Tan Malaka

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Lore & Background

Tan Malaka was born in present-day Nagari Pandam Gadang, Suliki, Lima Puluh Kota Regency, West Sumatra, under Dutch East Indies rule. His father was Haji Muhammad Rasad Caniago, an agricultural employee, and his mother was Rangkayo Sinah Simabua. He studied at the Kweekschool in Fort de Kock from 1908, graduating in 1913, and sailed for Rotterdam that same year. In the Netherlands, he developed an interest in the history of revolutions and the theory of revolution, inspired by the book De Fransche Revolutie given by his teacher G. H. Horensma. After the Russian Revolution of October 1917, he became increasingly interested in communism, socialism and reformist socialism, reading Marx, Engels, and Lenin. He also read Nietzsche, who became an early political role model. He met Henk Sneevliet, a founder of the ISDV, in the Netherlands. He graduated with his hulpacte diploma in November 1919.

Reader's Guide

Tan Malaka's significance lies in his role as a founder of key political organizations and his influence on Indonesian independence. After returning from the Netherlands, he taught children of tea plantation coolies in Deli, East Sumatra, beginning in January 1920, and produced subversive propaganda called the Deli Spoor. He wrote on wealth inequality in Het Vrije Woord and the Sumatera Post. In 1921 he was elected to the Volksraad but resigned on 23 February. He joined the PKI in Semarang and became its chairman after a congress on 24–25 December 1921. He established the Sekolah Sarekat Islam (Tan Malaka's School), with enrollment beginning on 21 June 1921. Arrested on 13 February 1922, he was exiled to the Netherlands, where he ran for the Dutch House of Representatives as the third candidate of the Communist Party of the Netherlands in the 1922 elections, the first Dutch colonial subject to do so. He later attended the Fourth World Congress of the Comintern in Moscow in October 1922.

Did You Know?

• Tan Malaka's full name was Ibrahim Simabua Datuak Sutan Malaka; 'Tan Malaka' was an honorary and semi-aristocratic name inherited from his mother's aristocratic background.
• He was a skilled football player during his time at the Kweekschool in Fort de Kock.
• He attempted to enlist in the German Army but was rebuffed because the army did not accept foreigners at the time.
• He was the first Dutch colonial subject to run for office in the Netherlands, as the third candidate for the Communist Party of the Netherlands in the 1922 elections.
• At the Fourth World Congress of the Comintern in Moscow (October 1922), he proposed that communism and Pan-Islamism could collaborate, but the proposal was rejected.

Roots in Minangkabau and the Road to Europe

Born in present-day Nagari Pandam Gadang, Suliki, Lima Puluh Kota Regency, West Sumatra, under Dutch East Indies rule, Ibrahim Simabua carried the honorary and semi-aristocratic name Tan Malaka, inherited from his mother's aristocratic background. His 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. As a child, he studied religious knowledge and trained in pencak silat. In 1908, he attended the Kweekschool at Fort de Kock, studying Dutch and becoming a skilled football player. According to his teacher G. H. Horensma, although sometimes disobedient, he was an excellent student. He graduated in 1913 and returned to his village, where the village conferred on him a high adat title of datuk and offered a fiancée; he accepted only the title. He secured money from the village to continue his education abroad and sailed for Rotterdam that same year.

A Revolutionary Mind Forged in Exile

Arriving in the Netherlands, Tan Malaka experienced culture shock and underestimated the North European climate, contracting pleuritis in early 1914 from which he did not fully recover until 1915. During his time in Europe, he developed an interest in the history of revolutions and the theory of revolution. His first inspiration came from the book De Fransche Revolutie, a Dutch translation of a work by German historian Wilhelm Blos about the French Revolution from 1789 to 1804, originally given to him by G. H. Horensma. After the Russian Revolution of October 1917, he became increasingly interested in communism, socialism and reformist socialism, reading Marx, Engels, and Lenin. He also read Nietzsche, who became one of his early political role models. He grew to dislike Dutch culture, instead being more impressed by the cultures of Germany and the United States. He even enlisted for the German Army but was rebuffed as it did not accept foreigners. In the Netherlands, he met Henk Sneevliet, one of the founders of the ISDV. He also became interested in the Sociaal-Democratische Onderwijzers Vereeniging. In November 1919, he graduated with his hulpacte diploma.

The Teacher Who Became a Political Firebrand

After graduating, Tan Malaka returned to his village and accepted a job offer by Dr. C. W. Janssen to teach children of tea plantation coolies at Sanembah, Tanjung Morawa, Deli, East Sumatra, beginning in January 1920. He produced subversive propaganda for the coolies known as the Deli Spoor and learned of the deterioration of the indigenous people. He wrote for the press, including 'Land of Paupers' in a March 1920 issue of Het Vrije Woord and articles on coolie suffering in the Sumatera Post. He went to Batavia when his old teacher Horensma offered him a teaching job, but rejected it to establish his own school, a decision Horensma supported. In 1921, he was elected to the Volksraad as a member of the Left-wing grouping but resigned on 23 February 1921. He arrived in Yogyakarta in early March 1921, staying at the house of Sutopo, a former Budi Utomo leader. There he participated in the Sarekat Islam's 5th congress, meeting H.O.S. Tjokroaminoto, Agus Salim, Darsono, and Semaun. The congress discussed double membership of Sarekat Islam and the PKI; Agus Salim and Abdul Muis forbade it, while Semaun and Darsono were PKI members. Sarekat Islam split into White and Red factions. After the congress, Semaun asked Tan Malaka to go to Semarang to join PKI; he accepted and went.

Building Institutions and a Lasting Identity

In Semarang, Tan Malaka participated in a meeting with fellow Sarekat Islam Semarang members that concluded a rival to government-administered schools was needed, leading to the creation of the Sekolah Sarekat Islam, better known as Sekolah Tan Malaka. The schools spread to Bandung and Ternate, with enrollment beginning on 21 June 1921. As a guidebook, he wrote SI Semarang dan Onderwijs. In June 1921, he became chairman of the Serikat Pegawai Pertjitakan and vice chairman and treasurer of the Serikat Pegawai Pelikan Hindia. Between May and August his first book, Sovjet atau Parlemen?, was serialized in the PKI's journal Soeara Ra'jat; other works appeared in Sinar Hindia. In June he was a leader of the Revolutionaire Vakcentrale, and in August he was elected to the editorial board of Soeara Tambang. He replaced Semaun as chairman of PKI after a congress on 24–25 December 1921 in Semarang. Under his leadership, PKI maintained a good relationship with Sarekat Islam. Arrested on 13 February 1922, he was first exiled to Kupang but chose exile to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, he joined the CPN and was appointed third candidate for the House of Representatives in the 1922 elections, the first Dutch colonial subject to run for office there. He did not expect to be elected but used the platform to speak about Dutch actions in Indonesia. He left for Germany before vote counting finished. In Berlin he met Darsono, then went to Moscow, arriving in October 1922 for the Executive Committee of the Comintern. At the Fourth World Congress of the Comintern, he proposed that communism and Pan-Islamism could collaborate, but the proposal was rejected. In January 1923, he and Semaun were appointed correspondents of Die Rote Gewerkschafts-Internationale. He became an agent of the Eastern Bureau of the Comintern, reporting on the ECCI plenum in June 1923. He went to Canton (Guangzhou), arriving in December 1923, and edited the English journal The Dawn for an organization of transport workers of the Pacific. In August 1924 he requested the government of the Dutch East Indies to allow him...