Zulkifli Lubis

General Zulkifli Lubis (26 December 1923 – 23 June 1993) was Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army from 8 May 1955 to 26 June 1955 and founder and first chairman of the first Intelligence Agency in Indonesia.

Early life Zulkifli was the fifth of ten children. His father was Aden Lubis, with the title of Sutan Srialam and his mother was Siti Rewan Nasution. Both of his parents were teachers at a Normaalschool.

Zulkifli Lubis enjoyed a Dutch education at the Hollandsch Inlansche School. After completing HIS, then Zulkifli continued to Meer Uitgebreid Lager Onderwijs (MULO). At that time Zulkifli Lubis began reading the Deli Blaad newspaper, which he obtained from a friend who was selling it. Through Deli Blaad, Zulkifli got to know the speeches of Sukarno, Hatta, Mohammad Husni Thamrin and debates in the Volksraad. At MULO, Zulkifli and his friends were members of a Patriot group. They conducted silent opposition to Dutch rule by not singing the Dutch anthem, Wilhelmus, during ceremonies and inviting other participants in the ceremony to not sing as well.

After graduating from MULO, Zulkifli continued to Algemeene Middlebare School B in Yogyakarta. At AMS B, Zulkifli and his friends often held national discussions, including people from Parindra.

In December 1943, the shodancho were appointed and then returned to their respective cities or regions of origin to participate in the formation of daidan (battalions). Second Lieutenants Zulkifli Lubis, Kemal Idris, Sabirin Mochtar, Satibi Darwis, Daan Mogot, Effendi, and Kusnowibowo helped Captain Tsuhiya Kiso to prepare for the formation of daidans on the island of Bali. Zulkifli Lubis, Kemal Idris and Daan Mogot were involved in a special team called Boei Giyugun Shidobu with the task of dealing with matters concerning the PETA battalions.

After studying intelligence abroad, Zulkifli returned to Indonesia, where he was involved in the Japanese plan to form intelligence groups in various places in Java as a guerrilla force to confront a potential Allied landing.

After the Japanese surrender, the Allies landed with little resistance from the intelligence group organized by Zulkifli Lubis.

In April 1946, the PMC branch in Purwakarta received fierce opposition from the army, because it was accused of carrying out a series of arbitrary arrests and seizures. These objections also appeared in other areas and led to the disbandment of the PMC by the People's Security Army Headquarters on 3 May 1946. Then a few months later, Zulkifli and Sutjipto (leader of the General Military Investigator) were involved in The 3 July 1946 incident, an attempted power struggle led by Major General Sudarsono, Head of Division III Yogyakarta. Sutjipto was caught, but Zulkifli Lubis managed to escape.

Defense Minister Amir Sjarifuddin formed his own intelligence agency, called Defense Agency B, headed by former police commissioner, Sukardiman. This agency produced reports and analysis on the conditions for successful intelligence operations. On 4 April 1946, Amir Sjarifuddin ordered Roebiono, a doctor at the Defense Agency B, to form a secret news agency, called the Dinas Code – later to become the National Code Agency.

For political consolidation, while serving as Prime Minister of Indonesia, Amir Sjarifuddin dissolved Defense Agency B and Brani, forming a new agency, Section V (KPV), on 30 April 1947 as coordinator of intelligence operations, directly under the Ministry of Defense. After Bambang Sugeng resigned in mid 1955 he was appointed as Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army. Due to the large number of votes against him, because he was considered pro-Western, he was replaced by Bambang Utoyo.

After the Cikini Incident on 30 November 1957, Zulkifli Lubis was accused of being one of the masterminds, Zulkifli Lubis denied the accusation. Instead, he recommended peaceful action against the terrorists, Ismail and Saleh Ibrahim. Both were part of Islamic groups that formed a network of Zulkifli Lubis' cells. At the time of the incident, Zulkifli Lubis was not at the scene of the crime, he was with Colonel Prajitno in Cideng, but the army began hunting for Zulkifli Lubis.

Zulkifli Lubis moved to Sumatra, where he joined the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) in around 1958. Zukifli had sympathies for the officers in the regions, and wanted to oppose the central government, Afterwards, Zulkifli Lubis became a fugitive until the fall of Sukarno.