Abdul Kahar Muzakkar (24 March 1921 – 3 February 1965) was the leader of an Islamic movement in South Sulawesi from 1950 till his death in 1965. He led his group of men in a guerrilla warfare against the Indonesian central government, and was finally killed by the army in the jungle. He was also the leader of the South Sulawesi branch of the Darul Islam movement, led Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo.
Early life (1921–1943) Born on 24 March 1921 in the Kingdom of Luwu, a smaller principality on the northern end of the Gulf of Bone, Abdul Kahar Muzakkar was formerly known as Ladomeng. Ladomeng is a Buginese word derived from 'dominoes', an allusion to his father who was playing cards at the time he was born. His father, Malinrang, was reportedly a businessman who was from the lower aristocracy class. Their family owned many lands, a sign of wealth at that period of time.
Kahar completed elementary school in 1934, and his parents then sent him to Muhammadiyah Standard School in Palopo (capital of Luwu) for 4 years. He was then sent to Solo in Central Java to study in the Kweekschool Muhammadiyah (Islamic Teachers College) from 1938 to 1941. It was in this last institution that Kahar was introduced to a number of prominent ulema, including a prominent modernist Muslim nationalist, Abdul Kahar Muzakkir. In fact, some people claimed that it was contact with this ulema that prompted Kahar to change his name from Ladomeng. There were other views, though, that Kahar had his name changed before he went to Solo, whilst according to Tommy Thomson, Kahar's former guard in the jungle, Kahar's 2 close friends, Jufri Tambora and Siddiq Bakri had been the one who asked Ladomeng to change his name to Kahar.
According to sources, Kahar was average as a student, and that his strength lay not in formal education, but in creativity and talent in dealing with problems. In fact, Kahar did not even complete kweekschool, partly because he married Walimah, a girl from Solo who was his first wife. It was with Walimah that he then returned to Palopo, teaching at a Muhammadiyah school until 1943. Though not an exceptional student, Kahar was actively involved in organizations, particularly after he had returned to Palopo. He joined the local Hizbul Wathan, the youth organization for Muhammadiyah, and was active in his opposition to what he called the feudal system in Luwu, and called for an end to the aristocracy. His opposition gained him many support from the Luwu youths. Kahar remained active in Hizbul Wathan until the arrival of the Japanese in 1942. During the Japanese occupation, Kahar worked as a clerk at the Nippon Hodobu, an information agency in Makassar under the Japanese authority.
In 1943, Kahar was sentenced by the Hadat (governing council) of the kingdom of Luwu to ripaopangitana [literally, to put someone or something face downward on the land], or simply to treat someone as dead. This form of punishment not only banishes the person from the kingdom, but also causes him to sever all ties which a Bugis or Makassar person is dependent on. There were varied accounts for the reason for such a sentence, all indicating that Kahar had alienated and angered the ruling powers in Luwu, particularly in his position as an activist of Hizbul Wathan. There are views that Kahar criticized the belief in Sawerigading, which claims that only the descendants of the Sawerigading can rule Luwu. According to his sister, Sulaeha, Kahar asked the aristocrats to discard the use of aristocratic titles, such as opu, due to its inherent discrimination. Military documentation also disclosed that Kahar rejected the tradition of bowing the knees before aristocrats. He also acted in ways that oppose the traditional system of his homeland, such as marrying a Javanese girl at a time when cross cultural marriages were not common in the Buginese tradition. According to Barbara Harvey, the versions of reasons for Kahar's exile are as many as the persons who spoke about it. Mukhlis, in his writing, attempted to interpret Kahar's punishment, concluding that he broke 2 main rules: Mapparibokoang Arung (guilty of self-importance and abusing his position) and he did mpleo weloie Arung (attempted to overthrow of the rulers' position) in his position as a Hizbul Wathan activist. At the time Kahar was expelled, he swore to return and marry a descendant of the Pajung (king), a prophecy which came true as he later married Andi Haliah, the granddaughter of the Pajung.
Nationalist activities (1945–1949) After his exile in 1943, Kahar moved to Java and set up a merchandise company known as Semangat Muda (Spirit of Youth). He also established a shop called Toko Luwu. It was through this business that Kahar entered the Indonesian nationalist movement. His company was used by him and his colleagues from South Sulawesi to establish an organization, Gerakan Pemuda Indonesia Sulawesi (Indonesian Youth Movement of Sulawesi, GEPIS) on 10 October 1945. This organization was later renamed Angkatan Pemuda Indonesia Sulawesi (Sulawesi Indonesian Youth Movement, APIS). This renamed organization became a part of the Angkatan Pemuda Indonesia (API) and was nationally recognized.
In one of his writings, Kahar revealed that he was one of Sukarno's bodyguards when the latter gave one of his first mass speeches in September 1945. He was the person, armed with only a machete, who was prepared to protect Sukarno and Hatta against the bayonets of the Japanese soldiers who tried to disperse the meeting and who encircled the car in which Sukarno and Hatta were driving. Kahar's role as bodyguard is not in question, with photographic evidence. According to Hamdan Juhannis, even Ukkas Arifin, a former nationalist activist in Kahar's movement who later became a member of the Republican military, revealed in his writing that he had witnessed the bravery of Kahar in guarding Sukarno in the same meeting.
