Amir Syarifuddin is one of the important figures in the Indonesian independence movement. He played an important role in preparing the Second Youth Congress which gave birth to the Youth Pledge. As a young man he was active in the movement against colonialism and antifascism.
Amir was born in Medan on 27 April 1902. Actually, he had the noble title of Angkola, Sutan Gunung Soaloon Harahap. However, in his daily life he preferred to be called by the name Amir Syarifuddin only. Amir's grandfather and father were famous prosecutors in Medan. Later, Amir also played an important role in the realisation of independence. During the Indonesian independence revolution, he was once trusted as Minister of Information, then Minister of Defence and Prime Minister of the Republic of Indonesia. Who would have ever thought that he would end up being executed without trial for his alleged involvement in the 1948 Madiun Incident.
The Harahap family of Pasar Matanggor, Padang Lawas.
Medan in the years of Amir's birth was a city of migrants that was visited by many ethnic groups. The Dutch, who controlled and opened tobacco plantations, needed a lot of labour to be employed as farm labourers. Starting from the high-ranking Dutch and also the Chinese, Indians, Javanese, and of course the Batak people were lured to seek a life in Medan.
His grandfather named Ephraim Harahap and titled Sutan Gunung Tua was an Angkola Batak nobleman from Pasar Matanggor, Padang Lawas. His education was obtained from zending schools opened by Nommensen in Sipirok. His education at the zending school was the beginning of his grandfather's encounter with the Christian faith which later gave himself to be baptised. His grandfather had a child Baginda Soripada Harahap and married Basunu Siregar. One of his other children was Mangaraja Hamonangan who was the father of Prof. Dr. Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia Harahap who once served as Minister of Education. Both Ephraim Harahap and Baginda Soripada worked as prosecutors. Baginda Soripada eventually chose a different path to his father as he converted to Islam after marrying Basunu Siregar. While stationed in Medan city, Amir Syarifuddin was born as the eldest of seven children. His mother raised them as devout Muslims.
As a prosecutor's son, it was easy for Amir to enjoy a good education in those days. His father knew very well that with a good education, his children could one day become knowledgeable, have the skills to live an independent life and have noble morals. His basic education began at the Europeanesche Lagere School (ELS) in Medan in 1915. At the age of 10, he moved to ELS Sibolga following his father's move to Sibolga. Amir did well in his basic schooling and was a standout student among his peers even though the language of instruction was Dutch.
Became a polyglot and gifted in organisation.
In 1921 Amir successfully completed his basic education. Amir was then sent by his father to continue his education in the Netherlands. Apart from being fluent in Dutch, his cousin, Sutan Gunung Mulia, was also studying in the Netherlands. Amir then continued his senior high school at the Stedelijk Gymnasium, which is a leading language school in the Netherlands. In addition to becoming increasingly fluent in Dutch, Amir was also able to speak and write with perfect grammar in English, French, Latin and Greek. His teachers were astonished how a colonised person could master foreign languages so well. Armed with Greek and Latin, Amir also devoured the Bible in its original language. As a Muslim, he was open to all knowledge including the Bible. Amir also loved Western literature by William Shakespeare and Moliére each in their original languages. Apart from languages Amir was also gifted in organisation. He joined the Indonesian Association led by Mohammad Hatta. As a person who was active in the organisation, his reading was not playful, he was captivated by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr Sun Yat-Sen who both taught about the awakening of nationalism that could be done without violence or even hating other nations. The combination of the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament who always defended minorities, such as: prostitutes and tax collectors and then nationalism without violence and hating other nations became the basis of Amir's thinking to continue his struggle to achieve an independent Indonesia.
The Youth Pledge and becoming a Follower of Jesus
He was 20 years old when Amir enrolled in the Retchshoogeschool (RHS), the Batavia College of Law with the help of financial support from the Dutch Government. The RHS was later the forerunner of the Faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia. Initially Amir lived with his cousin, Todung Sutan Gunung Mulia, who at that time was already a principal and member of the Volksraad & nbsp; (people's council), soon he moved to the student dormitory & nbsp; Indonesisch Clubgebouw, Kramat 106. This boarding house was frequented by European missionaries, both Jesuit and Protestant. His association with these frequent missionaries contributed to Amir's way of thinking, which matured as he grew up.
