Opu Daeng Risadju: Indonesian Muslim Freedom Fighters In and Out of Prison

 

Opu Daeng Risadju: Indonesian Muslim Freedom Fighters In and Out of Prison

The struggle to expel the invaders from the land of Indonesia, and the struggle to maintain independence has given birth to many fighters from all corners of the country. Both from men and women. One of the female fighters who is not very well known, but whose struggle to expel the invaders in South Sulawesi is amazing, is a Muslim woman named Opu Daeng Risadju.

Opu Daeng Risadju was born in Palopo in 1880 AD with the real name Famajjah. She is the daughter of Opu Daeng Mawellu and Muhammad Abdullah to Barengseng. As explained in the book Opu Daeng Risaju, Women's National Hero from South Sulawesi , that the title of Opu symbolizes the nobility of the Luwu Kingdom. Because Opu Daeng Mawellu, who is the mother of Famajjah, has royal blood. He is still a direct descendant or great-grandson of King Bone XXII La Temmasonge Matimoeri Malimongeng, who ruled from 1749-1775 AD.

Opu Daeng Risadju was born in a family full of Islamic values. Since childhood, he has been provided with Islamic education along with education in customs and traditions of the Luwu kingdom. Much of his childhood was spent learning to recite the Qur'an, learning about education on the customs of the land of Luwu, studying fiqh, nahwu, sharaf and balaghah from several religious teachers and Luwu kiai, in Sabang Paru.

This female figure has never received a formal school education. However, he learned a lot about morals, leadership and how to govern society. Because as a descendant of nobility, Opu Daeng Risadju is required to always show nobility towards others.

Although he never received a general education, Opu Daeng Risadju has a high desire to be able to read and write. He then learned to read, and wrote to his brother who had studied at a formal school, namely Mudehang.

After growing up, Opu Daeng Risadju was married to a cleric from Bone named Haji Muhammad Daud. This marriage then brought him to plunge into the arena of struggle and political movement to expel the invaders, which resulted in him being in and out of prison many times.

Muslim women who are guerrilla and in and out of prison

The presence of colonialism made national movements organized, both in Java and outside Java, including in South Sulawesi, which began with the establishment of various movement organizations. Among the organizations that were established and had an important role in the resistance against colonialism in South Sulawesi, was the Indonesian Islamic Syarikat Party (PSII). It was through PSII that Opu Daeng Risadju's struggle against the invaders began.

As a figure who fought through the world of politics, Opu Daeng Risadju always faced colonial rulers. Several times he had to huddle in the custody of the colonial rulers. In fact, prison has become commonplace. For him, prison is the same as a place to rest, to arrange preparations for tomorrow.

Her struggle to expel the invaders began when Opu Daeng Risadju and her husband became members of PSII in Pare-Pare. His meeting with PSII can be said to be a very long struggle story. However, her struggles began to show when she and her husband joined the party.

Since joining, the two of them have done a lot of propaganda and attempted to establish PSII branches in South Sulawesi, one of which was in Palopo. In Palopo, the two of them carried out propaganda against the invaders by establishing a PSII branch. Thanks to the help of his family and friends, in 1930 AD Opu Daeng Risadju succeeded in establishing a branch of PSII Palopo.

However, when Opu Daeng Risaju and his friends were actively promoting PSII in the area, the Dutch colonial government tried to stop it. They used traditional groups (nobles and kings) as shields to stem the PSII movement. As it turned out, the attempt failed. This is because PSII has received great support from the community.

After the PSII Palopo branch was established, Opu Daeng Risadju then attended the PSII congress in Pare-Pare, precisely in April 1930 AD. At the congress, several prominent PSII figures were also present, such as; H. Agus Salim. On this occasion, Opu Daeng Risadju again propagated the struggle to eliminate the invaders.

After returning from the congress in Pare-Pare, Malangke community leaders invited Opu Daeng Risadju to establish a PSII branch there. He then established the first branch of PSII in the area.

