Indies began in 1942. Despite his education in law and his general interest in literature, he took a job at the colonial finance department as a tax inspector's adjutant in Kediri, after a one-year job training. He retained this job during the Japanese occupation of 1942–1945, during which he was initially promoted to head of the Kediri tax office, and then relocated to Bandung. During the occupation, Sjafruddin became convinced that immediate Indonesian independence was necessary, and became active in the underground independence movement. He often visited Sutan Sjahrir, a key leader in the resistance against Japanese occupation, and according to Sjafruddin, he was often wrongly regarded as a member of Sjahrir's movement. Along with Mohammad Natsir, he discreetly organized a number of educational courses directed against the Japanese occupation. National revolution Early national revolution Indonesian independence was proclaimed on 17 August 1945, with Sukarno being elected as President. On 24 August Sjafruddin became a member of the Indonesian National Committee of the Priangan region, before joining the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP) and becoming one of the members of its Working Committee. In 1946 he joined Masjumi, an Islamic party, despite previously having no experience within Islamic organizations; he later said that his religious affiliation led him to prefer Masyumi to Sjahrir's Socialist Party of Indonesia, despite his personal connection to Sjahrir. His closeness to Sjahrir led to his appointment as deputy minister of finance in Sjahrir's second cabinet from 12 March to 2 October 1946 and Minister of Finance for his third cabinet from 2 October to 27 June 1947, before his replacement by Alexander Andries Maramis. He returned to a cabinet position as Minister of Prosperity under Mohammad Hatta's non-party cabinet starting from 29 January 1948. Sjahrir had offered Sjafruddin a post as Minister of Finance in Sjahrir's first cabinet, but Sjafruddin rejected the offer, citing his perceived inexperience. In a later interview, Sjafruddin remarked that once he became Junior Minister and saw how his preceding Minister of Finance Soerachman Tjokroadisurjo worked, he thought he "[could do the Finance Minister's duties] better than that". Early in the revolution, he emphasized the need for revolutionaries to maintain a pragmatic stance. In a newspaper article, he criticized the Pemuda (youth) groups for pressuring the government with excessive demands, supported Sjahrir's realpolitik approach and praised Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin as "realists" in contrast to the groups. The article came