Amir only needed one year to get involved in the Youth Congress committee in 1928 and helped declare the Youth Pledge which was an important milestone for the birth of Indonesia. It was a landmark event and it was amazing because at that time there was no social media but young people from different ethnicities, religions, races and political streams could come together, fuse ideas and ideals, and pledge: one country, one nation, one language: Indonesia.
At the Batavia College of Law, Amir was taught by Julius Schepper, a professor of criminal law, and the two immediately hit it off as interlocutors on both law and religion. The humanist Schepper was seen by Amir as someone who truly practised the teachings of Christ well. Schepper also always cared about the people who were often discriminated against during the Dutch colonial era. Through Schepper, Amir further explored Christianity. He began reading heavy theological books by Rudolf Oto, Hanns Lilje and Karl Bath. Amir also corresponded with Toyohiko Kagawa, a Christian figure from Japan. He always admired the social movement thinking expressed by Kagawa. According to him, any social movement must first and foremost be moral and ready to make sacrifices. It must treat the rich and the poor equally Social reconstruction must be Christ-centred.
His activities in the dormitory and Kagawa's example strengthened Amir's choice to follow Jesus' example and steadfastly followed Schepper's hands-on catechisation. At the age of 24 Amir was baptised by Rev Peter Tambunan at HKBP Kernolong. A year later Amir received his law degree but because of his provocative writings against the Dutch government he had to go to prison for 18 months in Salemba and then transferred to Sukamiskin prison in Bandung. Released from prison in 1935, he married Djaenah, who was also baptised at HKBP Kernolong. The couple had six children. One of his children's memories of Amir is that he never forgot his children's birthdays and was always attentive to their growth and development.
After becoming a Christian, Amir preached almost every Sunday. His sermons always touched, and encouraged many people. His exploration of the Gospel is deep and weighty. In placing himself as a Christian in the struggle for independence, Amir has critical principles. Amir placed the contextualisation of Christianity in Indonesia as part of the struggle and stated, "a good Christian can also be a good nationalist at the same time", said Amir who considered religion and nationality to be a wholeness that goes hand in hand.
Pre and Post-Independence Indonesia
The Japanese occupation in 1942 was opposed by Amir by making writings in various mass media. The Japanese, who read them, became angry and threw Amir into prison and sentenced him to death. Thanks to Soekarno's intervention, Japan cancelled the death sentence and replaced it with life imprisonment. “To be able to make such a statement, a strong heart is really needed. But to be able to look at Amir Syarifuddin's condition when the Japanese took him out, requires even greater strength of heart. His body was thin like a stick. People cannot believe that someone is still able to endure such suffering and may still come out alive, ” said Bung Karno as written by Cindy Adams in the book Bung Karno: The Indonesian People's Tongue (1965).
After the Proclamation of Independence, under Soekarno's leadership, Amir was appointed Minister of Information, then Minister of Defence and finally Prime Minister. His style was typically non-luxurious. He travelled on his favourite bicycle and wore short trousers when attending court. He was always full of enthusiasm at every opportunity. Indonesia, which had just become independent, was still not very united in running the wheels of the new government plus the return of the Dutch who wanted to control Indonesia. Indonesia needed recognition from big countries such as America or Russia that there was already an official government that had been established and sovereign. Diplomacy after diplomacy was carried out by Amir until one decision he managed to convince Russia to recognise Indonesia's sovereignty. Diplomatic relations between Russia and Indonesia again smoothened the entry of communists brought by Muso. Amir, who felt abandoned by his former friends and felt dethroned from the prime minister, finally joined the Party led by Muso. The churches in Indonesia also regretted Amir's decision to join the party led by Muso. "I think there is truth in communism, but I am still a Christian," Amir explained at the time. Riots broke out in Madiun, Amir was dragged and accused of taking part. He became a prisoner and was finally caught and extrajudicially executed in December 1948.
Amir's contribution to the struggle for Indonesian independence was sealed during the reign after Sukarno. While living in Yogyakarta with his children, Amir often sang with piano accompaniment. His favourite song was “Ise do ale alenta” or in Indonesian, “Jesus the True Friend”. Amir put his trust in Jesus his true friend, in the midst of his loneliness no one defended him and his friends ignored him, Amir surrendered himself to Jesus his eternal friend.
