Born in Serang Regency, Hilman entered bureaucracy after finished studying in the Hogere Burgerschool.

He began to work as a clerk in the Residential Office of Jakarta, and later became the wedana for several kawedanan (subdistrict) in West Java.

Hilman was born in Serang Regency, Banten, then part of the Dutch East Indies, on 28 February 1896.

To show the promise, the Japanese appointed several indigenous aristocrats to hold positions that were previously held by the Dutch.

[5] The Recomba, Abdulkadir Widjojoatmodjo, held the First and Second Bandung Conference with the intent of gathering influential people in West Java in order to support the formation of the state.

[7] When the decision to build a satellite town at Kebayoran Baru was taken, the state hurried to acquire the full 600 hectares for the project.

After a month of fruitless talks, the government gave up and decided to start procedures to expropriate the land.

However, on 15 November, Hilman held a preliminary talk with the wedana, Mas'oed, the core of the resistance.

Hilman explained the purpose of the land, and without further ado, the governor and the landowners agreed on a price.