Heroes from Sumatra – Sumatra is the name of one of the islands in Indonesia which is also the sixth largest island in the world with an area of 443,065.8 square kilometers. Sumatra is also known as Percha Island, Andalas, or Suwarnadwipa which means Golden Island. Sumatra has a very big role in the history of Indonesian independence.
Lots of freedom fighters from Sumatra also contributed to liberating Indonesia from the clutches of the colonialists to achieve the proclamation of independence, also many of them continued the post-independence struggle.
Currently, the island of Sumatra is divided into 10 provinces namely Nangroe Aceh Darussalam, North Sumatra, Riau, Riau Islands, Jambi, West Sumatra, South Sumatra, Bangka Belitung, Bengkulu and Lampung. The following are the names of national heroes from Sumatra along with their short biographies.
1. Sisingamangaraja XII
The king who came from North Sumatra was declared a national hero on November 9, 1961. He is a very popular leader in the Batak community. King Sisingamaraja XXI began to rule in 1876 and replaced his father who had the title Sisingamangaraja XI.
His coronation as the 12th King was carried out at the same time as the Dutch entered North Sumatra, which then attempted to monopolize trade in the Bakkara area. This Dutch attack then triggered a war that lasted for tens of years. After Bakkara fell into the hands of the Dutch, Sisingamangaraja XII was finally shot dead by the Dutch in the Dairi area.
2. Tuanku Imam Bonjol
The real name of this figure who is very famous as a national hero from Sumatra is Muhammad Shahab. He is also known by the names Malim Basa and Peto Syarif. He was born in Bonjol, Pasaman in 1772 and died on 6 November 1864 in Lotak, Pineleng, Minahasa. His family comes from Sungai Rimbang, Suliki, Limapupuh Koto.
He is a leader in the history of the very popular Padri War (1803-1838). However, Tuanku Imam Bonjol was arrested by the Dutch and then exiled to various places of exile in Indonesia. The title of national hero was assigned by the Indonesian government to him since November 6, 1973.
3. Mohammad Hatta
He was the proclamator of Indonesian independence who accompanied Ir. Soekarno as his deputy to become Indonesia’s first post-independence president. Mohammad Hatta was born on August 12, 1902 at Fort de Kock, Bukittinggi. His father’s name is Muhammad Djamil and his mother’s name is Siti Saleha. He is a national hero who comes from West Sumatra.
Mohammad Hatta is also a very reliable economist and is also known today as the Father of Indonesian Cooperatives. He loved to read, even when he was in exile he always took his books with him wherever he went.
4. Tuanku Tambusai
The next national hero from Sumatra is the Padri Tiger from Rokan, who is more popularly known as Tuanku Tambusai. He came from Riau, was born in Rokan Hulu on November 5, 1784, and fought in the Rokan Hulu area and its surroundings for up to 15 years against Dutch colonialism.
5. Raja Ali Haji (RAH)
Raja Ali Haji is a national hero who comes from Riau and is known as the Father of the Indonesian Language. He is famous through his literary work entitled Gurindam Dua Belas. The title of national hero was conferred by the Indonesian government, namely President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on 10 November 2004.
Raja Ali Haji was born in 1808 in Selangor, he was the son of Raja Ahmad and the grandson of Raja Haji Fisabilillah, also the brother of Raja Lumu, the first sultan of Selangor. He is also a descendant of Bugis warriors who came to Riau in the 16th century. He got knowledge of languages in 1822 when he followed his father to the Batavia area, then studied Arabic and religion in the city of Mecca in 1828.
In 1845, Raja Ali Haji became a religious advisor to the Riau Lingga Sultanate and was very productive in his work in the fields of literature, education and culture. Gurindam Dua Belas was written in 1846 and published by E.Netscher in 1854. Bustan al-Kathibin, his next work, was written in 1857 in Batavia. The Book of Knowledge of Languages written by him became a reference for the Malay language, namely the Johor Pahang Riau Lingga Malay Loghat Dictionary.
The Johor Pahang Riau Lingga Malay Loghat Dictionary was the first language dictionary in Indonesia at that time and was designated as a guide for Indonesian at the Youth Congress on 28 October 1928. He died between 1872-1873 and was buried at the Engku Putri Raja Hamidah cemetery.
6. Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II
Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II was born in Palembang in 1767 and died in Ternate on September 26, 1852. He was the leader of the Palembang Darussalam Sultanate which ruled for two periods namely 1803–1813 and 1818–1821. Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II ruled after his father, Sultan Muhammad Bahauddin (1776-1803) died.
Having a nickname namely Raden Hasan Prince Ratu, he several times became a leader in the battle against British and Dutch colonialism. One of the most famous is the Menteng War. Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II was arrested on 14 July 1821 when the Dutch controlled Palembang and he was exiled to Ternate. The title of national hero was awarded by the Indonesian government on October 29, 1984.
