Just a few weeks after Indonesia’s declaration of independence on August 17, 1945, Sultan Syarif Kasim II, the last ruler of the Siak Sri Indrapura Sultanate, became one among the primary royal figures to openly declare his support for the brand new Republic.
By telegram dated November 28, 1945, he sent a direct message to President Soekarno expressing the loyalty of the Siak Sultanate to the Republic of Indonesia.
In this telegram, the Sultan transferred your complete territory of the Siak Sri Indrapura Sultanate to the Republic and declared his willingness to donate 13 million guilders, an amount reminiscent of over 1 trillion rupees today. With such a big contribution, it became the biggest financial donation to the national treasury in the course of the first years of Indonesia’s independence.
Symbol of loyalty
This was not the start of the Sultan’s support for independence. A month before sending the telegram, in October 1945, Syarif Qasim II had already initiated the formation of the People’s Security Army (TKR) and the Youth Republic Front in Siak Sri Indrapura.
The formation of those two resistance groups was accompanied by a mass gathering on the palace grounds, where the Indonesian flag was ceremoniously raised.
However, his decision infuriated the Dutch. The returning colonial forces that arrived in Indonesia with the Allies after the Japanese give up found the Sultan’s position a threat. They threatened Syarif Qasim II, forcing him to go away Siaka.
Sacrifice and exile
Before leaving Siak, Sultan Syarif Kasim II donated all royal property and property to the Republic of Indonesia. He even gave up his palace, royal crown and worthwhile treasures of the Siak Sri Indrapura Sultanate as a gesture of total devotion to the nation.
He was then sent into exile in Aceh. There, the Sultan continued the fight, joining local fighters, and was appointed advisor to the Aceh residence government.
From Aceh, Syarif Kasim II tirelessly expressed his support for the Republic and convinced other kings throughout Sumatra to side with Indonesia.
Life after the fight
After the war ended and the situation step by step stabilized, Sultan Syarif Qasim II lived in Jakarta for a while, although he didn’t hold any official position in the federal government. Some time later, he returned to Riau to administer his ancestral inheritance, a part of which was kept in Singapore.
For several years, the Sultan traveled backwards and forwards between Siak and Singapore and even temporarily lived in the previous British colony. However, his efforts to get better the family’s inherited wealth were halted when the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation broke out within the early Nineteen Sixties, cutting off his access to those assets.
Not wanting to be drawn into the political conflict between the 2 neighboring nations, Syarif Qasim II decided to return to his homeland in Siak. He spent the remaining of his life peacefully on the land he had once dedicated to the Republic of Indonesia.
The Sultan died on April 23, 1968, abandoning a rare legacy of sacrifice and true nationalism.
The Sultan’s lasting legacy
The official recognition of the state took place several dozen years after his death. On November 6, 1998, the Indonesian government awarded him the title of National Hero.
In his honor, his name was immortalized on the international airport. Sultan Syarif Kasim II in Pekanbaru, and in Siak there may be a big monument commemorating the historic handover of the Sultanate to the Republic.
