese occupation, 'Sendenbu' (Japanese Propaganda Front), allowed the Sedyatama Newspaper to continue to be published but with the condition that it must use the Indonesian language. The publication of this newspaper was eventually stopped by R Roedjito because it was under Japanese pressure.
The Sedyatama Daily Office located on Jalan Malioboro was later taken over by the Japanese and used as the publishing office for a Japanese newspaper which was later named Sinar Matahari. The Sunshine Daily in the Japanese period was one of the propaganda media. This newspaper was published on the initiative of Sendenbu or the Japanese Propagandists Front, this newspaper was in charge of disseminating the political program of the Dai Nippon government and recruiting Indonesian employees. Even though at the beginning it was founded for propaganda and Japanese interests, in its journey the news content of Sinar Matahari Daily was no longer oriented towards propaganda and Japanese interests, but instead reported news that benefited the Indonesian nation, especially after Japan suffered successive defeats in the Pacific War. Indonesians who became journalists or employees of the Sinar Matahari newspaper, who were supposed to spread Japanese propaganda, actually made this newspaper as a medium of information to support Indonesia's struggle for independence. The news that was published made a big contribution to the fighters for Indonesian independence, such as the news of the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, statements by Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX and Paku Alam VIII stating that they stood behind the Government of Indonesia, and calls that inflamed the fighting spirit of the youth in defending Indonesian independence. However, the news published in the Sunlight Daily displeased the Japanese military, which at that time still had power.
Responding to the precarious situation so that the Japanese would not take advantage of it to manipulate the situation, the Yogyakarta Regional Indonesian National Committee (KNI), chaired by Mr. Soedarisman Poerwokoesoemo immediately sealed the Sinar Matahari Daily office. Samawi, who was one of the press fighters from the former daily Sedyatama and Sinar Matahari, also worked on the sealing of the Sinar Matahari Daily's office.
For some time during the sealing of the Sinar Matahari Daily, the people of Yogyakarta did not receive adequate written news regarding the condition of the Republic of Indonesia. With unanimous determination, Samawi along with other journalist friends such as Soemantoro, Bramono and Moeljono were determined to soon publish their own newspaper as a substitute for the Sinar Matahari newspaper. After Harlan Sinar Matahari's sealing was successfully opened and all news materials were complete, on September 26, 1945, two journalists namely Samawi and Soemantoro met the Chair of the Yogyakarta Regional Indonesian National Committee (KNI), Mr. Soedarisman Poerwokoesoemo to discuss the naming of the newspaper to be published. Mr. Soedarisman Poerwokoesoemo gave a name that was considered very appropriate and in line with the aspirations of the struggle at that time, namely People's Sovereignty. According to Mr. Kadarisman Porwokoesoemo, the term People's Sovereignty or Folk-Souverenteit is becoming the slogan of the people who want to be free from colonialism. The term Sovereignty of the People is also listed at the end of paragraph IV of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution.
After everyone agreed, on Thursday 27 September 1945, exactly 40 days after the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, the People's Sovereignty Daily was born in the midst of the revolution for the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia. The first issue of the daily Kedaulatan Rakyat was printed using leftover paper from Sinar Matahari Daily. This first year's edition of the newspaper carried the main story on "The Cohesiveness of the Djogdjakarta Regional Government" with the subtitle "Seloeroehnja in the Hands of the Indonesian Nation", while the accompanying headline was entitled "Freedom Indonesia is the creation of the Indonesian Nation itself". The name of the Kedaulatan Rakyat Daily Newspaper was then more popular with the initials KR (pronounced Ka-Er). Kedaulatan Rakyat Daily can be said to be the first and oldest daily newspaper that was born after Indonesian Independence.
Initially, the editorial office of the Kedaulatan Rakyat Daily occupied the former office of the Sinar Matahari Daily which was located at JI. Malioboro No. 22, which is to the north of the DIY DPRD Building. With the publication of the People's Sovereignty Daily, starting from that time, residents of the city of Yogyakarta and its surroundings can enjoy the People's Sovereignty Daily which is published in the morning.
The Daily Sovereignty Office initially occupied the former office building of Harlan Sinar Matahari and Sedyatomo on Jalan Maloboro 22, then around 1950 it moved to occupy the building on Jalan P. Mangkubumi / Jalan Margo Utomo until now. The Harlan Kedaulatan Rakyat Office building is located at Jalan Margo Utomo No. 38 and 40 or previously named JI. Prince Mangkubumi no 40, Kelurahan Gowongan, Kemantren Jetis, City of Yogyakarta. The Sovereignty of the People office building has an area of 805 square meters which stands on a land area of 3,360 square meters and is managed by PT BadanPublishing Kedaulatan Rakyat. To the north the Sovereignty Office building is adjacent to the Arjuna hotel, to the east by residential areas, to the south by the Champion bookstore, to the west by JI. P Mangkubumi/JI. Margo Utomo.
Promotions, and other buildings which are expected to be new buildings as part of the printing facility. The Kedaulatan Rakyat office building is an early Indian architectural style building with very strong European architectural characteristics. Mdis architecture is modern architecture introduced to the Dutch East Indies around the late 19th to 20th centuries before World War II. Indische architectural features in the Sovereignty People's building can be seen from the mix of traditional architecture, namely the use of pyramid-shaped roofs, the use of blinds doors and windows, high ceilings with ternit made of wooden planks which is a form of adaptation to the archipelago's tropical climate. also characterizes the form of assimilation with the layout of traditional Javanese houses, namely ndalem with gandhok on the right and left. Meanwhile, elements of European architecture can be seen from the use of pillars (columns) made of cast iron, walls made of plastered bricks, and art deco-influenced ornaments on the walls.
In addition, the use of patterned tiles on building floors was a feature of Indische buildings that were popular in the early 20th century AD.
In the book Djokja en Solo Beeld van de Vorstenden by M.P. van Bruggen has a map of Yogyakarta in 1925. The map shows the Autohandel Centrum or the Centrum Car and Accessories Shop. After Indonesia's independence, the Autohandel Centrum building was used as the Social Republic of Indonesia office, and since 1950 it has been used as the office of PT BP Kedaulatan Rakyat with the approval of Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX until now. The building is currently used as the office of the Board of Directors. The building to the north, which is currently used as KR's advertising office, was formerly a soap production building, while the building currently used for the editorial office and editorial staff was formerly the office of the Agrarian Service.
The Sovereignty of the People's Office Building has been designated as a Cultural Heritage Building based on the Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Number 214/M/2017 dated 3 August 2017. The KedaulotonRokyot office building which is included in the deletion of the Cultural Heritage building consists of building I (Building Can), Building II ( Directors office), Building III (Editor's office and editorial staff), and Building IVA (Promotion Room). The Kedaulatan Rakyat Daily office building is one of the buildings located in the Philosophical Axis area between the Tugu monument and the Ngayogyakarta Palace, as well as the Krapyak Stage. The Philosophical Axis is a cultural landscape that has been stipulated in the claim of the DIY Provincial Regulation Number 6 of 2012 concerning the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Heritage. In addition, roads along the philosophical axis have also been designated as cultural heritage structures based on the Decree of the Governor of DIY number 108 of 2017. Therefore the Sovereignty of the People's office building has an important value that must be preserved and is also one of the markers of the Cultural Heritage building in the Axis area. Philosophy.