Muhammad Yamin (24 August 1903 – 17 October 1962) was an Indonesian poet, politician, historian and national hero who played a key role in the writing of the draft preamble to the 1945 constitution.

[1][2] In the early 1930s, Yamin was active in journalist circles, joining the editorial board of the newspaper Panorama, together with Liem Koen Hian, Sanusi Pane, and Amir Sjarifuddin.

[3][4] In mid-1936, together with his colleagues Liem, Pane, and Sjarifuddin, Yamin started another newspaper, Kebangoenan (1936–1941), which—as with Panorama—was published by Phoa Liong Gie's Siang Po Printing Press.

Quoted below is the first stanza of "Tanah Air", his ode to the natural beauty of the highlands in present West Sumatra: Di atas batasan Bukit Barisan Memandang beta ke bawah memandang Tampaklah hutan rimba dan ngarai lagi pun sawah, telaga nan permai : Serta gerangan lihatlah pula Langit yang hijau bertukar warna Oleh pucuk daun kelapa : Itulah tanah airku Sumatera namanya tumpah darahku.

Above the limits of Bukit Barisan I gaze below, looking Forests, jungles, and valleys are visible As well as rice fields, beautiful lakes: And then, behold The green sky changing colors By the tips of coconut leaves: That is my homeland Sumatra, the land where my blood was spilled.

In the above poem, one imagines Yamin standing on the hills near the town of Bukittinggi, the site of the prehistoric canyon now verdant with rainforest and paddy fields.

The credit for the first important modern prose in Malay belongs to his fellow Minangkabau, Marah Roesli, author of the novel Sitti Nurbaya which also appeared in 1922.

In 1936 Pandji Tisna's (1908–1978) Sukreni: Gadis Bali, possibly the most original work of pre-independence fiction, dealt with the destructive effect of contemporary commercial ethics on Balinese society.

Yamin also published plays, essays, historical novels, and poems, and translated works from such authors as Shakespeare (Julius Caesar) and Rabindranath Tagore.

He then formed the National Indonesia Group (Goni), which was chaired by Mangaradja Soeangkoepon, and also included Abdul Rasjid and Tadjuddin Noor.

During the Japanese occupation (1942–1945), Yamin was appointed to the advisory board of the Center for People's Power (Pusat Tenaga Rakyat - PUTERA), a Japanese-sponsored confederation of nationalist organizations.

He suggested to the body that the new nation should include all the Malay-speaking world: not only the territories of the Netherlands Indies, but also Sarawak, Sabah, Malaya, and Portuguese Timor.

[15][16] Yamin's claim of authorship for Pancasila was questioned by Dr. Mohammad Hatta, Mr. Subarjo, Mr. A. Maramis, Prof. A.G. Pringgodigdo, Prof. Sunario, and all of the surviving members of BPUPK who were subsequently interviewed.

However, the fact that Yamin was seemingly the only person to possess complete records of the BPUPK sessions, which he used for his 1959 book Naskah persiapan Undang-undang Dasar 1945 (Documents for the preparation of the 1945 Constitution) was particularly useful for the New Order regime, which took power in Indonesia following the coup attempt of September 1965.

As part of the de-Sukanoization process to discredit the former regime, it was in the interests of the government to claim that Yamin had come up with the Pancasila concept and that Sukarno was simply the first person to use the term 'Pancasila'.

[18] When the BPUPK met for its second session, on 10 July, a committee of 19 members, with Soepomo playing the major role, produced the draft constitution over three days.