Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Harry A. Poeze is a Dutch historian who has dedicated half his life to unraveling the mysteries surrounding Tan Malaka, an obscure Indonesian hero once vilified and forgotten by the nation whose independence he had fought for.

An avid reader of history books, young Poeze was fascinated by stories of the early Dutch settlers in the archipelago, although they taught him about little more than the famous Dutch hero Jan Pieterszoon Coen – a villain in the eyes of Indonesians.

Not until he studied politics at the University of Amsterdam in the 1970s and became infatuated with the flowering nationalist movement in early 20th century Indonesia did he become aware of Tan Malaka, who once lived in the Netherlands and became the first Indonesian to run for a seat in the Dutch parliament.

At the time, he recalled, Tan Malaka's name appeared occasionally in some history books written by Dutch historians. He was then – and is probably even today – overshadowed by politicians such as Sukarno or Sjahrir.

There was not much information on the Marxist thinker, Poeze said. The man was probably considered insignificant in Indonesia's history.

Historians were unsure even about his whereabouts during the decisive period that led the country to independence, let alone his role in the revolution.

"Sometimes they (Dutch historians) mentioned the name of Tan Malaka. He might have been there, he probably did this," Poeze told The Jakarta Post at a recent interview at the office of his publisher, Yayasan Obor Indonesia.

Poeze then wrote a dissertation on Tan Malaka, which was published in 1976 under the title Tan Malaka Strijder voor Indonesie's vrijheid: Levensloop van 1897 tot 1945 (Tan Malaka, a Fighter for Indonesian Freedom: Life from 1897 to 1945).

It was not too difficult for him to write Tan Malaka's life up to 1945 as the "lonely fighter" had written an autobiography while in exile.

The holy grail for Poeze's research would then be Tan Malaka's political activities during and after the 1945 proclamation of independence.

Poeze visited Indonesia a few times, but only to return to his homeland without any worthwhile findings. Not until the 1980s, after meeting with Tan Malaka's former secretary, did he manage to shed some light on the hero's political activities during the revolution. However, he was then appointed the publications director of The Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV), leaving him only one day a week to work on his research.

After decades of researching and writing, he finally published a book – 2,200 pages divided into three volumes – in which he argues that the exiled Marxist politician played an important role in the revolution before his death at the hand of an Indonesian soldier in 1949.

The book, titled Verguisd en vergeten; Tan Malaka, de links beweging en de Indonesiche Revolutie, 1945-1949 (Vilified and Forgotten: Tan Malaka, the Leftist Movement and the Indonesian Revolution, 1945-1949), is now being translated into Indonesian.

The Indonesian version will be released in six volumes, the first of which was launched recently at a gathering of a large number of Tan Malaka's supporters, predominantly young people.

"Many Indonesians helped me to write the book. It is only a token of my appreciation to them that I want my books to be translated into Indonesian and to be used as a source of understanding of what transpired at the beginning of the revolution," he said.

The publisher, Yayasan Obor Indonesia, said the public enthusiasm for the translation was extraordinary, as indicated by large number of people attending the launch event.

But Poeze was not entirely surprised. He said he was aware of the increasing recognition for Tan Malaka, who has become a cult figure comparable to Che Guevara among Indonesian youth following the fall of iron-fisted leader Soeharto.

Controversially dubbed "The Father of Development", Soeharto persistently demonized Tan Malaka for his leftist and radical thoughts, striking his name from the pages of history while he was in power.

Poeze recalled how he had to trick librarians and archive staff to get important documents during the New Order regime.

"I always said I was researching the Indonesian revolution, which was true of course. But I never mentioned the name of Tan Malaka because if I mentioned him, they would say, "No, no, you can't write about Tan Malaka. This is a touchy and sensitive issue'," he said.

Soeharto's dictatorship was only one of many obstacles. Another huge problem was the rumors, myths and legends surrounding the life of Tan Malaka, a charismatic, self-effacing figure who chose to live underground. "There were about 20 versions of his death and to write one of them was difficult," he said.

One man, he said, claimed to have shot the forgotten hero, but he was convinced the claim was at best erroneous. "He did shoot someone whom he thought was Tan Malaka. "You must be like a detective," he quipped.

The eyewitnesses he interviewed in the 1980s had mostly died and some of the important documents he acquired in Yogyakarta have since been lost. His research, he said, thus could not be repeated.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Poeze has been able to collect new materials – including articles Tan Malaka anonymously wrote for international Communist newspapers – to revise his dissertation. Poeze's son, who married an Indonesian woman, is now running an Indonesian restaurant in Haarlem in the Netherlands, which is, coincidentally, only 100 meters from Tan Malaka's house while he was studying there, in "the land of the colonizers".

Asked for his personal opinion on the Indonesian hero, the 62-year-old said the man was admirable, "but he made a lot mistakes". "History is written by the winner and Tan Malaka was continuously the loser," said the jovial Dutch historian.