From Jail to Jail: Volume 2

From Jail to Jail is the political autobiography of Sutan Ibrahim gelar Tan Malaka, an enigmatic and colourful political thinker of twentieth-century Asia, who was one of the most influential figures of the Indonesian Revolution. Variously labelled a communist, Trotskyite and nationalist, Tan Malaka managed to run afoul of nearly every political group and faction involved in the Indonesian struggle for independence.

During his decades of political activity, he spent periods of exile and hiding in nearly every country in Southeast Asia. As a Marxist who was expelled from and became a bitter enemy of his country’s Communist Party and as a nationalist who was imprisoned and murdered by his own government’s forces as a danger to its anti-colonial struggle, Tan Malaka was and continues to be soaked in contradiction and controversy.

Praise for Helen Jarvis’s translation and introduction:

“part textbook, part reminiscence, part polemic, a commentary on the times […] and also a riveting, often witty adventure story of an astute observer” – Donald Hindley

“a work of high scholarly value” – W.F. Wertheim

“a major contribution to the history of the Indonesian revolution” – Denys Lombard

“perhaps the most important Southeast Asia autobiography of the 20th century, and a key work in the study of the politics and society of Indonesia and the region during the tumultuous era immediately before and after World War Two … Jarvis was able to gather new information and throw considerable new light on historical aspects of Tan Malaka’s autobiography” – Harry Poeze

Publisher: SIRD

Paperback

2020

ISBN: 9789672165750

Translated by Helen Jarvis