The Silent Loyalty: Remembering R.M. Oemargatab

In a world increasingly noisy with ambition and image, it is rare to find a figure who works in silence, serves without self-interest, and rejects the spotlight.
In the history of the Indonesian National Police, one name deserves to be spoken with reverence: Raden Mas Oemargatab — the officer who laid the foundations of police intelligence work and regarded service as a spiritual devotion to the nation.

Unspoken Patriotism

Our era is too quick to measure success by popularity.
But Oemargatab lived by a different philosophy. He believed that the duty of protecting the nation does not require recognition.
For him, intelligence was the art of guarding secrets with honesty — not a tool for domination.

During the fragile early years of the Republic, Oemargatab introduced a new perspective: that security is maintained not only through strength, but through the intelligence to read signs.
He built a system that was orderly, disciplined, and morally grounded — a foundation that became the DNA of Indonesia’s police intelligence.

The Silence That Guards the Nation

Oemargatab was known as a calm, dignified man with keen intuition.
His contemporaries said he seemed to possess a “sixth sense” in foreseeing situations. Yet he himself rejected such myths.

“Alertness is born from a pure heart,”
he wrote in his personal notes in 1952.

In his view, intelligence work was a quiet path — to understand the adversary, protect allies, and safeguard the people without stepping into the limelight.
He practiced an ethic of composure: rejecting noise, yet full of meaning.
For Oemargatab, silence did not mean weakness. Silence was the highest form of self-control.

Lessons for the Digital Era

Today, intelligence faces a new world — cyberspace, disinformation, and digital threats.
Technology tempts every security institution to act swiftly, even hastily.
Yet amid this torrent of data, Oemargatab’s values feel more relevant than ever: precision, patience, and inner clarity.

He reminded us that intelligence without morality is a danger,
and that speed without wisdom only produces noise.
True strength, as he taught, lies not in the ability to spy, but in loyalty to the nation’s direction.

Guarding the Morality of the Profession

More than a pioneer of systems, Oemargatab was a guardian of professional ethics.
He asserted that intelligence must serve the state, not individuals; the truth, not interests.
In today’s context, his teaching reads as an ethical message for every officer:
that power without integrity is illusion,
and intelligence without conscience loses its meaning.

At a time when the world demands transparency, Oemargatab’s quiet values remind us:
not everything should be exposed.
Some secrets must be kept — not to conceal, but to protect something greater: the nation’s sovereignty.

Epilogue: Loyalty in Silence

R.M. Oemargatab may not be widely known,
but within the Indonesian National Police and the Republic’s history,
his name pulses softly like the nation’s heartbeat.

He taught that true service needs no stage.
He taught that the highest strength arises from tranquility.
And he left us a timeless lesson —
that this nation is guarded not by loud voices,
but by silent loyalty.

By: Prof. Dr. Sukawati Lanang Perbawa, SH., M.Hum
Dean, Faculty of Law, Mahasaraswati University