Tan Malaka and the Netherlands
After graduating from Kweekschool Bukit Tinggi, with the help of Horensma with a loan from Engkufonds, Tan Malaka continued his education at Rijks Kweekschool in Haarlem, Nederland. During his schooling in Harleem, Tan Malaka had moved several times. The first time he came, he lived in a boarding house with other Rijks Kweekschool students, but because he didn’t feel at home, he finally decided to move to Jacobijnestraat and live in a rented room belonging to a Dutch family named Van der Mij.
The condition of the house he occupies is described in Prison to Prison as follows “In a rented house of a working family, a small house on a small street, also coincidentally named Jacobijnestraat, I live in a dark narrow attic room”.
During his stay in the Netherlands, Tan Malaka was often sick due to the unsuitable Dutch food and climate and suffered from pleuritus (Susilo: 2008: 15). With poor quality food, unsanitary rooms, and never wearing a thick jacket, Tan Malaka began to develop pneumonia in the summer of 1915. Since then, she has never been one hundred per cent healthy. In 1916 his health deteriorated again, making it difficult to attend school. He even passed the exam in an unhealthy condition.