Complex sentence: Like most nationalist writers at the time, Kartodikromo preferred writing in Malay (the predecessor of modern Indonesian) rather than his native Javanese; however, he did write several pieces in Javanese.
Split into simpler sentences: Like most nationalist writers at the time, Kartodikromo preferred writing in Malay (the predecessor of modern Indonesian) rather than his native Javanese. However, he did write several pieces in Javanese.