Ibrahim Yaacob

Ibrahim bin Yaacob (1911 – 8 March 1979) was a Malayan politician. An opponent of the British colonial government, he was president and founder of the Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM).^[1] During World War II, he supported the Japanese during their occupation of Malaya.^[1] Arrested by the British colonial government, he was freed by the Japanese in February 1942, and went on to save hundreds of Malayan soldiers from being killed during the occupation; this saved him from being arrested by Force 136 after the war.^[2] He died in Jakarta on 8 March 1979.^[3]

Ibrahim was born in Temerloh, Pahang, to a family of Bugis descent.^[4] In 1929, he joined the Sultan Idris Teachers' Training College and graduated two years later as a teacher. During the 1930s, he wrote a series of articles that were critical of the British administration in Malay newspapers and was later forced to resign after receiving a warning from the British authorities. He became the editor of a nationalistic newspaper, Majlis, and formed the KMM in 1938.^[5] The goal of KMM was to achieve independence for Malaya through union with Indonesia.^[6] As a member of KMM, he welcomed and worked with Japanese as he believed that Japanese would aid Malaya in gaining independence and support its fifth column activities.^[7]

Places named after him

Several places were named after him, including:

• SMK Dato' Ibrahim Yaacob, a secondary school in Kuala Lumpur
• Kolej Ibrahim Yaakub, a residential college at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor

References

1. . Malaysia-Today.net. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
2. . Bartleby.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2002. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
3. The Japanese Occupation of Malaya, 1941-45: Ibrahim Yaacob and the Struggle for Indonesia Raya, Cheah Boon Kheng Indonesia, Vol. 28, Oct. 1979 (October 1979), pp. 84–120
4. Asia, the Winning of Independence: The Winning of Independence: the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaya, by Robin Jeffrey, Macmillan, 1981, ISBN 0-333-27856-9, pg 297
5. Asia, the Winning of Independence: The Winning of Independence: the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaya, Jeffery, pg 297
6. Lebra, Joyce (1 January 2010). Japanese-trained Armies in Southeast Asia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 9789814279444. Retrieved 21 April 2017 – via Google Books.
7. Ling, Ooi Giok; Ismail, Assoc Prof Rahil; Shaw, Dr Brian J. (28 November 2012). Southeast Asian Culture and Heritage in a Globalising World: Diverging Identities in a Dynamic Region. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 9781409488019. Retrieved 21 April 2017 – via Google Books.