Oey Tamba Sia

Oey Tamba Sia (1827 – October 7, 1856), also spelt Oeij Tambah Sia, or often mistakenly Oey Tambahsia, was a rich, Chinese-Indonesian playboy hanged by the Dutch colonial government due to his involvement in a number of murder cases in Batavia, now Jakarta, capital of colonial Indonesia.[1][2][3] His life has become part of Jakarta folklore, and inspired numerous literary works.[4][5]

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Oey.
Oey Tamba Sia
An engraving of Oey Tamba Sia in the French magazine L'Illustration (1857), based on a drawing by M. G. de Coudray
Born1827 (1827)
Pekalongan, Central Java, Dutch East Indies
Died1856 (aged 28–29)
Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
OccupationPlayboy
Spouse(s)Sim Hong Nio
Partner(s)Mas Ajoe Goendjing
Liesie
Liem Ing Nio
Parent(s)Luitenant Oey Thai Lo (father)
RelativesOey Makau Sia (brother)
Kapitein Oey Giok Koen (nephew)

Life

Born in 1827, Oey was the son of Oey Thai Lo, also known as Oey Thoa, a Chinese-born tycoon and tobacco magnate, originally from Pekalongan, Central Java, who had been appointed Luitenant der Chinezen of Kongsi Besar in Batavia.[6][7] This was a civil government position in the colonial bureaucracy with legal and political jurisdiction over the local Chinese community.[8] As the son of a Chinese officer, Oey Tamba held the hereditary title of Sia; and his family belonged to the Cabang Atas or the traditional Chinese establishment of colonial Indonesia.[9]

A litograph of Batavia, based on a drawing by C. Deeleman (1859).

Aged 15 years old, Oey Tamba Sia lost his father, Luitenant Oey Thai Lo, who died in 1838, leaving his children a large fortune that supposedly amounted to 2 million guilders.[7][6] Local folklore has it that, although handsome and fashionable, the young Oey was an arrogant young man and a notorious womanizer - character flaws that were compounded by his enviable inheritance.[2][7][10] Oey was married to Sim Hong Nio.[2]

The late colonial writer Phoa Kian Sioe alleges that Oey was dismissive of the city's Chinese officers, who were his late father's friends and colleagues in the colonial bureaucracy.[2] In particular, Oey was disrespectful towards Tan Eng Goan, 1st Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia, head of the city's Chinese community, because the latter had relied on Oey's father for financial support.[2] According to Phoa, Oey spurned the exasperated Majoor's Confucian exhortations for gentlemanly behaviour and his offer of a Chinese lieutenancy.[2] Oey developed instead a fierce rivalry with the Majoor's son-in-law, Lim Soe Keng Sia.[2]

Oey ordered the killing of Sutedjo, brother of his concubine Mas Adjeng Goendjing, whom he mistakenly thought was her lover.[1][2][10] Oey also masterminded the poisoning of his servant Oey Tjeng Kie in order to implicate his rival, Lim Soe Keng Sia.[1][2][10] Although Lim, the Majoor's son-in-law, was initially and scandalously apprehended by the authorities, further police and court investigations revealed Oey as the mastermind of both murders.[1][2][10]

The Landraad (or criminal court) sentenced Oey Tamba Sia to death by public hanging.[1][2] Oey's family attempted an appeal to the Raad van Justitie (or high court) and for clemency from the Governor-General, both of which were rejected.[2][10]

At dawn on October 7, 1856, Oey Tamba Sia was hanged to death on Batavia's main town square in front of the Stadhuis, or town hall (now the Jakarta History Museum).[2][10]

Tjoa Boan Soeij's Oeij Tambah Sia (first edition, second volume)

Cultural and literary significance

The case of Oey Tamba Sia scandalized colonial Jakarta because it involved figures from the very heart of the city's Chinese establishment, including Oey himself, his rival Lim and the latter's father-in-law, Majoor Tan Eng Goan.[10] The scandal attracted international media attention at the time, and was — for instance — covered in a lengthy news article in the French magazine L'Illustration (1857).

