Mohammad Noor (24 June 1901 – 15 January 1979), known by his

Indonesian name Indonesian names and naming customs reflect the multicultural and multilingual nature of the over 17,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago. The world's fourth most populous nation, Indonesia is home to more than 1300 ethnic groups, each with t ...

Pangeran Mohammad Noor and also written as P. M. Noor, was an Indonesian politician, independence fighter and first Governor of

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

. He was also member of the

Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence The Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence ( id, Badan Penyelidik Usaha-usaha Persiapan Kemerdekaan, BPUPK; ja, 独立準備調査会, Hepburn: , Nihon-shiki / Kunrei-shiki: ), sometimes referred to as the Investigating Co ...

and served as the Minister of Public Works between 1956 and 1959.

Early life

Mohammad Noor was born on 24 June 1901, in Martapura,

South Kalimantan South Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Selatan) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is the smallest province in Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of Borneo. The provincial capital was Banjarmasin until 15 February 2022 when it wa ...

, from an aristocratic family of the

Sultanate of Banjar Sultanate of Banjar or Sultanate of Banjarmasin ( Banjar: كسلطانن بنجر, Kasultanan Banjar) was a sultanate located in what is today the South Kalimantan Province of Indonesia. For most of its history, its capital was at Banjarmasi ...

. Mohammad Noor was the great-great-grandson (''intah'') of Sultan Adam Al-Watsiq Billah. His father Prince Ali, was a district head, called ''kiai'', moving from one city to another. When he reached adulthood, he received a title "Prince" (''Pangeran''). After graduating from

Hollandsch-Inlandsche School Hollandsch-Inlandsche School (HIS) (Dutch school for natives) was a school during the Dutch colonial era in Indonesia. The school, was first established in 1914, following with the enactment of the Dutch Ethical Policy. The school was at the Low ...

in 1917, he continued to

Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (Dutch, "more advanced primary education") was during part of the twentieth century a level of education in the Netherlands (and the Dutch East Indies), comparable with the junior high school level in the US educatio ...

and graduated in 1921, then graduated from Hoogere Burgerschool in 1923, and in 1923 entered the Technische Hoogeschool te Bandoeng (THS) - a high technical school in

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

. In 1927, he received the title of Engineer within four years, a year after

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

(the first president of the Republic of Indonesia) graduated as an engineer.

Career

Pre-independence After graduating Mohammad Noor worked at the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management in the Irrigation Department at

Tegal Tegal is a city in the northwest part of Central Java of Indonesia. It is situated on the north coast (or ''pesisir'') of Central Java, about from Semarang, the capital of the province. It had a population of 239,599 at the 2010 Census and 276 ...

from 1927 to 1929,

Malang Malang (; ) is a landlocked List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of Singhasari, Singhasari Kingdom. It is the second most popul ...

from 1929 to 1931 and

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

from 1931 to 1933. Returning to Banjarmasin, he replaced his father as a member of

Volksraad The Volksraad was a people's assembly or legislature in Dutch or Afrikaans speaking government. Assembly South Africa *Volksraad (South African Republic) (1840–1902) *Volksraad (Natalia Republic), a similar assembly that existed in the Natalia Re ...

, for the region of Banjarmasin. In 1942 during the

Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies The Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history. In May ...

he was appointed as head of the irrigation department and in 1945, Deputy Secretary General of the Department of Transportation and Public Works.

Death and honours

Noor died in Jakarta on 15 January 1979, 17 days after his wife, Gusti Aminah died. They were buried in Karet Bivak Cemetery before being moved to Sultan Adam Cemetery Complex, Martapura in June 2010. He was awarded the Mahaputera Star Class III in 1973 and declared a

National Hero of Indonesia National Hero of Indonesia ( id, Pahlawan Nasional Indonesia) is the highest-level title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic, defined as "actual deeds which can b ...

in 2018.

Legacy

P. M. Noor is also used in a

street name A street name is an identifying name given to a street or road. In toponymic terminology, names of streets and roads are referred to as hodonyms (from Greek ‘road’, and ‘name’). The street name usually forms part of the address (th ...

in several cities in Kalimantan, such as

Samarinda Samarinda is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The city lies on the banks of the Mahakam River with a land area of . Samarinda ranks first on East Kalimantan Human dev ...

Palangka Raya Palangka Raya is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan. The city is situated between the Kahayan and the Sabangau rivers on the island of Borneo. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 293,50 ...

, and

Banjarbaru Banjarbaru is the capital city of South Kalimantan, one of the provinces in Indonesia. It is located southeast of Banjarmasin, the largest city of the province. The city had a population of 248,423 as of the 2017 Census, and the latest officia ...

. A

hydroelectric power station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

in Riam Kanan

Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

was named after him.

Notes

References

{{improve categories, date=April 2021 1901 births 1979 deaths National Heroes of Indonesia People from South Kalimantan