Said Aboe Bakar was an F-organisatie propagandist — a fifth-column agent of the Japanese Fujiwara-kikan — who entered Atjèh with the first Japanese troops at Meulabóh in March 1942 and thereupon played a central role in the establishment of the governing commissions that displaced the loyal Dutch oelèëbalang’s and replaced them with the political opponents of the pre-war administration. Piekaar’s Atjèh and the War with Japan treats Said Aboe Bakar as the principal Japanese political agent on the West Coast — the figure through whom the F-organisatie’s network of Atjèhnese dissidents was activated and through whom the new governing commissions were assembled.
Entry at Meulabóh
When the first Japanese troops entered Meulabóh in March 1942, Said Aboe Bakar was among them — together with Said Doellah, “a descendant of the Prophet, about which more in the following chapter.” At Meulabóh, Piekaar records, “a governing commission was immediately formed, consisting mainly of opponents of the two loyal self-governors Teukoe Bin of Seunagan and Teukoe Tjhi’ Moehamad Ali Akbar of the Kawaj XVI.” Most of the members of the new commission “therefore belonged to the same group of persons to whom the letters found on Said Doellah were addressed” — that is, to the network of correspondents whose letters, intercepted by the Dutch before the invasion, had revealed the existence of the F-organisatie’s fifth-column apparatus.
The Tapa’toean appointment
The administrative commission assembled for the Tapa’toean subdistrict by the F-leader Said Aboe Bakar “had to make way after a short time for a one-man administration, whereby the Tapa’toean trader Marah Hoesin was appointed as ‘gun-chó’.” The loyal Datoek Roehoem, “from whom the troops had received much help on their retreat, had to make way.” In his place was appointed “the rightful heir Teukoe Itam, clerk at the central office of the landscape treasuries in Koetaradja,” as “son-chó.” The reorganisation — with the Japanese titles gun-chó and son-chó — established the new administrative order under Japanese sponsorship.
The mystery of Said Doellah’s execution
The relationship between Said Aboe Bakar and Said Doellah — and the latter’s execution by the Japanese — is one of the unresolved mysteries of the occupation. Piekaar records that “a connection between the arrest and execution of Said Doellah and the actions of Said Aboe Bakar lies to hand, but is not proven. A thorough investigation will probably remain a pious wish.” The execution of Said Doellah, who had entered Atjèh alongside Said Aboe Bakar, suggests a power struggle within the F-organisatie’s Atjèhnese network — or a Japanese decision to dispense with a figure who had served his purpose.
See Also
- [Said Doellah]
- [F-organisatie]
- [Fujiwara-kikan]
- [Meulabóh]
- [Teukoe Bin of Seunagan]
- [Teukoe Tjhi’ Moehamad Ali Akbar]
- [Kawaj XVI]
- [Tapa’toean]
- [Marah Hoesin]
- [Teukoe Itam]
- [Datoek Roehoem]
- [1942]
Source
Atjèh and the War with Japan, by Dr. A. J. Piekaar, translated from the Dutch original Atjèh en de oorlog met Japan (1949) (‘s-Gravenhage/Bandung: N.V. Uitgeverij W. van Hoeve; English edition), Chapter V.
Said Aboe Bakar was an F-organisatie propagandist — a fifth-column agent of the Japanese Fujiwara-kikan — who entered Atjèh with the first Japanese troops at Meulabóh in March 1942 and thereupon played a central role in the establishment of the governing commissions that displaced the loyal Dutch oelèëbalang’s and replaced them with the political opponents of the pre-war administration. Piekaar’s Atjèh and the War with Japan treats Said Aboe Bakar as the principal Japanese political agent on the West Coast — the figure through whom the F-organisatie’s network of Atjèhnese dissidents was activated and through whom the new governing commissions were assembled.
Entry at Meulabóh
When the first Japanese troops entered Meulabóh in March 1942, Said Aboe Bakar was among them — together with Said Doellah, “a descendant of the Prophet, about which more in the following chapter.” At Meulabóh, Piekaar records, “a governing commission was immediately formed, consisting mainly of opponents of the two loyal self-governors Teukoe Bin of Seunagan and Teukoe Tjhi’ Moehamad Ali Akbar of the Kawaj XVI.” Most of the members of the new commission “therefore belonged to the same group of persons to whom the letters found on Said Doellah were addressed” — that is, to the network of correspondents whose letters, intercepted by the Dutch before the invasion, had revealed the existence of the F-organisatie’s fifth-column apparatus.
The Tapa’toean appointment
The administrative commission assembled for the Tapa’toean subdistrict by the F-leader Said Aboe Bakar “had to make way after a short time for a one-man administration, whereby the Tapa’toean trader Marah Hoesin was appointed as ‘gun-chó’.” The loyal Datoek Roehoem, “from whom the troops had received much help on their retreat, had to make way.” In his place was appointed “the rightful heir Teukoe Itam, clerk at the central office of the landscape treasuries in Koetaradja,” as “son-chó.” The reorganisation — with the Japanese titles gun-chó and son-chó — established the new administrative order under Japanese sponsorship.
The mystery of Said Doellah’s execution
The relationship between Said Aboe Bakar and Said Doellah — and the latter’s execution by the Japanese — is one of the unresolved mysteries of the occupation. Piekaar records that “a connection between the arrest and execution of Said Doellah and the actions of Said Aboe Bakar lies to hand, but is not proven. A thorough investigation will probably remain a pious wish.” The execution of Said Doellah, who had entered Atjèh alongside Said Aboe Bakar, suggests a power struggle within the F-organisatie’s Atjèhnese network — or a Japanese decision to dispense with a figure who had served his purpose.
See Also
- [Said Doellah]
- [F-organisatie]
- [Fujiwara-kikan]
- [Meulabóh]
- [Teukoe Bin of Seunagan]
- [Teukoe Tjhi’ Moehamad Ali Akbar]
- [Kawaj XVI]
- [Tapa’toean]
- [Marah Hoesin]
- [Teukoe Itam]
- [Datoek Roehoem]
- [1942]
Source
Atjèh and the War with Japan, by Dr. A. J. Piekaar, translated from the Dutch original Atjèh en de oorlog met Japan (1949) (‘s-Gravenhage/Bandung: N.V. Uitgeverij W. van Hoeve; English edition), Chapter V.