1. Gerungan Saul Samuel Jacob Ratulangi, known as Sam Ratulangi, was a Minahasan teacher, journalist, politician, and national hero from North Sulawesi, Indonesia.
47 Facts About Sam Ratulangi
1. 2.
Sam Ratulangi was part of the committee that ratified the Constitution of Indonesia and served as the first Governor of Sulawesi.
3.
The son of Jozias Ratulangi and Augustina Gerungan, both from wealthy, well-respected Minahasa families, Sam Ratulangi was born on 5 November 1890 in Tondano in North Sulawesi, which at the time was a part of the Dutch East Indies.
4.
Sam Ratulangi received teacher training in Haarlem, Netherlands around 1880.
5.
Sam Ratulangi graduated in 1908 and started work on railroad construction in the south Priangan area of West Java.
6.
In 1911, Sam Ratulangi returned home, because his mother was seriously ill.
7.
Sam Ratulangi's father had died when he was in Java.
8.
Sam Ratulangi planned to use the money he received to fund his education in Europe.
9.
Sam Ratulangi arrived in Amsterdam in 1912 and continued his studies that he started in Java, which had been cut short due to his mother's illness.
10.
Sam Ratulangi continued his studies at a university in Amsterdam for two more years.
11.
The university required a high school level certificate, which Sam Ratulangi did not have, because he never completed studies at either a Hogere Burgerschool or Algemene Middelbare School.
12.
At the advice of Mr Abendanon, a Dutchman who was sympathetic to those from Indonesia or what was called Indie at the time, Sam Ratulangi applied and was accepted to the University of Zurich in Switzerland.
13.
Sam Ratulangi was active in the association for Indonesian students.
14.
Sam Ratulangi was elected as chairman of the association in 1914.
15.
Sam Ratulangi invited speakers who were sympathetic to the Indonesian cause, such as Conrad Theodor van Deventer and Jacques Henrij Abendanon.
16.
In one article entitled "Sarekat Islam" that was published in Onze Kolonien, Sam Ratulangi wrote about the growth of Sarekat Islam and praised the Boedi Oetomo movement in Indonesia.
17.
Toward the end of the article, Sam Ratulangi wrote the following:.
18.
On his return to Indonesia in 1919, Sam Ratulangi moved to Yogyakarta to teach math and science at the technical high school Prinses Juliana School.
19.
Sam Ratulangi name contained the first known instance of the word "Indonesia" being used in official documents.
20.
Sam Ratulangi noticed the name of Ratulangi's company that included "Indonesia".
21.
Sam Ratulangi was curious about the owner of the business and met Ratulangi in his office.
22.
In 1923, Sam Ratulangi was nominated by the Minahasa Union party to become secretary of the regional representative body of Minahasa in Manado.
23.
Sam Ratulangi was widely credited with getting the colonial government to abolish forced labor in Minahasa.
24.
Sam Ratulangi was instrumental in the opening the areas of Modoinding and Kanarom in south Minahasa for transmigration and the establishment of a foundation to support the education of students with financial needs.
25.
Sam Ratulangi was a co-sponsor of the Soetardjo Petition, which expressed the desire for political autonomy through gradual reforms within a ten year period.
26.
Sam Ratulangi was not hesitant to criticize the authorities and would eventually be considered a risk to them.
27.
Sam Ratulangi continued to serve in the Volksraad until 1937, when he was arrested due to his increasing political views.
28.
Sam Ratulangi was jailed for several months in Sukamiskin in Bandung.
29.
In 1932, Sam Ratulangi was one of the founding members of the United Scholars of Indonesia.
30.
The book was considered to be visionary in its content, in which Sam Ratulangi warned against the militarisation of Japan and foresaw the possibility that Japan might invade the Indonesian archipelago because of its natural resources which Japan lacks.
31.
Sam Ratulangi used the magazine to write opinions against the colonial government's unfair actions and to make his fellows Indonesians aware of the current state.
32.
In 1943, Sam Ratulangi was assigned as adviser to the occupying military government.
33.
In June 1945, Sam Ratulangi established an organization called Source of People's Blood.
34.
Sam Ratulangi used the organization to energize nationalist sentiments in Sulawesi in anticipation of possible independence in the near future.
35.
In early August 1945, Sam Ratulangi was appointed as one of the members of the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence from Sulawesi.
36.
Sam Ratulangi had already arrived in Batavia with the other PPKI appointees from the eastern territory for meetings and hence he was present during the proclamation ceremony.
37.
The meetings organized the country into administrative regions where Sam Ratulangi was appointed Governor of Sulawesi.
38.
Sam Ratulangi was able to hold negotiations in an effort to maintain the peace, but it only held for two months.
39.
Politically, Sam Ratulangi was involved in the establishment of the Indonesian Irian Independence Party in Irian that was led by Silas Papare with Sam Ratulangi as an adviser.
40.
Sam Ratulangi was appointed special adviser to the Indonesian government and a member of the Indonesian delegation in negotiations with the Dutch.
41.
Sam Ratulangi visited troops in East Java and attended a financial conference in Kaliurang.
42.
Sam Ratulangi was captured by the Dutch on 25 December 1948.
43.
Sam Ratulangi was transferred to Jakarta on 12 January 1949 to be subsequently transferred to Bangka.
44.
The next day Sam Ratulangi's remains were transported and buried in his hometown of Tondano.
45.
Sam Ratulangi's marks were higher than the men who took the exam.
46.
Sam Ratulangi received posthumously the Bintang Gerilya in 1958, the Bintang Mahaputera Adipradana in 1960, and the Bintang Satyalancana in 1961.
47.
Sam Ratulangi is well-regarded in the Minahasa region of North Sulawesi.