Kahar helped in the founding of Kebaktian Rakyat Indonesia Sulawesi (Loyalty of the Indonesian People from Sulawesi, KRIS), along with A. "Zus" Ratulangie, daughter of the Republican Governor of Sulawesi. KRIS was the most famous of organisations in which Sulawesi youths participated in during the fight against the Dutch. APIS was merged into KRIS soon after and Kahar became the first secretary of KRIS. In this capacity, Kahar was tasked with forming branches of KRIS in East Java and Central Java, thus the formation of KRIS branches in Solo, Yogyakarta, Madiun, Malang, Tegal, Magelang and Cilacap. It was during this period that Kahar met a group of political prisoners of the Dutch from the Nusakambangan and Cilacap prisons, who originated from the outer islands. He was on his way to Cilacap when he interceded and negotiated the release of the 800-odd prisoners, who were then given brief military training. This battalion became the core of Kahar's army. It also operated as Sukarno's protection guard when he moved to Yogyakarta.
After leaving KRIS due to internal conflicts, Kahar was tasked by General Sudirman to prepare for the formation of a republican army in Sulawesi. He then formed the Tentara Republik Indonesia Persiapan Sulawesi (Sulawesi Preparatory Unit of the Army of the Republic of Indonesia, TRIPES) which was formed on 24 March 1946. The battalion of political prisoners whose release Kahar had negotiated formed the core of TRIPES. Members of Kris were also incorporated into TRIPES. Kahar was the commander of TRIPES, and he, helped by Major Andi Mattalatta and Major Saleh Lahade, both from South Sulawesi, began to organize the infiltration of soldiers from Java into South Sulawesi by boats in 1949. Kahar, however, remained in Yogyakarta and later formed a special military unit called Barisan Berani Mati (Dare-Devil Unit, BBM) from the last remaining battalion of the unit which fought in the Madiun area of East Java.
Following this, and the transfer of sovereignty of East Indonesia to the Republic in December 1949, Kahar had expected to be appointed commander of South Sulawesi since he had been one of the principal figures in organising and sending troops of Sulawesi youths back to their homeland in 1946 to support the pro-Republican guerrillas against the Dutch. However, his name was not in the list of newly appointed members of the Territorial Command for East Indonesia. This was a time when education, technical qualifications and discipline were all important and emphasized as criteria for qualifications, thus making Kahar ill-qualified. He did not have formal military training or battle experience, and his rebellious character was considered an obstacle to the integration of the army. Moreover, Kahar had no powerful friends in the military, thus opposition for his ambition to be commander of the South Sulawesi unit was not just by the army, but also by other South Sulawesi officers such as Saleh Lahade and Andi Mattalatta.
Joining the rebellion (1950–1952)
Instead of commander of the South Sulawesi unit, Kahar was appointed as the commander of the Komando Grup Seberang (Group Commando for the Outer Islands, KGS) in October 1949. He was promoted to the rank of 'acting' lieutenant-colonel, and was put in charge of coordinating the guerrilla units in Sulawesi, Kalimantan, the Moluccas and Nusa Tenggara. Even before the appointment of Kahar as the commander of KGS, he had sent 2 of his staff officers, Saleh Sjahban and Bahar Mattaliu, to South Sulawesi to establish contact with the guerrilla forces there in April 1949. On 17 August 1949, the Kesatuan Gerilya Sulawesi Selatan (South Sulawesi Guerrilla Unit, KGSS) was founded with the aim of uniting the many guerrilla bands operating in the area.
After the formal recognition of Indonesia's independence by the Dutch, Kahar suddenly found himself an unemployed officer when the KGS was disbanded. At the same time, fighting broke out between the newly established army command in South Sulawesi and KGSS, when the latter demanded to be part of the TNI. Kahar was ordered to return to Sulawesi to negotiate with these young men. On 22 June 1950, Kahar arrived in Ujungpandang, and initially cooperated with the Indonesian government and army. However, upon his return from a meeting with the guerrillas, he put forward the proposal made by the guerrillas instead. The military commander of East Indonesia, Kawilarang, rejected the guerrillas' demands in a meeting with Kahar on 1 July 1950. Instead, Kawilarang issued a decree liquidating KGSS on the same day.
Kahar, according to Bahar Mattaliu, was very angry at Kawilarang's reaction. Kahar resigned from the Army, pulling off his insignia rank saying '"Ini tidak ada gunanya. (This is of no use)" to Kawilarang. He then threatened that if KGSS's demand was not accommodated, they would rebel. A few days later, Kahar was kidnapped into the forest by the KGSS on the initiative of Andi Sose, though it was suggested that the action had Kahar's tacit consent.
From then on, Kahar and KGSS had overwhelming support form the local population. This was a major factor which ensured the guerrillas' ability to safely operate in the area. Kahar became the leader of the movement, with his presence further encouraging the men, who looked up to him for his record as a soldier with the highest rank from Sulawesi. Many also saw Kahar as having been betrayed by the central government and deserving of sympathy.