A New History of Syarikat Islam Bulukumba

SI (Syarikat Islam) is a large organization working in religion, social affairs, trade, education, and very important, politics; it doctrine its intellectual figures to fight against Dutch colonialism. Take for example H.O.S. Cokroaminoto, Agus Salim, Soekarno, Semaun, Kartosuwiryo, Muso, and many more.

Differences in ideology made them clash with each other. H.O.S. Cokroaminoto and Agus Salim represented the religious nationalist group and clashed with Semaun and Muso. Meanwhile, Soekarno, who was a pure nationalist, very clearly clashed with Kartosuwiryo, who wanted to establish the Islamic State of Indonesia.

Cross-Faction Meeting
Several figures in Bulukumba gathered to form the SI board. Will they clash with each other too? Syahruni Haris sees that as just a historical nostalgia. “Learn from past mistakes, do not repeat bad history but create new history,” explained this Vice Chairman of the legislative assembly in Bulukumba regency.

As a follow-up to unify their perception, a meeting of several Bulukumba figures from various backgrounds—from the “left, right, front, and back” groups (the author’s term)—gathered at Circle on Saturday, May 16, 2026.

Will they clash with each other like their predecessors?

The present era is no longer about ideological clashes and physical warfare like the independence era, but about how to fill the independence, as explained below.

Answering the Challenges of the Era for SI Bulukumba
From its great history, it is important to remember that SI did not disband but continues to move dynamically according to the changing times. Currently, the General Chairman of central SI is Prof. Dr. Hamdan Zoelva, S.H., M.H., the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court.

In this year of 2026, SI is present in Bulukumba Regency, South Sulawesi.

Ahmad Said, the Chairman of the Bulukumba SI Branch Council, gave an introduction stating that SI Bulukumba will monitor the policies of the Indonesian government in Bulukumba, oversee the running of the local government, and be actively involved in advocating and educating Muslims, as done by Islamic organizations. SI, which was originally SDI (Syarikat Dagang Islam), certainly has a high focus on reviving the spirit of public entrepreneurship by supporting cooperative programs, not as an antithesis but as an initiation of what the government has done today.

The idea was well received. Abdul Kahar Muslim as the Branch Leader and Iwan Salassa, the Vice Chairman of the Bulukumba SI Branch, added that the representation of women figures in SI is also very important to fight for the rights of women’s struggle.

Next Steps
Of course, there are still many smart ideas that must be born and worked on. H. A. Haris Ishak, the Secretary of the Bulukumba SI Branch, views that other systematic strategic activity plans will be discussed at the SI Work Program Meeting, which will then be socialized to the public so that people connected to the SI program can be actively involved and participate.
“May Allah SWT always grant the gifts of health, blessings, and His mercy to all of us,” closed Abdul Kahar Muslim.

Closing
SI has produced great ideas and figures according to their respective ideologies. It has the awareness not to fall into Indonesia’s dark history. Now, the figures of SI Bulukumba emphasize more on combining all the resources they have to collaborate in supporting the work programs that will strengthen SI’s mission: Independence of the Ummah, Economic independence, Inclusive dakwah, and Social justice.

Zulkarnain Patwa
Bulukumba, Sunday, May 17, 2026