Ibrahim bin Yaacob (1911 – 8 March 1979) was a Malayan politician. An opponent of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

government, he was president and founder of the ''

Kesatuan Melayu Muda Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM) ( Jawi: كساتوان ملايو مودا ; "Young Malays Union" in Malay) was the first leftist and national political establishment in British Malaya. Founded by Ibrahim Yaacob and Ishak Haji Muhammad, KMM grew ...

'' (KMM). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he supported the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

during their occupation of Malaya. Arrested by the British colonial government, he was freed by the Japanese in February 1942, and went on to save hundreds of Malayan soldiers from being killed during the occupation; this saved him from being arrested by

Force 136 Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's Or ...

after the war. He died in Jakarta on 8 March 1979. Ibrahim was born in Temerloh,

Pahang Pahang (; Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a sultanate and ...

, to a family of Bugis descent. In 1929, he joined the Sultan Idris Teachers' Training College and graduated two years later as a teacher. During the 1930s, he wrote a series of articles that were critical of the British administration in Malay newspapers and was later forced to resign after receiving a warning from the British authorities. He became the editor of a nationalistic newspaper, ''Majlis'', and formed the KMM in 1938. The goal of KMM was to achieve independence for Malaya through union with

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. As a member of KMM, he welcomed and worked with Japanese as he believed that Japanese would aid Malaya in gaining independence and support its fifth column activities.

Places named after him

Several places were named after him, including: * SMK Dato' Ibrahim Yaacob, a secondary school in Kuala Lumpur * Kolej Ibrahim Yaakub, a residential college at

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia The National University of Malaysia ( ms, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, abbreviated as UKM) is a public university located in Bandar Baru Bangi, Hulu Langat District, Selangor, Malaysia. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malays ...

, Bangi, Selangor

References

1911 births 1979 deaths Malaysian people of Bugis descent Malaysian politicians Malayan collaborators with Imperial Japan People from Pahang Japanese occupation of Singapore Members of the Dewan Negara {{Malaysia-politician-stub