Muhammad bin Indera ( – 30 January 1953), nicknamed ''Ahmad'' and widely known as ''Mat Indera'', was a Malay communist leader during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

, and was a member of

Malayan Communist Party The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore f ...

. He was a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

religious teacher ('

ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

') before the

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

in Malaya. He was renowned for leading 180 communists to launch a guerrilla assault on a police station during the Bukit Kepong Incident, causing deaths of almost all police officers in the station. Following the guerilla attack, the ruling British authorities placed a M$ 75,000 bounty on his head – a large sum of money at the time, equivalent to approximately RM500,000 in 2020 ringgit. He was said to be one of the descendants of Datuk Bentara Husin Lela, a hero of Siak Sri Inderapura who was once Sultan Sharif's senior commander in Siak. On the night of 14 October 1952, Mat Indera was invited to a "meeting" by some acquaintances in Kampung Seri Medan, at which he was served

tempeh Tempe or tempeh (; , ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhizopus oligosporus'' or '' Rhizopu ...

and coffee laced with ''

Datura ''Datura'' is a genus of nine species of highly poisonous, Vespertine (biology), vespertine-flowering plants belonging to the nightshade family (Solanaceae). They are commonly known as thornapples or jimsonweeds, but are also known as devil's t ...

''. After being incapacitated, he was handed over to the British, who charged him with crimes related to the Bukit Kepong incident. Mat Indera was subsequently found guilty and hanged at 11 pm on 30 January 1953 in Taiping Prison.

Controversial statement by PAS Deputy President

On 21 August 2011,

Mohamad Sabu Mohamad bin Sabu ( Jawi: محمد بن سابو; born 14 October 1954), commonly known as Mat Sabu, is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security in the Unity Government administration under Prime ...

, Deputy President of PAS, made a controversial statement saying that Mat Indera, the leader of the communists during the Bukit Kepong Incident, was a national hero for fighting against

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

References

{{Communism in Malaysia 1920 births 1953 deaths Executed communists Executed Malaysian people Malaysian communists Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims People of the Malayan Emergency People executed by British Malaya by hanging