Jahja Daniel Dharma, BMP (11 March 1911 – 28 August 1988), also known as John Lie, a National Hero of Indonesia, was one of the first high ranking navy commanders during the Indonesian National Revolution. He was a Chinese Indonesian.[1][2]
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He was born in Manado, Sulawesi (then known as Celebes), on March 9, 1911 to Lie Kae Tae and Oei Tjeng Nie Nio. He started his navy career as a ship-navigator on a Dutch merchant vessel, He joined the Kesatuan Rakyat Indonesia Sulawesi (KRIS), a local militia group in Celebes during the Indonesian War of Independence The marine division of this group became later a part of the Indonesian Navy. Initially, he was stationed in the naval harbour of Cilacap, Java. Within a few months, he managed to clear this harbour from mines, placed by the Imperial Japanese Navy against an eventual Allied naval invasion. For his services, he was promoted to Navy Mayor
In 1947, he was assigned the duty of escorting boats smuggling products to Singapore to be sold for financing the Indonesian independence war. One of his first duties was to escort a convoy of small boats that was carrying 800 tons of rubber to the Chief Representative of the Republic of Indonesia in Singapore, Utoyo Ramelan. During these revolutionary years the Dutch government imposed a naval blockade around Singapore to stop illegal activities by Indonesians. Commander John Lie's duties were to penetrate this blockade and smuggle rubber and other products in exchange for weapons. The weapons were than handed over to the Indonesian revolutionary troops in Sumatra and among others also to the Regent of Riau, an Indonesian ruler during the Dutch colonial time.[3]
Their efforts were not always easy. The boats used for the smuggling were small coastal transport boats (sampan) and not designed for the high seas. Their group had to avoid the better equipped Dutch patrol boats and also the ocean waves. John Lie used for his operations a speedboat, named the Outlaw. Once while he was smuggling 18 drums of palm oil, he was captured by British customs. In the Singapore court however he was found not guilty and released as he had not violate any British laws. During another incident, while transporting semi-automatic weapons from Johor to Sumatra, he was stopped by a Dutch patrol boat. John Lie informed them that his ship was stranded and couldn't move. Two gunners, probably from the Moluccas, were already aiming their weapons at the Outlaw, but the patrol boat commander didn't issue the shoot command. They just left the Outlaw in the middle of the sea without helping or investigating. After this incident and after handing over the weapons to the Regent Usman Effendi and battalion commander Abusamah, the crew received an official letter from the revolutionary government of Indonesiastating that Outlaw was now part of the Indonesian naval fleet and was designated the official navy-name PPB 58 LB. A week later, John Lie return to Port Swettenham in Malaya to establish a naval base. This base was used to supply the struggling revolutionary government troops with fuel, gasoline, food, weapons, and other needs to maintain the independence of Indonesia.
In early 1950, while in Bangkok, he was called for duty to Surabaya by the Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Subiyakto and assigned the command of a navy ship, the Rajawali. In the following period he commanded his crew in the fight against the Republic of the South Moluccas (RMS) Maluku and Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) rebellions. He retired from the Navy on December 1966 with the rank of Rear Admiral.
He died after a stroke on August 27, 1988 and was buried in the national heroes cemetery, Kalibata Jakarta. For his services and contributions to the country, he was posthumously awarded with the Bintang Mahaputera Utama by President Suharto on November 10, 1995.
On November 10, 2009 (Indonesia Heroes' Day), for his services to the country before and after independence, Jahja Daniel Dharma was named an Indonesia National Hero by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on behalf of the nation.[4]
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