After successfully establishing the PSII Malangke branch, Opu Daeng Risadju's followers grew and PSII grew. News of the establishment of PSII in Malangke and the presence of Opu Daeng Risadju reached the contrôleur Masamba. Hearing this news, Contrôleur Masamba was furious. Because since the establishment of the Palopo branch of PSII, the figure of Opu Daeng Risadju has been considered a thorn in the flesh of the Dutch government, especially in the Luwu area. Controleur Masamba finally came to Malangke and arrested Opu Daeng Risadju along with approximately seventy party members.

Opu Daeng Risadju was then tried on charges of inciting the people, spreading hatred, and disobeying the government. He was also accused of entering the Masamba area without permission from the government. The charges later resulted in her being sentenced to 13 months in prison, making her the first woman to be imprisoned by the Dutch government for political issues.

The arrests were nothing but to reduce the activities of Opu Daeng Risadju and the development of PSII. However, after the arrest, what happened was that the figure of Opu Daeng Risadju was getting more and more famous throughout the Luwu area. In fact, it strengthens the great solidarity in the community to fight against the invaders.

After serving his sentence in Masamba, envoys from PSII sympathizers in Malili came to Opu Daeng Risadju in Masamba. The hope is that Opu Daeng Risadju is willing to continue his journey to Malili, before returning to Palopo. He finally went to Malili to give directions, until finally the Malili PSII branch was established on March 1, 1932 AD.

A few days later, Opu Daeng Risadju and her husband returned to guerrilla warfare to another area. The next destination is Patampanua. However, the district head of Patampanua has received instructions from the Dutch government to oversee their activities. After learning about the actions of Opu Daeng Risadju, and his presence to carry out propaganda. So the head of the Patampanua district came to arrest him. Because it is considered very dangerous to the security and stability of the Dutch government. After being arrested, they were escorted to Palopo under very tight guard by the Dutch. In fact, she and her husband were taken by ship with both hands chained.

The news about the treatment of Opu Daeng Risadju and her husband, as well as his landing at the port of Palopo in chains, shocked Luwu's traditional leaders. One of the members of the Luwu tradition, namely Opu Balirante, who is still related by blood with Opu Daeng Risadju, did not accept the humiliation and treatment.

This treatment is considered inappropriate, especially for a noble who has a high social strata in society. Opu Balirante then protested strongly to the adat authorities and the Dutch government with the threat, “ If Opu Daeng Risadju and her husband land in Palopo in chains, I will resign. “The threat was able to frighten the Dutch, and let go of the chains that were tied to the husband and wife.

Jail did not make Opu Daeng Risadju tremble. In fact, the Netherlands had to find other ways to fight it. And this time by influencing the customary councils in Luwu. Especially those who are still related by blood with Opu Daeng Risadju. Dutch lobbies to the Luwu traditional councils led to the loss of the nobility title of Opu Daeng Risadju. He was willing to give up his noble title and sacrifice his personal interests, for the sake of the struggle to pioneer the nation's independence.

Without a knighthood, Opu Daeng Risadju's resistance did not fade. The Dutch finally looked for another way, this time she was divorced from her husband after divorcing her with her royal title.

Dutch efforts turned out to be in vain, because he never backed down from the struggle he was doing. Until finally, Opu Daeng Risadju was invited to Java to attend the PSII congress in Batavia in 1933 AD as a representative of Palopo. After the congress, Opu Daeng Risadju returned to Palopo to meet his friends. He conveyed the results of the congress in Java in every meeting, both closed and open meetings. Seeing this, several adat members, especially those who had been instigated and pro-Dutch, suggested that Opu Daeng Risadju be arrested and detained.

Opu Daeng Risadju was again faced with the court table, but this time it was the customary court. He was accused of being “Majulekkai Pabbbatang” (violating the prohibition), because he had been banned but continued his political activities.

The adat members then proposed that Opu Daeng Risaju be “selongated” (the law of exile or exile) for seven years. The proposal was rejected by Opu Balirante. Finally, with an agreement, his sentence was changed to a prison sentence of fourteen months, since 1934 AD.

To serve the sentence, Opu Daeng Risadju had to work like people who were imprisoned. He who was no longer privileged had to push carts, and do street cleaning work in the middle of Palopo town.

The story of Opu Daeng Risadju's struggle shows that nobility does not make him sit idly by, sitting in a luxurious house. Instead, he went directly to the battlefield against colonialism, so he was willing to sacrifice his nobility title to fight for independence.