On 17 August 1945, Sukarno declared Indonesian independence. The following day, the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI), which had been established with Japanese permission on 7 August, was due to meet. Hatta in particular and Sukarno were both worried that the obligation on Muslims would alienate non-Muslims. Before the meeting, Hatta met with Muslim leaders and managed to persuade them to agree to the removal of the seven words "for the sake of national unity". The PPKI then met and elected Sukarno and Hatta president and vice-president respectively. It then discussed the draft constitution, including the preamble. Hatta spoke in favour of removing the seven words, and Balinese delegate I Gusti Ketut Pudja suggested replacing the Arabic word "Allah" with the Indonesian word for God ("Tuhan"). This was accepted, but for some reason when the constitution was officially published, this change was not made. Following further discussion, the constitution was approved.