59 Facts About Tan Malaka

Ibrahim Simabua Datuak Sutan Malaka known as Tan Malaka was an Indonesian statesman, teacher, Marxist, philosopher, founder of Struggle Union and Murba Party, independent guerrilla and spy, Indonesian fighter, and national hero.

Tan Malaka's given name was Ibrahim, but he was known both as a child and as an adult as Tan Malaka, an honorary and semi-aristocratic name, he inherited from his mother's aristocratic background.

Tan Malaka was born in present-day Nagari Pandam Gadang, Suliki, Lima Puluh Kota Regency, West Sumatra, which was then under the rule of the Dutch East Indies.

Tan Malaka's father was Haji Muhammad Rasad Caniago, an agricultural employee, and his mother was Rangkayo Sinah Simabua, a daughter of a respected figure in the village.

In 1908, Tan Malaka attended the Kweekschool, a state teacher's school, at Fort de Kock.

At the Kweekschool, Tan Malaka studied the Dutch language and became a skilled football player.

Horensma, although Malaka was sometimes disobedient, he was an excellent student.

Tan Malaka graduated in 1913, and returned to his village.

Tan Malaka succeeded in getting money from the village to continue his education abroad, and he sailed for Rotterdam that same year.

Tan Malaka began reading the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, who became one of his early political role models.

Tan Malaka even enlisted for the German Army, but was rebuffed, as the army did not accept foreigners at the time.

Tan Malaka became interested in the Sociaal-Democratische Onderwijzers Vereeniging during this time.

In November 1919, Tan Malaka graduated, and received his hulpacte diploma.

Tan Malaka went there in December 1919, but began teaching only in January 1920.

Tan Malaka produced subversive propaganda for the coolies, known as the Deli Spoor, and began learning of the deterioration of the indigenous people that had occurred.

Tan Malaka wrote on the suffering of the coolies in the Sumatera Post.

Horensma, offered him a job as a teacher; however, Tan Malaka rejected the offer.

In 1921, Tan Malaka was elected to the Volksraad as member of the Left-wing grouping, but resigned on 23 February 1921.

Tan Malaka subsequently left Batavia and arrived at Yogyakarta in early March 1921, and stayed as the house of Sutopo, a former leader of Budi Utomo.

The schools were the main reason for Tan Malaka's growing prestige and rapid rise within the PKI.

In June 1921, Tan Malaka became the chairman of the Serikat Pegawai Pertjitakan, and served as the vice chairman and treasurer of the Serikat Pegawai Pelikan Hindia.

Differences can be seen from their leadership styles, as Semaun was more cautious, whilst Tan Malaka was more radical.

Tan Malaka was first exiled to Kupang; however, he wanted to be exiled to the Netherlands, and was sent there by the Dutch authorities.

Tan Malaka was the first Dutch colonial subject to ever to run for office in the Netherlands.

Tan Malaka didn't expect to be elected because, under the system of proportional representation in use, his third position on the ticket made his election highly unlikely.

Tan Malaka's stated goal in running was instead to gain a platform to speak about Dutch actions in Indonesia, and to work to persuade the CPN to support Indonesian independence.

Tan Malaka then continued to Moscow, and arrived in October 1922 to participate in the Executive Committee of the Comintern.

At the Fourth World Congress of the Comintern in Moscow, Tan Malaka Malka proposed that communism and Pan-Islamism could collaborate; however, his proposal was rejected by many.

Tan Malaka became an agent of the Eastern Bureau of the Comintern as he reported on the ECCI plenum in June 1923.

Tan Malaka then went to Canton, arriving in December 1923, and edited the English journal, The Dawn, for an organization of transport workers of the Pacific.

In July 1925, Tan Malaka moved to Manila, Philippines, because the environment was more similar to Indonesia.

Tan Malaka eventually rejected this strategy, and stated that the condition of the party was still too weak, and it had no power to carry out yet another revolution.

Tan Malaka described in his autobiography his frustration with his inability to secure information about events in Indonesia from his place in the Philippines, and his lack of influence with the PKI's leadership.

Tan Malaka sent Alimin to Singapore to convey his views, and ordered him to organize an impromptu meeting between the leaders.

In Singapore, Tan Malaka met Subakat, another PKI leader, who shared his views.

In December 1926, Tan Malaka went to Bangkok, where he studied the defeat of PKI.

Tan Malaka then went back to the Philippines in August 1927.

Tan Malaka was arrested on 12 August 1927 on charges entering illegally the Philippines territory.

Tan Malaka was helped by Dr San Jose Abad helped him in court he accepted the verdict that he would be deported to Amoy, China.

Tan Malaka then traveled to Shanghai in the end of 1929.

Poeze writes that Tan Malaka may have met Alimin there in August 1931, and made an agreement with him that Tan Malaka would work again for the Comintern.

Tan Malaka moved to Shanghai in September 1932 after the attack made by the Japanese forces, and decided to go to India, disguised as a Chinese-Filipino and using an alias.

Tan Malaka hoped to have a chance to argue his case under British law and possibly seek asylum in the United Kingdom, but after several months of interrogation and being moved between the "European" and the "Chinese" sections of the jail, it was decided that he would simply be exiled from Hong Kong without charges.

Tan Malaka then escaped , and traveled to Iwe village in the south of China.

Tan Malaka then sailed to Sumatra arriving in Jakarta in mid-1942, where he wrote Madilog.

Tan Malaka started using his real name again, after 20 years using aliases.

Tan Malaka realized the differences of struggling between the people in some places and the leaders in Jakarta.

Tan Malaka thought the leaders were too weak in negotiation with the Dutch.

In February 1946, the organization forced the temporary resignation of Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir, a proponent of negotiation with the Dutch, and Sukarno consulted with Tan Malaka to seek his support.

However, Tan Malaka was apparently unable to bridge political divisions within his coalition to transform it into actual political control, and he was arrested shortly thereafter, with Sjahrir returning to lead Sukarno's cabinet.

Tan Malaka established his headquarters in Blimbing, a village surrounded by rice fields, and connected himself to Major Sabarudin, leader of the 38th Battalion.

Poeze describes in detail how the TNI soldiers fled into the mountains and how Tan Malaka, already injured, walked into a TNI post and was promptly executed on 21 February 1949.

Tan Malaka was fatally shot at the foothills of Mount Wilis, Selopanggung, Kediri Regency after an arrest and detention in Patje village.

Tan Malaka argued strongly that Marxism and Islam were compatible, and that, in Indonesia, revolution should be built upon both.

Tan Malaka became a trotskyist later during National Revolution and founded Murba party to strongly oppose PKI influence.

Tan Malaka founded Sekolah Sarekat Islam to rival the government schools.

Syaifudin writes that Malaka had four different methods of teaching: dialog, jembatan keledai, critical discussion, and sociodrama.

Tan Malaka's best-known written work is his autobiography, Dari Pendjara ke Pendjara.

Tan Malaka wrote the three-volume work by hand while imprisoned by the republican Sukarno government in 1947 and 1948.