14 Facts About Mohammad Tabrani

Mohammad Tabrani Soerjowitjirto was an Indonesian journalist and politician.

Mohammad Tabrani originated from the island of Madura and received journalistic education in Europe.

Mohammad Tabrani was born in Pamekasan, Madura, on 10 October 1904 and he began his education at a MULO in Surabaya, before continuing to an AMS in Bandung.

Mohammad Tabrani then enrolled at the civil servant school for native Indonesians, still in Bandung.

Mohammad Tabrani had begun to work as a journalist in Agus Salim's newspaper Hindia Baroe, where he was a senior journalist by 1926.

At Hindia Baroe, Mohammad Tabrani wrote an editorial on 10 January 1926, where he first proposed the term "Bahasa Indonesia" to refer to the common language used by people in the Indies.

Mohammad Tabrani later prepared and organized the First "Youth Congress" in 1926, which brought together several Indonesian youth organizations.

Mohammad Tabrani organized a political party in September 1930, the Partai Rakjat Indonesia which advocated collaboration with Dutch authorities and called for parliamentary pursuits of Indonesian independence, though it did not gain much traction.

Mohammad Tabrani started a political magazine titled Revue Politik, before later on joining the newspaper Pemandangan as its editor.

In June 1940, Mohammad Tabrani attacked Thamrin through an editorial, accusing Thamrin of not securing the release of Amir Sjarifuddin.

Mohammad Tabrani later entered service of the colonial government, heading the data section of the war propaganda department.

Mohammad Tabrani was at some point during the occupation imprisoned and was tortured, crippling his leg.

Mohammad Tabrani is often credited with the creation of the Indonesian language, and the Language Development Agency of the Ministry of Education of Culture proposed in 2019 that Mohammad Tabrani be made a National Hero of Indonesia.

Mohammad Tabrani's grave in the Tanah Kusir Cemetery in Jakarta is a memorial site dedicated to his work.