Perihal Mat Indera

Whose this Mat Indera guy people have so been talking about lately, ever since Mat Sabu raised the issue in a ceramah a couple of weeks back?

People have been talking, saying that Mat Indera was responsible for the Bukit Kepong attack. I knew a bit about Bukit Kepong, from the movie by Jin Shamsudin. I knew that in the movie, a police station was attacked by some bad ass communist guerrilla. But that's really all I knew. Honestly, I initially had no clue that Mat Indera ever existed!

Bukit Kepong, the movie

So amid all the issue highlighted by Utusan and KJ, I decided to read some history about this guy. Here's a photo of him.

Bad ass or hero?

Read more of the story of Mat Indera here, here and here. For those of you too lazy to do so, here's a brief knockdown.

Mat Indera, or his real name, Muhammad Indera is a descendent of a worrier from Siak. Apparently, he was said to be a religious person, being a Hafiz as well, and his teachers, among others were Kiai Haji Fadzil Bentan and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's father.

He became involved with politics to help drive out the Brits from Malaya and joined Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM, lead by Dr. Burhanuddin Helmy- another name that was only mentioned in passing in our textbooks) and Angkatan Pemuda Insaf (API). Probably inspired by the Indonesians in their fight for independence from the Dutch (using primitive weapons like bamboo spears), Mat Indera took his battle into the woods, guerrilla style. That's where he met Bintang Tiga. Even though both parties had different missions, as the saying goes, 'the enemy of your enemy is your friend' Mat Indera soon joined forces with Bintang Tiga.

Aware of the threat posed by Mat Indera, the Brits wanted him, DOA. They set about spreading rumours and propaganda about the man, saying he was a dangerous communist man with no religion and moral values, and they offered $25000 for his capture.

Then came the Bukit Kepong incident. Some say he didn't authorize the killing of the police officers, let alone burning of their dead bodies (he had just wanted to catch some of the officers). Some say that he arrived late at the battle field, and wasn't involved in the fight. Others claimed that he tried to prevent the killings of the police officers, going as far as pointing a rifle at a communist member to stop him from humiliating the dead. And some claimed that he even helped some of the officers escape.

After the incident, his bounty rose to $75000. Finally, the Brits caught some of Mat Indera's men and collaborated with them to capture Mat Indera, promising them land and wealth. Mat Indera was caught and hanged to death in 1953. An end to yet another freedom fighter.

There lies a hero- Tok Janggut

If you look closely at the story of Mat Indera and how it was portrayed by the Brits, there's vast similarities with that of Datuk Maharajalela, Mat Kilau, Datuk Bahaman, Abdul Rahman Limbong and Tok Janggut (see above). Tok Janggut also fought and killed Malay police officers and soldiers who sided with the Brits (scumbags), and he was portrayed by the Brits as a rebel and traitor to the Sultan of Kelantan. When Tok Janggut was finally killed, his body was humiliated to the highest degree by being paraded all over town and then hung upside down for all to see. You can read his story here and here. And for all that, what did out text book portray him as? Read below, an extract from Buku Teks Sejarah Tingkatan 5 (KBSM).

Yet another selfish Malay noble man who didn't want to pay the taxes?

Was that really all in Tok Janggut's fight? He didn't want to pay taxes? Lost of political powers and influence? Is that really how we want to remember him as?

Are these stories of traitors or freedom fighters? History is written by those in power. Wallahualam.