According to a copy of Johannes Marliem's family registration card at the Harjosari II Subdistrict Office in Medan, North Sumatra, he was born in 1985 to Sahat Panjaitan and Sufia, who is of Chinese descent.

Even though Marliem's father is ethnic Batak, Marliem did not have a surname. The family lived in Villa Gading Mas Marindal, a middle-class residential complex not far from the residence of North Sumatra Governor Tengku Erry Nuradi. Marliem wa