Changes called for Yogyakarta Palace<\/p>\n
By Asip A. Hasani<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The need to reform has reached the Yogyakarta
\nPalace and this has been made clear by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono
\nX during the 254th anniversary of the Javanese aristocracy.<\/p>\n
\"Is the keraton ( palace) worthy of its position in these
\ndifficult times. The palace has no choice but to reposition and
\nreform itself,\" the sultan said in his speech, which was read out
\nby his wife Gusti Kanjeng Ratu Hemas during a modest celebration
\non Sunday night to commemorate the palace's anniversary,
\naccording to the Javanese calendar.<\/p>\n
Compared to last year when the anniversary commemoration
\nincluded an orchestra and poetry reading presentation, this
\nyear's celebration was modest.
\nOnly semaan (Koran reading) and mujahadah (mass prayer) were held
\nin the palace compound during the two-day celebration.<\/p>\n
Still, thousands of people -- mostly members of the Muslim
\norganization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and students from various
\nIslamic boarding schools in Yogyakarta and its surrounding cities
\n-- attended the ceremony. However, Hamengkubuwono was absent as
\nhe was attending a meeting with the Central Java governor in the
\nnearby town of Surakarta.<\/p>\n
In his speech, the sultan said the spirit to reform the palace
\nought to come not merely from external pressure of social change
\nbut also internal creativity and dynamism.<\/p>\n
The statement, however, is ironical as the palace houses some
\n2,000 abdi dalem, the palace's servants who are paid between Rp
\n3,000 and Rp 15,000 each a month for their devotion to the
\npalace. The abdi dalem's devotion to the palace and sultan are
\nbased on respect and belief of the sultan's nobility.<\/p>\n
However, the sultan's statement should be taken seriously as
\nthe Yogyakarta Palace is still influential in today's social and
\npolitical arena. It cannot be denied that Yogyakartans and many
\nother people in Central Java and in some parts of East Java,
\nespecially the rural people, still highly respect the sultan as
\nthe sovereign king of Java.<\/p>\n
The statement is therefore the sultan's idea on how the
\nYogyakarta palace can cope with the changing social and political
\nsituation in the country.<\/p>\n
\"The keraton will face serious challenges in 2003 when Sultan
\nHamengkubuwono X's first five-year term as Yogyakarta governor
\nends,\" historian P.J. Soewarno of the Yogyakarta-based Sanata
\nDharma Catholic University said.<\/p>\n
The historian said the province's special status, which was
\ngranted by first president Sukarno for Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX's
\nrole in the fight against the Dutch colonial masters and freedom
\nmovement, was important for Sultan Hamengkubuwono X to carry out
\nhis oath. When he was sworn in as sultan in 1989, Hamengkubuwono
\nX made an oath of Tahta untuk Kesejahteraan Sosial dan Budaya
\n(The Throne for Social and Cultural Prosperity).\"This does not
\nmean that without a clear political position in the country, the
\nkeraton and the royal family cannot accomplish the pledge to
\nserve the people,\" Soewarno said.<\/p>\n
Decree No. 22\/1948 on regional administration and Decree No.
