Hamzah Tuppu

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Hamzah Tuppu (20 August 1920 – 30 June 1986), also written as Hamzah Daeng Tuppu, was an Indonesian Navy officer and journalist. He helped found the Indonesian Navy in Surabaya, East Java.

He was born in Borongcalla, Bontosunggu, in the Dutch East Indies. He was a descendant of Yusuf Al-Makassari. As a child he was raised by Karaeng Galesong XVI and other guardians, and he studied in Makassar. He worked at the Land Office in Makassar in 1938.

In 1941 he joined the anti-Dutch movement. He was arrested and imprisoned in Sengkang and later in Garut. While in Garut, he befriended Sukarni and read Tan Malaka, which inspired him. He was released in 1942.

During the Japanese occupation, he joined Jawa Hokokai and the Navy of Defenders of the Homeland, and he trained with the Imperial Japanese Navy. After Indonesia’s independence, he met Tan Malaka again and learned guerrilla tactics. Sukarni sent him to Surabaya with Sjamsu and others to take political action.

In Surabaya, Hamzah helped form the People’s Security Army Navy (BKR Navy) by recruiting sailors and maritime workers. He was a naval leader who designed defenses for when Dutch forces entered Java. He supported youth groups to form Battalion Sadar and ordered L. M. Idrus Effendi to return to Raha to lead the resistance.

In 1947 he led the D-81 Brigade Crew. In the 1950s he became editor-in-chief of Maega magazine. In 1956 the government proposed him as Governor of Sulawesi.

Hamzah died on 30 June 1986 and was buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery. He married Erma Doomik in 1945, and they had four children. A monument to him was built in South Galesong in 2002, and a street in Takalar is named after him.