24 Facts About Tjilik Riwut

Anakletus Tjilik Riwut was an Indonesian military officer and journalist who served as the governor of Central Kalimantan from 1959 to 1967.

Tjilik Riwut participated in the Indonesian National Revolution, becoming one of the leaders of the Kalimantan Physical Revolution in Dutch Borneo.

Tjilik Riwut became a member of the Central Indonesian National Committee, but he later joined the Armed Forces of the Republic of Indonesia and attained the rank of Major and later First Marshal, by fighting the Dutch colonial authorities and leading the first Parachute Operation in the history of ABRI.

Tjilik Riwut succeeded in fully integrating the Dutch portion of Borneo into Indonesia.

Tjilik Riwut then became the military governor of the Central Kalimantan region in 1958.

Tjilik Riwut mediated the selection of the provincial capital to avoid further conflicts between competing Dayak tribes by choosing the village of Pahandut, which is Palangka Raya.

Tjilik Riwut officially became the second governor of Central Kalimantan in 1958, but wasn't inaugurated until 23 December 1959.

Tjilik Riwut died on 17 August 1987 in Banjarmasin due to complications from hepatitis and was buried in Sanaman Lampang Palangka Raya Heroes Cemetery.

Tjilik Riwut was declared an Indonesian National Hero on 6 November 1988.

The biggest airport in Central Kalimantan, Tjilik Riwut Airport, is named after him.

Tjilik Riwut was born in Kasongan, Katingan, Central Kalimantan, on 2 February 1918.

Tjilik Riwut was born into a Ngaju tribe family, with his father being named Riwut Dahiang and his mother being named Piai Sulang.

Tjilik Riwut was then sent by the Republican government to Kalimantan, as a member of the Entourage of Government of the Republic of Indonesia, which aimed to form an armed force in the form of the MN 1001 unit.

However, only 12 were qualified for this mission, which would be the first airborne mission conducted by the Indonesian Air Force, which included Tjilik Riwut, who became a military officer with rank major.

The operation failed in its objective to transport native Kalimantan Indonesian nationalists without being caught, and after waging more than a month of insurgency in Kalimantan jungles, all the personnel including Tjilik Riwut were arrested and jailed in Banjarmasin.

Tjilik Riwut became the military governor of the Central Kalimantan region in 1958.

Tjilik Riwut mediated the selection of the provincial capital to end further conflicts between competing Dayak tribes by choosing the village of Pahandut, which is Palangka Raya.

Tjilik Riwut officially became the second governor of Central Kalimantan in 1958, but wasn't inaugurated until 23 December 1959.

However, following the 30 September Movement and the change of political winds, Tjilik Riwut was labeled as a "Sukarnoist," for his close association with president Sukarno and he was forced to resign on 17 February 1967.

One of his daughters, Ida Tjilik Riwut, recalled that the transition was accompanied by a number of demonstrations targeting her father.

On 17 August 1987, coinciding with the 42nd anniversary of Indonesian independence, at 04:55 am Central Indonesian Time, Tjilik Riwut died at the age of 69, after being treated at the Suaka Insan Hospital, in Banjarmasin, due to hepatitis.

Tjilik Riwut's body was interred at the Sanaman Lampang Palangka Raya Heroes Cemetery, Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan.

Tjilik Riwut wrote a number of books about the Dayak people from his perspective and experiences during the National Revolution.

Tjilik Riwut was married to Clementine Suparti, an ethnic Javanese Roman Catholic woman and together they had four children namely Emiliana Enon Herjani, Theresia Nila Ambun Triwati, a Dayak writer, Anakletus Tarung Tjandra Utama and A Ratna Hawun Meiarti.