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Back to Home Page Features August 25, 2001
Changes called for Yogyakarta Palace
By Asip A. Hasani
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The need to reform has reached the Yogyakarta Palace
and this has been made clear by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X during the
254th anniversary of the Javanese aristocracy.
"Is the keraton ( palace) worthy of its position in these difficult
times. The palace has no choice but to reposition and reform itself,"
the sultan said in his speech, which was read out by his wife Gusti
Kanjeng Ratu Hemas during a modest celebration on Sunday night to
commemorate the palace's anniversary, according to the Javanese
calendar.
Compared to last year when the anniversary commemoration included an
orchestra and poetry reading presentation, this year's celebration was
modest. Only semaan (Koran reading) and mujahadah (mass prayer) were
held in the palace compound during the two-day celebration.
Still, thousands of people -- mostly members of the Muslim
organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and students from various Islamic
boarding schools in Yogyakarta and its surrounding cities -- attended
the ceremony. However, Hamengkubuwono was absent as he was attending a
meeting with the Central Java governor in the nearby town of
Surakarta.
In his speech, the sultan said the spirit to reform the palace ought
to come not merely from external pressure of social change but also
internal creativity and dynamism.
The statement, however, is ironical as the palace houses some 2,000
abdi dalem, the palace's servants who are paid between Rp 3,000 and Rp
15,000 each a month for their devotion to the palace. The abdi dalem's
devotion to the palace and sultan are based on respect and belief of
the sultan's nobility.
However, the sultan's statement should be taken seriously as the
Yogyakarta Palace is still influential in today's social and political
arena. It cannot be denied that Yogyakartans and many other people in
Central Java and in some parts of East Java, especially the rural
people, still highly respect the sultan as the sovereign king of Java.
The statement is therefore the sultan's idea on how the Yogyakarta
palace can cope with the changing social and political situation in
the country.
"The keraton will face serious challenges in 2003 when Sultan
Hamengkubuwono X's first five-year term as Yogyakarta governor ends,"
historian P.J. Soewarno of the Yogyakarta-based Sanata Dharma Catholic
University said.
The historian said the province's special status, which was granted by
first president Sukarno for Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX's role in the
fight against the Dutch colonial masters and freedom movement, was
important for Sultan Hamengkubuwono X to carry out his oath. When he
was sworn in as sultan in 1989, Hamengkubuwono X made an oath of Tahta
untuk Kesejahteraan Sosial dan Budaya (The Throne for Social and
Cultural Prosperity)."This does not mean that without a clear
political position in the country, the keraton and the royal family
cannot accomplish the pledge to serve the people," Soewarno said.
Decree No. 22/1948 on regional administration and Decree No. 3/1950 on
Yogyakarta's special status give the Yogyakarta Palace's sultan and
adipati (regent) of Pakualaman the right to hold the position of
Yogyakarta governor and deputy governor respectively without competing
in the local legislative council elections.
However, the present development in the society, according to
Soewarno, might bring new challenges to Hamengkubuwono X's second term
of office as Yogyakarta's governor. Urban and educated people might
oppose his political privilege, although the people in the rural areas
would support him fanatically.
"Some non-governmental organizations have urged that the race for the
governor's post should be open to common people in 2003, while others
want the change be made in 2008," Soewarno said.
The implementation of the Regional Autonomy Law may be another threat
to his reelection in 2003 as the provincial legislative council now
has more authority in determining the province's political rule.
Palace history
Prince Mangkubumi, a younger brother of the sultan of the Surakarta
Pakubuwono II, founded the Yogyakarta Palace. The Gianti Treaty, which
was signed in 1755 according to the Gregorian calendar and 1168
according to the Javanese calendar, granted Prince Mangkubumi half of
Mataram Kingdom's territory, including some regions in Central and
East Java.
Soon, Mangkubumi set up his palace in Yogyakarta and was crowned
Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. Just like the Mataram Kingdom, the Yogyakarta
Palace at that time was also under the authority of the Dutch company
VOC and later under the Dutch army.
During the rule of Sultan Hamengkubuwono IV, the Dutch army took most
of the palace's territory, leaving only it only three regencies.
Previously, during the rule of Hamengkubuwono III, Yogyakarta was
forced to surrender most of the Kulonprogo territory to one of
Hamengkubuwono I's sons, Pangeran Notokusumo, who was later crowned as
Sultan Pakualam I. He then established an autonomous kingdom within
the palace's territory, which was named Pakualaman.
Only when Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX came to power, Yogyakarta resisted
the Dutch colonial master's control by limiting the authority of the
palace's pepatih dalem (prime minister) through whom the Dutch used to
exercise its control over the palace.
When the Japanese soldiers defeated the Dutch army in 1940s,
Hamengkubuwono IX was able to fully execute his authority as sultan
and concentrate on his people's prosperity. For example, he protected
Yogyakartans from Japanese forced labor by mobilizing the people to
build the Mataram drainage.
When Sukarno and Hatta were sworn in as first president and vice
president respectively of the newly established Republic of Indonesia,
Hamengkubuwono IX, along with Pakualam VIII, congratulated the two
national leaders. In September 1945, Hamengkubuwono IX and Pakualam
VIII declared that Yogyakarta was part of the Republic of Indonesia.
"That was a brave step of the sultan as he risked his own safety,"
another historian G. Moedjanto said.
First president Sukarno then granted the province a special status,
freeing it from applying the national law on land (UUPA) in settling
land affairs.
In 1946, Hamengkubuwono IX initiated the establishment of Gadjah Mada
University and allowed the students to use the palace as their
classrooms.
Three years later, in 1949, Hamengkubuwono IX again showed his
nationalist stance by planing a massive and sudden attack on the Dutch
army in the city. The attack, which was aimed at attracting
international attention on the Indonesian resistance, was launched on
March 1 and is popularly known as March 1, 1949 Public Attack.
Transition
According to G. Moedjanto, Hamengkubuwono IX was successful in guiding
the Yogyakarta Kingdom through the transitional period from the
colonial days to independence. Hamengkubuwono X, who was crowned in
1989, six months after his father died in October 1988, therefore
bears a challenging mandate to continue leading the palace.
Indeed, the graduate of Gadjah Mada University's School of Law seems
to have been following his father's step. In May 1998, accompanied by
Pakualam VIII, Hamengkubuwono X read out the Royal Family of
Yogyakarta Palace and Pakualaman Announcement called Maklumat Rakyat
Yogyakarta. It was a strong critique on the leadership of the then
president Soeharto.
Political observer Pratikno of Gadjah Mada University, however, says
the toughest challenge facing Hamengkubuwono X is proving that he is a
representative of the palace and a true leader of his people.
"He must erase the impression of being an opportunistic leader. People
have not forgotten that he was chief of the local branch of the
unpopular ruling Golkar Party during the Soeharto era," Pratikno said.
People, Pratikno said, were getting more critical. Hamengkubuwono X's
will to reform the palace, therefore, should include the spirit to
erase the image that the history of the Islamic Mataram Kingdom is a
history of opportunistic rulers.
"If he achieves significant development in the province, like his
father, he can someday move to Jakarta and serve the country at the
national level," Pratikno said.