\n3\/1950 on Yogyakarta's special status give the Yogyakarta
\nPalace's sultan and adipati (regent) of Pakualaman the right to
\nhold the position of Yogyakarta governor and deputy governor
\nrespectively without competing in the local legislative council
\nelections.<\/p>\n
However, the present development in the society, according to
\nSoewarno, might bring new challenges to Hamengkubuwono X's second
\nterm of office as Yogyakarta's governor. Urban and educated
\npeople might oppose his political privilege, although the people
\nin the rural areas would support him fanatically.<\/p>\n
\"Some non-governmental organizations have urged that the race
\nfor the governor's post should be open to common people in 2003,
\nwhile others want the change be made in 2008,\" Soewarno said.<\/p>\n
The implementation of the Regional Autonomy Law may be another
\nthreat to his reelection in 2003 as the provincial legislative
\ncouncil now has more authority in determining the province's
\npolitical rule.<\/p>\n
Palace history<\/p>\n
Prince Mangkubumi, a younger brother of the sultan of the
\nSurakarta Pakubuwono II, founded the Yogyakarta Palace. The
\nGianti Treaty, which was signed in 1755 according to the
\nGregorian calendar and 1168 according to the Javanese calendar,
\ngranted Prince Mangkubumi half of Mataram Kingdom's territory,
\nincluding some regions in Central and East Java.<\/p>\n
Soon, Mangkubumi set up his palace in Yogyakarta and was
\ncrowned Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. Just like the Mataram Kingdom,
\nthe Yogyakarta Palace at that time was also under the authority
\nof the Dutch company VOC and later under the Dutch army.<\/p>\n
During the rule of Sultan Hamengkubuwono IV, the Dutch army
\ntook most of the palace's territory, leaving only it only three
\nregencies.<\/p>\n
Previously, during the rule of Hamengkubuwono III, Yogyakarta
\nwas forced to surrender most of the Kulonprogo territory to one
\nof Hamengkubuwono I's sons, Pangeran Notokusumo, who was later
\ncrowned as Sultan Pakualam I. He then established an autonomous
\nkingdom within the palace's territory, which was named
\nPakualaman.<\/p>\n
Only when Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX came to power, Yogyakarta
\nresisted the Dutch colonial master's control by limiting the
\nauthority of the palace's pepatih dalem (prime minister) through
\nwhom the Dutch used to exercise its control over the palace.<\/p>\n
When the Japanese soldiers defeated the Dutch army in 1940s,
\nHamengkubuwono IX was able to fully execute his authority as
\nsultan and concentrate on his people's prosperity. For example,
\nhe protected Yogyakartans from Japanese forced labor by
\nmobilizing the people to build the Mataram drainage.<\/p>\n
When Sukarno and Hatta were sworn in as first president and
\nvice president respectively of the newly established Republic of
\nIndonesia, Hamengkubuwono IX, along with Pakualam VIII,
\ncongratulated the two national leaders. In September 1945,
\nHamengkubuwono IX and Pakualam VIII declared that Yogyakarta was
\npart of the Republic of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"That was a brave step of the sultan as he risked his own
\nsafety,\" another historian G. Moedjanto said.<\/p>\n
First president Sukarno then granted the province a special
\nstatus, freeing it from applying the national law on land (UUPA)
\nin settling land affairs.<\/p>\n
In 1946, Hamengkubuwono IX initiated the establishment of
\nGadjah Mada University and allowed the students to use the palace
\nas their classrooms.<\/p>\n
Three years later, in 1949, Hamengkubuwono IX again showed his
\nnationalist stance by planing a massive and sudden attack on the
\nDutch army in the city. The attack, which was aimed at attracting
\ninternational attention on the Indonesian resistance, was
\nlaunched on March 1 and is popularly known as March 1, 1949
\nPublic Attack.<\/p>\n
Transition<\/p>\n
According to G. Moedjanto, Hamengkubuwono IX was successful in
\nguiding the Yogyakarta Kingdom through the transitional period
\nfrom the colonial days to independence. Hamengkubuwono X, who was
\ncrowned in 1989, six months after his father died in October
\n1988, therefore bears a challenging mandate to continue leading
\nthe palace.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the graduate of Gadjah Mada University's School of Law
\nseems to have been following his father's step. In May 1998,
\naccompanied by Pakualam VIII, Hamengkubuwono X read out the Royal
\nFamily of Yogyakarta Palace and Pakualaman Announcement called
\nMaklumat Rakyat Yogyakarta. It was a strong critique on the
\nleadership of the then president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Political observer Pratikno of Gadjah Mada University,
\nhowever, says the toughest challenge facing Hamengkubuwono X is
\nproving that he is a representative of the palace and a true
\nleader of his people.<\/p>\n
\"He must erase the impression of being an opportunistic
\nleader. People have not forgotten that he was chief of the local
\nbranch of the unpopular ruling Golkar Party during the Soeharto
\nera,\" Pratikno said.<\/p>\n
People, Pratikno said, were getting more critical.
\nHamengkubuwono X's will to reform the palace, therefore, should
\ninclude the spirit to erase the image that the history of the
\nIslamic Mataram Kingdom is a history of opportunistic rulers.<\/p>\n
\"If he achieves significant development in the province, like
\nhis father, he can someday move to Jakarta and serve the country
\nat the national level,\" Pratikno said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/changes-called-for-yogyakarta-palace-1447893297",
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