account. Of course Tan Malaka’s life story lends itself to romantic overplaying, and this was indeed the theme of much of the commentary about him, in particular the Pacar Merah (Scarlet Pimpernel) stories (discussed below, p. lxxii-lxxiii) in which a thinly disguised Tan Malaka performs astonishing feats of romance and espionage.
What is of particular interest here is the reflection back into Tan Malaka’s own perception of his experiences of the tone of these reports and romances. Tan Malaka’s farewell to Hong Kong as he was deported to China in 1933 (Volume II, p. 52) illustrates this point, as does Tan Malaka’s colorful account of his arrest and detention in the Philippines and his subsequent deportation (Volume I, chapter 13). One could be forgiven for thinking one was reading Matu Mona’s novel Spionnagedienst, which describes in similar style the events of August 1927. Not only are publicly reported details of his arrest and interrogation recounted in this novel, but also matters such as the implications of the death of governor general Wood, and the attitudes of acting governor general Gilmore on Tan Malaka’s case and the visit of a woman to the jail, asking to see Tan Malaka, declaring herself to be his wife.11
In turn, Matu Mona bases this section of his novel almost word for word on the Sumatran newspaper Pewarta Deli reports on 30 June and 1 July 1933 of Tan Malaka’s Philippine arrest, including the dialogue used in his interrogation and the dramatic element of his escapes. Tan Malaka’s apparent plagiarism in From Jail to Jail may be rather a case of Tan Malaka reworking his own earlier renditions of the tale, for I believe that it is more than likely that Tan Malaka himself sent the despatches from which the articles were written.
Personal Rapportage
Yet another style makes its presence felt alongside didacticism and adventure. This is Tan Malaka’s personal rapportage. Written in catchy and informal prose, this style is used both for events of historical importance and for anecdotal accounts of his own experiences.
Tan Malaka’s presentation of historical events at which he was present, as well as those reconstructed secondhand, bring alive the historic moments of the early days of the Indonesian revolution, such as his dramatization of the night before the proclamation of independence (Volume III, chapter 8), which characteristically intersperses narrative with dialogue and documentary evidence, and a summary of Tan Malaka’s conclusions reached from the event being described. His reconstructions of episodes of the Philippines revolution, in particular the execution of Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio, are moving vignettes.
A large proportion of the text is devoted, not to questions of great moment, but rather to personal, day-to-day, and what may even be described as inconsequential, matters. Here Tan Malaka is concerned to evoke an atmosphere and to show, from individual experiences, how different societies and personalities function. While from one standpoint Tan Malaka’s autobiography is tantalizing, elusive, and evasive—often avoiding naming names and debating policies—from another standpoint it is rich with the spirit of the many situations in which he found himself.
The young Indonesian student’s experiences in an alien environment are poignant. In Holland, the food, the Dutch education system, the personal animosities among his landlords and fellow boarders, his illness, his developing political consciousness and consequent feelings of hostility and tension towards the colonial power—all are painted evocatively. Tan Malaka’s depiction of social relations on the tobacco plantation in Deli is another example. Life in Chinese villages in the late 1920s and early 1930s, with its privation and revolt, is depicted emotively, as are Singapore and Java under the Japanese occupation. Personal anecdote is used skillfully to make sociological and political comment.
These sections of the text reveal Tan Malaka as a keen observer of events, with a talent for sketching the mood of a scene and the personalities involved. His many years’ experience as a writer show in his ability to articulate a situation or problem clearly, illustrating it all the more forcefully by bringing it down to the level of individuals with whom Tan Malaka has a clear empathy. We see this, for example, in his depiction of the struggle between old and new ways in China in the 1930s through the tragic story of “A.P.” who was “married against her will” (Volume II, pp. 85-88) and in the happier romance of two young students (Volume II, pp. 71-74).
Tan Malaka’s personalization of political issues is seen strikingly in the character sketches of Sukarno, Hatta, Sjahrir, and Amir Sjarifuddin (Volume III, pp. 124-26), and in the longer chapter “From Engineer Sukarno to President Sukarno” (Volume III, chapter 8), which develops the idea of Sukarno’s concern with grande élégance and grande éloquence.
The grande-éloquence à la Sukarno was never concrete and definite, frankly confronting the obvious enemy close at hand. In the time of the Dutch, nationalism should have been directed against the Dutch East Indies government, but instead the enemy was carefully obscured with the words “capitalism-imperialism” . . . something abstract and distant. Similarly this grande-éloquence could construe the term “mass action” (which really means “the self-acting armed organization of the proletariat”) to mean “getting up at the same time in the morning” under Dutch rule, kinro hoji (communal labor) in the Japanese period, and, in this current revolutionary period, “cutting wood and sweeping the streets together.” (Volume III, p. 78)
Tan Malaka pulls no punches in criticizing the style and actions of his political opponents. His treatment of Alimin is quite different, as he recalls an event in 1926. This cri de coeur shows a real sense of betrayal, and is a typical illustration of Tan Malaka’s tendency to put tremendous value on personal relationships and honor. (The contrast with Alimin’s derogatory castigation of Tan Malaka, referred to in the quotation, is marked.)
Apparently Alimin did not trust this comrade. Only then did I begin to become aware of what sort of honesty he had shown me. I had always thought of him as honest and respected him, but now he would no longer be a comrade-in-arms for me. If he did not trust his lifelong friend in Singapore, how could he trust me, whom he had known barely a year. This feeling strengthened when I recalled Alimin’s testimony against his former leader Tjokroaminoto in the Afdeling B case. Since this affair, I have continued to regard Alimin as a friend but as a comrade-in-arms I have doubted his honesty. . . . To Alimin, who had admitted my “weakness” in his book Analysis, I address the following question: Can a revolutionary party survive if its members are not honest with each other? (Volume I, pp. 136-37)
In my opinion, these episodes of personal rapportage form the most fascinating sections of the text, covering as they do historical events with some bearing on the revolution, and revealing Tan Malaka’s skills as a writer. Further, it is here that we see his personality and political attitudes far more clearly than in the formalistic didactic sections or the overly dramatic adventure escapades.
Significance of the Text
In my preface I have discussed the reasons for selecting From Jail to Jail as the object of my study. It was Tan Malaka himself as a historical figure, as a symbol of perjuangan, as a link between the communist fighters of the 1920s and the physical struggle for independence from 1945 to 1949, that originally drew my attention. The proliferation of strange and fanciful stories and the corresponding lack of hard information about Tan Malaka led me to decide that translating his own presentation of his life’s story would be a worthwhile contribution to the task of understanding the Indonesian revolution. While the text cannot be abstracted from Tan Malaka himself in any ultimate sense, an examination of various of its attributes and features can reveal aspects in which the text has an intrinsic significance, aside from that of illuminating its author and his historical role.
As a Primary Source for the Indonesian Revolution
First and foremost, From Jail to Jail has significance
