Loa Sek Hie

Loa Sek Hie Sia (born in Batavia in 1898 - died in The Hague in 1965) was a politician, patrician and landlord of Peranakan Chinese and Indo-European roots in the Dutch East Indies. All through his political career, he campaigned against racial discrimination and demanded better healthcare and education for ethnic Chinese in the Dutch colony. During the Indonesian Revolution, he was instrumental in the founding of a Chinese self-defense force, called Pao An Tui, and served as Voorzitter, or chairman, of its Central Committee.

Family and Education

Loa was born in Pasar Baru, Batavia into one of the city's most prominent families. His grandfather was the famous tycoon Loa Po Seng, of Jalan Poseng in Pasar Baru, while his father, Loa Tiang Hoei, was Kapitein der Chinezen of Pasar Baru. This was a civil government appointment with legal and political authority over the local Chinese community.

Loa's mother, Louise Goldman, came from an Indo-European family of Austrian-Jewish descent, but long settled in the Indies. His adoptive mother and stepmother - his father's senior wife - was a cousin of Tio Tek Ho, penultimate Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia. As a descendant of Chinese officers, Loa bore the hereditary title of Sia, which he disliked and rarely used.

He was educated at the Europeesche Lagere School (ESL) and the Hoogere Burgerschool (HBS) in Batavia. Despite his largely European education, Loa was brought up by his Indo-European mother to valorise the customs and ideals of Chinese civilisation.

In 1919, Louise Goldman arranged for her son to marry Corry Tan, daughter of a prominent landlord, Tan Liok Tiauw Sia, Landheer van Batoe-Tjepper. The young couple settled down in the then newly developed, fashionable suburb of Menteng in the outskirts of Batavia.

Colonial career

Loa was appointed to the Volksraad in 1927, and also sat on the Municipal Council of Batavia. From 1928 until 1951, he served on the Executive Board of Chung Hwa Hui (CHH), a political party that advocated change through cooperation with the Dutch colonial state. Loa was also part of the Masonic Lodge of Batavia. He felt that it was an impartial space that allowed for the many difference races and religions of Indonesia to meet in terms of fraternal equality.

A session of the Volksraad.

As parliamentarian, Loa worked closely with Hok Hoei Kan, chairman of CHH, to abolish discriminatory policies against Chinese subjects of the colony. He campaigned further for the creation of educational and health institutions for the Chinese community. To remedy perceived government indifference, Loa played a leading role in the establishment of Jang Seng Ie (now Husada Hospital). He served on the governing council of the hospital from 1924 until 1951.

Around 1929, he provided a character reference to the government for Liem Bwan Tjie, a well-known architect whose return from overseas had been obstructed due to suspected communist sympathies. Liem stayed at the Loa family residence, and helped remodel it - a project that became the architect's first commission back in the Indies.

When the Second World War broke out, Loa was apprehended by the occupying Japanese forces due to his perceived closeness with the Dutch colonial state. He was interned for much of the war, and was released in 1945.

Indonesian National Revolution

In the feverish atmosphere that followed the end of the War and the start of the Indonesian Revolution, he deemed it important for the Chinese community to be able to defend its interests militarily. So, Loa became one of the founders of Pao An Tui, which many revolutionaries later accused to be a fighting, pro-Dutch militia. He served as Voorzitter, or chairman, of the organisation's Central Committee. Pao An Tui received both arms and funding from the Allies, but also obtained the support of Indonesia's first Prime Minister, Sutan Sjahrir. During the tenure of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration, Loa acted as an adviser to Hubertus van Mook, the country's acting Governor-General.

After it became clear that Indonesia was to attain independence, Loa supported the federal movement that he felt would give the country its best chance of developing a strong civil society and a pluralist state. The federal movement, however, did not gain widespread popular support due to perceived Dutch patronage. With the defeat of federalism by the centralist faction, led by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, Loa withdrew from the political sphere.

Exile and Death

Sukarno consulted Loa Sek Hie on issues ranging from Dutch business interests to Freemasonry in Indonesia, but generally ignored the latter's advice. Loa left Indonesia for the Netherlands when it became apparent that he was too closely associated with the colonial establishment in Sukarno's increasingly pro-Communist state. He died in The Hague in 1965.