Mashudul Haq Salim, 'Defender of The Truth'

ENIMA -- Koto Gadang Sumatra (1884 -1954), was born as Mashudul Haq Salim: 'Defender of the truth'.

 “His Javanese nanny always called my grandfather 'Den Bagus', which later became 'Agus'. Family, friends and teachers adopted the pet name. 'Salim' is the name of his father Sutan Mohammad Salim," says grandson Agustanzil Shahruzah (1955), also known as Ibong.

Because of his father's position, who was chief prosecutor at the court of Riau in Sumatra, Agus was able to receive Dutch education, which was much better regarded than Indonesian education. “In 1903, he was the best graduating student of all the Higher Civic Schools in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. But when he wanted to study medicine in the Netherlands after high school, he couldn't get a scholarship because he was not 'equated' with the Dutch," says Ibong.

He was seen as a 'native', someone of a lower class, as Indonesians were usually called by the Dutch at the time. “Two years later, Agus received 'equivalent' status. But still he was refused a scholarship. Then, because of his good knowledge of the Arabic language and Indonesian culture, he was offered an offer to become a consular officer in Saudi Arabia on behalf of the Dutch government, he fulfilled a wish from his mother. This job also gave him the opportunity to apprentice with his uncle, who was an imam and professor of Islamic studies in Saudi Arabia.” So he went to work in the city of Jeddah from 1905 to 1911.

Given his abilities and charisma, Hadji Agus Salim could very well have been the great leader of the Indonesian revolution and the first president of the Republic. However, his age was against him: Agus was already sixty at the time of the declaration of independence, which had been accelerated by young radicals. Probably an even more important objection: Agus was not a Javanese, but belonged to the Minangkabau people, a people on West Sumatra.

He also had an eye for the bigger picture. Where others sometimes got stuck in narrow, narrow-minded nationalism, he manifested himself as a true internationalist.

Agus worked for the Dutch in his younger years. When he first became acquainted with the anti-colonial early nationalist movement Sarekat Islam, he may have been a police informant. But he quickly distanced himself from the Dutch, because the core of the ideas of the movement appealed to him. In less than ten years he grew into an influential leader, who internally fought against mystical, messianic and communist tendencies.

When Agus became a member of the Investigative Committee for Indonesian Independence during the Japanese occupation, he knew the world of diplomacy, journalism and politics from the inside out. From August 1945, it also made him extremely suitable for the position of Deputy Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He proved his humor both in contacts with the Netherlands and other countries. Agusm was a skilled negotiator, striker and humorous and also liked to drink a glass of whiskey even with opponents.

During the Second Police Action, Dutch airborne troops attacked Djokjakarta. They succeeded in their aim: to imprison the most prominent politicians of the Republic. The colonial ruler thought Agus was so important that he, along with Sukarno, Hatta and Sjahrir, were among those arrested. The party was transferred to a safer place in Sumatra and then to a resort on Banka-Billiton.

But the Second Police Action was only a military success for the Netherlands. The world now forced The Hague to work on the transfer of sovereignty. Agus was one of the Indonesian negotiators at the Round Table Conference in 1949. After independence, he became a foreign affairs adviser to Prime Minister Hatta and returned to an old love, writing.

After independence, Agus stepped back due to his deteriorating health and became a government adviser. He resumed his journalistic activities and gave a series of lectures on Islam at Cornell University in 1953. Agus died on November 4, 1954 and was the first to be buried at the Kalibata plot in Jakarta...