Tan Malaka
| Tan Malaka | |
|---|---|
Tan Malaka, portrait as published in his autobiography
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| Born |
Ibrahim 2 June 1897 Limapuluh Koto, Dutch East Indies |
| Died | 21 February 1949 (aged 51) Selopanggung, Kediri Regency, Indonesia |
| Nationality | Indonesian |
| Other names | 23 aliases |
| Awards | National Hero of Indonesia |
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Main interests
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Epistemology, Socialism, Marxism, Trotskyism, Pan-Islamism |
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Notable ideas
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Madilog, National marxism, 100% freedom |
Tan Malaka (2 June 1897 – 21 February 1949) was a teacher, Indonesian philosopher, ex-PKI activist and ex-Commintern agent, founder of Struggle Union (Persatuan Perjuangan) and Murba Party, independent guerrilla, Indonesian fighter, and Indonesian national hero.
Tan Malaka's full name was Ibrahim Gelar Datuk Sutan Malaka. His given name was Ibrahim, while Tan Malaka was a semi-aristocrat name which came from his maternal line. He was born in present-day Nagari Pandan Gadang, Suliki, Limapuluh Koto, West Sumatra, though his birthdate is uncertain. His parents were HM. Rasad, an agricultural employee, and Rangkayo Sinah, a daughter of a respected person in the village. As a child Malaka studied religious knowledge and trained pencak silat. In 1908 Malaka attended Kweekschool, a state teacher's school, at Fort de Kock. According to his teacher, G. H. Horensma, although Malaka was sometimes disobedient, he was an excellent student. At this school, Malaka enjoyed his Dutch language lessons, so Horensma suggested that he become a Dutch teacher. He also was a skilled football player. He graduated from that school in 1913 and was offered a datuk title and a fiancée. However, he only accepted the title. He received the title after a traditional ceremony in 1913.
Although Malaka became a datuk, he left his village in October 1913 to study at Rijkskweekschool, a government teacher education school which was funded by engkus of his village. Arriving at the Netherlands, Malaka initially experienced a culture shock. He also, under-estimating the North European climate, was infected by a pleuritis in early 1914, which did not heal completely until in 1915. During his time in Europe, his knowledge about revolution as a mean to transformation of society started to increase. The first inspiration source was de Fransche Revolutie, a book by the German historian, author, journalist and social democratic politician Wilhelm Blos 1889, about the French revolution and historical events in France from 1789 until 1804. This book was given to him by Horensma. After the Russian Revolution of October 1917, Malaka increasingly became more and more interested in communism and socialism and communism contra reformist socialism. He was reading the books by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Vladimir Lenin.Friedrich Nietzsche was also one of his early political role models, and may have given him the idea that one man could perform great deeds if he only dared to assume the role of hero. Nietzsche argued that what makes a hero (at least in Greek tragedy) is an interplay between the Apollonian and Dionysian nature in man – or between the controlled, distanced, structured logical planning (Apollonian) and the wild euphoric, closeness of experience (Dionysian). During this time, around 1917 – 1920 Malaka highly disliked Dutch culture and was impressed by the German and American societies. He then signed up to be a German soldier; however, he was rejected because the German Army did not accept foreigners. There, Malaka met Henk Sneevliet, one of the founders of Indische Sociaal-Democratische Vereeniging (ISDV, forerunner of Partai Komunis Indonesia or PKI). Malaka was also interested in Sociaal-Democratische Onderwijzers Vereeniging (Association of Democrat Social Teachers). In November 1919 Malaka graduated and received his diploma, hulpactie. According to his father, during that time they communicated via mystical means called Tariqa.
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