Soerastri Karma Trimurti (11 May 1912 – 20 May 2008), who was known as S. K. Trimuti, was an Indonesian
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
,
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
and
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
, who took part in the
Indonesian independence movement against
colonial rule by the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
She later served as Indonesia's first labor minister from 1947 until 1948 under
Indonesian Prime Minister Amir Sjarifuddin
Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap ( EVO: Amir Sjarifoeddin Harahap; 27 April 1907 – 19 December 1948) was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 1948. A major leader of the lef ...
.
Biography
Early life
S. K. Trimurti was born on 11 May 1912, in
Solo
Solo or SOLO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Comics
* ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series
* Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics
Characters
* Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character
* Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...
,
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta in t ...
. She attended to Sekolah Guru Putri (Girl Elementary School).
Indonesian Independence Movement
She became active in the Indonesian independence movement during the 1930s, officially joining the nationalist Partindo
The Indonesia Party ( id, Partai Indonesia), better known as Partindo, was a nationalist political party in Indonesia that existed before independence and was revived in 1957 as a leftist party.
Pre-independence party
In 1927, future Indonesian p ...
(Indonesian Party) in 1933, shortly after completing her schooling at Tweede Inlandsche School.
Trimurti began her career as an elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
after leaving Tweede Inlandsche School. She taught in elementary schools 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 ...
, Surakarta
Surakarta ( jv, ꦯꦸꦫꦏꦂꦠ), known colloquially as Solo ( jv, ꦱꦭ; ), is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. The 44 km2 (16.2 sq mi) city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoh ...
and Banyumas
Banyumas ( jv, ꦧꦚꦸꦩꦱ꧀, formerly spelt "Banjoemas") Regency is a regency ( id, kabupaten) in the southwestern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is the town of Purwokerto, but that town no longer has a central adm ...
during the 1930s. However, she was arrested by Dutch authorities in 1936 for distributing anti-colonial leaflets. Trimuti was imprisoned for nine months at the Bulu Prison in Semarang
Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. ...
.
Trimurti switched careers from teaching to journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
following her release from prison. She soon became well known in journalistic and anti-colonial circles as a critical journalist. Trimurti often used different, shortened pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
s of her real name, such as Trimurti or Karma, in her writings to avoid being arrested again by Dutch colonial authorities. During her reporting career, Trimurti worked for a number of Indonesian newspapers including '' Pesat'', , '' Genderang'', '' Bedung'' and ''Pikiran Rakyat
''Pikiran Rakyat'' ( Indonesian: ''People's Thought'') is a daily newspaper published in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Its circulation covers West Java and Banten Province.
History
''Pikiran Rakyat'' was first published on 30 May 1950 by direct ...
''. She published ''Pesat'' together with her husband. In the Japanese occupation era, ''Pesat'' was banned by Japanese military government. She also was arrested and tortured.
Post-Independence
Trimurti, who was a known advocate for workers' rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...
, was appointed as Indonesia's first Minister of Labor Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
under Prime Minister Amir Sjarifuddin
Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap ( EVO: Amir Sjarifoeddin Harahap; 27 April 1907 – 19 December 1948) was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 1948. A major leader of the lef ...
. She served in that capacity from 1947 until 1948. She was on the Executive of the Labour Party of Indonesia
The Labour Party of Indonesia ( id, Partai Buruh Indonesia, PBI) was a political party in Indonesia.
Indonesian Labour Front
The party was founded as a national trade union center, the Indonesian Labour Front (''Barisan Buruh Indonesia'', BBI), ...
, and led its women's wing Working Women's Front The Working Women's Front ( id, Barisan Buruh Wanita, BBW) was a women's organization in Indonesia, founded in 1945. BBW emerged through the merger of various women's workers groups. S.K. Trimurti was the leader of BBW. BBW was linked to the Barisan ...
.
She co-founded the Gerwis, an Indonesian women's organization, in 1950, which was later renamed as Gerwani. She left the organization in 1965. She returned to college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
when she was 41 years old. She studied economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
at the University of Indonesia. She declined an appointment to become Indonesia's Social Affairs Minister in 1959 in order to complete her degree.
Trimurti was a member and signer of Petition 50 in 1980, which protested Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
's use of Pancasila against his political opponents. The signers of Petition 50 included prominent Indonesian independence supporters as well as government and military officials, such as Trimurti and the former Governor of Jakarta
The Jakarta Special Capital Region is administratively equal to a province with special status as the capital of Indonesia. Instead of a mayor, the executive head of Jakarta is a governor. The governor of Jakarta is an elected politician who, alon ...
Ali Sadikin
Ali Sadikin (7 July 1926 – 20 May 2008), better known as Bang Ali, was an Indonesian politician who served as the fourth governor of Jakarta from 1966 until 1977. Prior to becoming governor, he served as Minister of Transportation from 1963 unt ...
.
Death
S. K. Trimurti died at 6:20 P.M. on 20 May 2008, at the age of 96, at the Gatot Soebroto Army Hospital (RSPAD) in Jakarta, Indonesia
Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
after being hospitalized for two weeks. She had been in failing health and confined to her bedroom for the prior year. According to her son, Heru Baskoro, Trimurti had died of a broken vein. She had also been suffering from a low hemoglobin
Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocyte ...
level and high blood pressure
Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...
.
A ceremony honoring Trimurti as a " heroine for Indonesia's independence" was held at the state palace in Central Jakarta
Central Jakarta ( id, Jakarta Pusat) is one of the five administrative cities () which form the Special Capital Region of Jakarta. It had 902,973 inhabitants according to the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,056,896 at the 2 ...
. She was buried at Kalibata Heroes Cemetery.
Personal life
In 1938 she was married to Muhammad Ibnu Sayuti, the typist Typist is a person who types, a clerical worker who writes documents, using a typewriter.
Skills and occupations
Typist may also refer to:
*Data entry clerk, someone who types data into a database via a computer or terminal.
* Audio typist, someone ...
of the Indonesian Declaration of Independence
The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...
, which was proclaimed by 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 ...
on 17 August 1945. Trimurti spent much of the rest of her life at her rented residence in Bekasi, West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
.
References
Bibliography
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*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trimurti, S. K.
1912 births
2008 deaths
People from Boyolali Regency
Indonesian women activists
Indonesian educators
Indonesian women educators
Indonesian journalists
Indonesian women journalists
Workers' rights activists
Indonesian women writers
Government ministers of Indonesia
Labour Party of Indonesia politicians
Women government ministers of Indonesia
People from Bekasi
Indonesian National Awakening
Indonesian torture victims
People of the Indonesian National Revolution
20th-century journalists
20th-century Indonesian women politicians
20th-century Indonesian politicians