Ahmad Husein

• 1. Introduction

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  Ahmad Husein earned the name the Kuranji Tiger commanding forces in the Padang area during Indonesia's war of independence. By the 9th of January 1958, he was turning those same skills against the government he had fought to create.

  That morning in Dharmasraya Regency, Husein helped announce a rival administration to President Sukarno's Java-based government. The son of a Padang pharmacist had become one of the most wanted men in his own country.

  What forged this independence fighter's path toward open rebellion? And what became of the regional coalition that Husein helped lead against Jakarta?

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• 2. A Soldier's Formation

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  Abdoel Kahar named his new son Ahmad, born at the Padang military hospital on the 1st of April 1925. Ahmad grew up as one of twelve children, with seven brothers and four sisters.

  He attended the Hollandsch-Inlandsche School in Padang, finishing there in 1938, then continued at Taman Siswa in Bukittinggi and graduated in 1941.

  In 1943, during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Husein enrolled in Giyugun, a native volunteer force. He also joined the People's Security Agency, the BKR, in Padang, spending his time recruiting others into the organization.

  When the war for Indonesian independence began, his unit was reorganized into the Banteng Division. He faced Dutch troops during both the first and second Dutch police actions. He rose to serve as combat commander of the Padang area.

  A visit by President Sukarno to Bukittinggi would give Husein a reason to question the very government he had just helped secure.

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• 3. Java's Long Shadow

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  On the 20th of December 1956, Colonel Ismail Lengah established the Banteng Council, headquartered in Medan. This gave institutional form to a frustration running through Sumatran military ranks. Commanders there believed the central government in Jakarta was directing its energy toward Java while the outer regions waited.

  Husein served as commander of the 4th regiment of the Bukit Barisan Territorial Command when he took charge of the Banteng Council. He also became governor of Central Sumatra, combining military command with civil administration.

  Husein's Banteng Council was one of four such bodies taking shape, and the commanders were moving toward a joint declaration.

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• 4. The Four Councils

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  Maludin Simbolon's Elephant Council, Barlian's Garuda Council, and Ventje Sumual's Manguni Council each joined Husein's Banteng Council to declare a new rival government. Husein was chosen as commander.

  The Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia, known as the PRRI, was proclaimed in Padang under the leadership of Syafruddin Prawiranegara. It stood as a direct challenge to President Sukarno and Prime Minister Djuanda Kartawidjaja.

  In Sulawesi, D.J. Somba's Permesta movement allied itself with the PRRI, extending the rebellion beyond Sumatra.

  The Jakarta government moved to crush this challenge; within three years, Husein would face the consequences.

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• 5. Capture and Return

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  Government forces captured Ahmad Husein in 1961, the year the PRRI collapsed. He was imprisoned and held in custody until 1965, when Sukarno's own hold on power came to an end.

  Husein lived for another three decades after his release. He died in Jakarta on the 28th of November 1998 and was brought back to Padang, buried at the Kuranji Heroes Cemetery in the city where he had first attended school sixty years before.

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