Dutch Colonizers Approve Ernest Douwes Dekker To Become A Teacher In History Today, January 15, 1923

Ernest Douwes Dekker met with his fighting friend, Soewardi Soerjaningrat at the KNIP trial in Malang, East Java in 1947. (Historical)

JAKARTA History today, 101 years ago, January 15, 1923, the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, Dirk Fork, approved Ernest Douwes Dekker to become a teacher. This was revealed by the number one person in the Dutch East Indies in his letter to the Malengan Resident, SA Rietma.

Ernest is better off busy working as a teacher than inciting the natives again against Dutch colonialism. Previously, Ernest was a prominent figure in the history of the journey of the Indonesian nation. He is like a mentor to many Indonesian freedom fighters.

Ernest Douwes Dekker was once hailed as a figure who contributed to instilling awareness of independence for all freedom fighters. In fact, he was willing to make his house a reading and discussion room for the Bumiputra Doctor School student, STOVIA.

Andil made him transform into a mentor for many freedom fighters. Many of the educated people are sensitive to the Dutch colonialism which is suffering the natives. Ernest and many STOVIA students are also good friends.

Mainly, to Tjipto Mangoenkoesoemo and Soewardi Soerjaningrat (now: Ki Hajar Dewantara). The three, dubbed Tiga Serangkai, agreed to create a forum for the struggle against Dutch injustice.

Indische Partij (Indies Party) was formed in 1912. The political vehicle became the space for the people of the Dutch East Indies (now: Indonesia) no matter what color the skin was 'against the policy of harming the colonial government. The De Express newspaper was then used as a mouthpiece.

Ernest's criticism of the government was stated in newspapers. The result was jarring. The Dutch considered Ernest and the Indies to be dangerous for the existence of colonialism. The three of them also had to experience imprisonment, then exiled to the Netherlands in 1913. The insertion in fact did not deter them. The ideas of independence continue to be spread in the Land of the Windmills.

In the early 1910s, when Ernest founded the Indian Party, it was very difficult to imagine people understanding giant meetings, political parties, journalists. Together with several Indo and Chinese, Ernest taught these things to the Dutch East Indies, it doesn't matter if he is an Indo, bumiputra, or China.

"He is the one who leads De Express. A Dutch-language newspaper published in Bandung and shows how anti-government political journalism should be," said Takashi Shiraishi in the book 1000 Years of the Archipelago (2000).

Ernest returned to the Dutch East Indies after fulfilling his exile sentence in the 1920s. Ernest seems to have started to shift his struggle towards educating the nation's children in Bandung, rather than being active again in political activities.

This condition made the Resident Priangan, SA Rietma restless. Rietma no longer wanted Ernest to be given space to influence the natives against the Dutch. Rietma also initiated to tell the narrative to the Governor General of the Dutch East Indies, Dirk Fork to agree to his langkha.

The answer that Rietme hopes is the opposite. The Dirk Fork in his letter actually revealed that he approved Ernest's wish to become a teacher who then built the Ksatrian Institute school. A letter dated January 15, 1923, also stated that efforts to provide Ernest's space as a teacher were actually considered a strategy to keep him busy.

A tactic so that Ernest no longer incites the people to be independent. In fact, the opinion of Dirk Fork actually missed. Ksatrian Institute became a new tool in Ernest's struggle. Soekarno was even recruited as a teacher to educate the bumiputras.

"It means that it was notified to Resident Priangan, who in his letter to the Governor General informed and asked for consideration from the colonial government. Among other things, it was stated that there was an objection from the resident, because of Mrs's husband. Mayer (the person who invited Ernest to become a teacher) was listed as a communist."

"However, the Governor-General is of the opinion that it is better for people who are nervous like Douwes Dekker to be given the opportunity. Ernest must provide permanent job opportunities for his livelihood than him, because his opportunity is blocked, he will lean more towards the people," explained Marwati Djoened Poesponegoro and friends in the book Indonesian National History V(2008).