As long as the Indonesian history with colonialism, you cannot put aside the same struggle in the eastern region. West Papua in particular used to be colonialized by England as well as the Dutch government. During that toiling condition, one local figure namely Machmud Singgirei Rumagesan was a focal part of the spreading spirit of nationalism. Here are some footprints of his aids.
The King Who Fights For Their People
The man was born on December 27th, 1885. He was part of the local royal members, as he was raised to be a king in his 20th. He was a king of Fakfak known as Raja Sekar, and entitled with name of Raja Al Alam Ugar Sekar. It was a prideful name that denotes a king that was born and raised without any influence and power from any others kingdoms.
As a king of Fakfak and Raja Ampat, his reign was limited due to Dutch colonization. Not only that, but he also found that the Dutch company Maatschapij Colijn provide chaotically employment in the West Papua. It makes people suffer and his displeasure is getting worse with how the Dutch government led his homeland.
After that, he proposed conditions to fight the Dutch colonials that raise the hostility in the region. Conflict constantly arose between the Dutch and Rumagesan. And eventually, 73 followers were arrested in 1934 and he was exiled and sentenced to 15 years in prison at Saparua. However, he spent 10 years behind the bars.
Spreading Motivation Through Religion And Behind Bars
However, during his time behind the bars, he still spread motivation and words through Islam. He spread the spirit of nationalism through his speeches until his supporter’s number grew exponentially. During his sentence, he keeps on moving from one jail to another and gets a long life prison verdict as the change of death sentence.
The Person Behind GTRIB
As he was free, he again opposed the Dutch government in 1946. He and West Papua natives want to proclaim Indonesia’s independence and bring the Dutch flag down. His effort is not ended there. At 1953, he founded an organization called as GTRIB or Gerakan Tjendrawasih Revolusioner irian barat (translated as tjendrawasih revolutionary movement of west irian).
It was organized in Makassar, South Sulawesi, but take part in the west irian as a way to support the Indonesian government to gain the region’s independence. It was also a movement that help form a local government under the indigenous Papuans rules. Thus, both Indonesia and the Papuans can oppose the Dutch.
His work was victorious as KMB or round table conference decided that West Irian are said independence during 1949. But to keep on fighting the indigenous rights, he keeps working as part of GTRIB and proposes that Papua will be part of Indonesia. As a native of West Papua, he was known as a hero that sadly passed away in 1964.
The name of Machmud Singgirei Rumagesan has been one of the famous figures in the land of black pearl. He was acknowledged as a national hero for his aids toward locals and his effort in expelling the dutch from Papua in 2020. While his name might not be high on the national hero list, he is still one of the focal and powerful figures from the Cendrawasih continent.