The rivalry between Oey and Lim further was seen in subsequent literature as a cautionary tale of lack of Confucian virtue, which necessitated a reestablishment of the Confucian ethical and social order.[4] The scandal inspired a series of folk stories, poems and novellas in the Dutch East Indies, and became part of Jakarta folklore, as well as the Chinese-Indonesian collective memory.[4]

In 1903, Thio Tjin Boen published Tambahsia: Soewatoe tjerita jang betoel soedah kedjadian di Betawi antara tahoen 1851-1856, based on Oey's life.[11] Not long after, in 1906, Tjoa Boan Soeij published a story in verse, entitled Sair swatoe tjeritajang betoel soeda kedjadian di Tanah Betawi dari halnja Oeij Tambah Sia, tatkalah Sri Padoeka toean besar Duymaer van Twist mendjabat Gouverneur General koetika tahoen 1851.[12] Tjoa published another work in 1922 based on Oey's life, called Tambah Sia.

In 1956, the historian and writer Phoa Kian Sioe published Sedjarahnja Souw Beng Kong (tangan-kanannja G.G. Jan Pieterszoon Coen), Phoa Beng Gan (achli pengairan dalam tahun 1648), Oey Tamba Sia (hartawan mati ditiang penggantungan), a collection of historical anecdotes about the Chinese community of Jakarta.[2][4]

Oey's life also partly inspired Atilah Soeryadjaya's 2013 musical, 'Ariah'.[13]

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References
  1. Geregtelijke statistiek: vergelijkende statistiek van de werkzaamheden bij den Raad van Justitie te Batavia en Samarang, in de jaren 1854 en 1855 (in Dutch). Batavia. 1856.
  2. Phoa, Kian Sioe (1956). Sedjarahnja: Souw Beng Kong, Phoa Beng Gan, Oey Tamba Sia (in Indonesian). Djakarta: Reporter. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  3. Haris, Syamsuddin (2007). Partai dan parlemen lokal era transisi demokrasi di Indonesia: studi kinerja partai-partai di DPRD kabupaten/kota (in Indonesian). Jakarta: TransMedia. ISBN 9789797990527. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  4. Salmon, Claudine (1992). Le moment "sino-malais" de la littérature indonésienne (in French). Paris: Association Archipel. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  5. Saidi, Ridwan (2003). Romansa Batavia: puisi Tanah Betawi (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Lembaga Kebudayaan Betawi. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  6. Oey, Kwie Djien (2015). Letnan Oey Thai Lo: anak tukang cukur miskin dari Fukien menjadi taipan di Betawi : sebuah novel historis, 1780-1838 (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Tira Pustaka. ISBN 9789794301005. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  7. Pelangi Cina Indonesia (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Intisari Mediatama. 2002.
  8. Lohanda, Mona (1996). The Kapitan Cina of Batavia, 1837-1942: A History of Chinese Establishment in Colonial Society. Jakarta: Djambatan. ISBN 9789794282571. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  9. Blussé, Leonard; Chen, Menghong (2003). The Archives of the Kong Koan of Batavia. Amsterdam: BRILL. ISBN 9004131574. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  10. Setiono, Benny G. (2008). Tionghoa Dalam Pusaran Politik (in Indonesian). Jakarta: TransMedia. ISBN 9789797990527. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  11. "Oey Tambahsia, Si Tampan yang Lupa Diri". liputan6.com. Liputan 6. 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  12. Tjoa, Boan Soeij (1922). Sair swatoe tjerita jang betoel soeda kedjadian di Tanah Betawie dari halnja Oeij Tambah Sia, tatkalah Sri Padoeka Toean Besar Duymaer van Twist mendjabat Gouverneur-Generaal koetika tahon 1851 (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  13. "'Ariah' radiates the spirit of Betawi". The Jakarta Post. June 30, 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
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