7.AM Talib
A,M Thalib is an Indonesian military figure who was born in Palembang, February 23, 1922 until he died in Jakarta on June 17, 2000. Apart from being a military figure, he was a journalist and also an entrepreneur. AM Talib together with the people and fighters of South Sumatra took up arms against the Dutch troops who were carrying out a military aggression in 1949.
At that time he and the military ranks of South Sumatra carried out the scorched earth movement. The scorched earth movement meant that all facilities that could be utilized by the Dutch would be completely destroyed, including buildings, roads, bridges, and even gardens.
In addition, he also rejected the Bull Council’s invitation to cut ties with the central government in Jakarta. After independence, AM Talib was often involved in the political and social fields of government.
8. Raden Inten II
Raden Inten II is a national hero who comes from Sumatra. He was born in Negara Ratu, Lampung in 1834 and died on October 5, 1856 at the age of 22. Raden Inten II is the King of the Queen’s Country which today is known as Lampung Province.
9. Depati Amir
Depati Amir is a national hero from Sumatra, a heroic Bangka warrior, and known as a war strategist against Dutch colonialism. The coronation of Depati Amir as a national hero was carried out recently, namely in 2018.
Depati Amir was the son of Depati Bahrin, and was recorded as participating against the Dutch during 1820 – 1828 together with Depati Hamzah, his brother who was under their father’s command. He left the post of depati given by the Dutch and chose to do the guerrilla warfare in the forests of Bangka Belitung with the aim of opposing the monopoly of the tin trade which was distorted and tormented the people. He also crushed pirates in the waters of Bangka Island along with 30 of his followers. Depati Amir was then caught and exiled to East Nusa Tenggara.
10. Fatmawati
Fatmawati is a woman with the title of national hero who comes from Sumatra, Bengkulu to be precise and is one of the wives of Ir. Soekarno, the first President of the Republic of Indonesia. He was born in Bengkulu on February 5, 1923 and died in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the age of 57.
Fatmawati was the first lady of the country from 1945 to 1967 and is well known for her services, namely sewing the Red and White flag that was hoisted at the Proclamation of Independence ceremony on 17 August 1945. The Indonesian government gave the title of national heroine to women on 4 November 2000.
11. Cut Nyak Dien
Cut Nyak Dhien was born in Lampadang, Kingdom of Aceh, 1848 and died in Sumedang, West Java, 6 November 1908; he was buried in Mount Quail, Sumedang. Cut Nyak Dhien is an Indonesian National Hero who comes from Aceh and fought against the Dutch during the Aceh War. After the VI Mukim region was attacked, she fled, while her husband Ibrahim Lamnga continued the battle against the Dutch. The death of Ibrahim Lamnga at Gle Tarum on June 29, 1878, finally brought Cut Nyak Dhien further in his resistance against the Dutch.
In 1880, Cut Nyak Dhien married Teuku Umar, after he had previously been promised to be able to go down on the battlefield if he accepted the proposal. From this marriage, Cut Nyak Dhien was blessed with a child named Cut Gambang. After his marriage to Teuku Umar, Cut Nyak Dhien and Teuku Umar fought together against the Dutch. However, on February 11, 1899 Teuku Umar died.
The death of Teuku Umar made Cut Nyak Dhien fight alone in the interior of Meulaboh with his small army. Cut Nyak Dien’s age, which at that time was relatively old and his body condition which was attacked by various diseases such as gout and nearsightedness, made one of his troops named Pang Laot report his whereabouts out of compassion.
Cut Nyak Dhien was eventually arrested and taken to Banda Aceh. There, he was treated and his illness began to improve. The existence of Cut Nyak Dhien, who was considered by the Dutch to still have a strong influence on the resistance of the Acehnese people and his relationship with the Acehnese warriors who had not been caught, made him then be exiled to the Sumedang area. Cut Nyak Dhien finally died on November 6, 1908 and was buried in the Mount Quail area, Sumedang. The current name of Cut Nyak Dhien is enshrined as Cut Nyak Dhien Nagan Raya Airport in Meulaboh.
12. Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin
Sultan Thaha Saifuddin was born in Tanah Choose, Sultanate of Jambi, 1816 and died in Betung Bedarah, Tebo, 26 April 1904. He was the last sultan of the Sultanate of Jambi in 1855 and is also a National Hero of Indonesia. He was born at the Tanah Choose Palace in Jambi in mid-1816. As a child, he was often called Raden Thaha Ningrat and behaved like a humble nobleman and liked to mingle with ordinary people.
During the battle on the Aro River, the traces of Sultan Thaha were no longer known by the general public, except for his aides who were very close. Sultan Thaha Syaifuddin died on 26 April 1904. He was buried in Muara Tebo, Jambi. His name is immortalized as Sultan Thaha Airport in Jambi City and is used as the name of one of the universities in Jambi, UIN Sultan Thaha Saifuddin.
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