Ibrahim Hj Yaacob

Who was Ibrahim Hj Yaacob?

Ibrahim bin Haji Yaacob was a Malayan politician. An opponent of the British colonial government, he was President and founder of the Kesatuan Melayu Muda. During World War II, he supported the Japanese during their occupation of Malaya. Imprisoned by the British, he was freed by the Japanese in February, 1942, only to be recaptured by British forces in Singapore later that same year. He died in Jakarta on March 8, 1979.

Yaacob was born in Temerloh, Pahang, 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 to the 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 is to achive independence for Malaya via union with Indonesia. As a members of KMM, he welcome and work with Japanese as they belief that Japanese will give Malaya independence and actively assist them through fifth colum activities.