Princely struggle for Cirebon throne<\/p>\n
Nana Rukmana, Cirebon, West Java<\/p>\n
A power struggle between two brothers claiming to be the rightful
\nheir to the sultanate of Cirebon has intensified since the demise
\nof Sultan Kanoman XI Prince Haji Muhammad Djalaluddin, two years
\nago. Both brothers are still at odds and steadfast in their
\nclaims.<\/p>\n
The conflict escalated following Prince Raja Muhammad
\nEmirudin's recent threat to remove every aristocratic title from
\nhim if Prince Muhammad Saladin and his kin still deny he is the
\nlegitimate Kanoman sultan.<\/p>\n
The threat was the second to have been made after he
\npreviously issued a warning letter to Saladin's family.<\/p>\n
The contrast between the two is that Emirudin has far more
\nsupporters, including the Magersari (palace circle), than
\nSaladin, who has received backing only from his direct siblings.<\/p>\n
The warning was conveyed by Emirudin's spokesman Prince H.
\nMuhammad Nasirudin. \"We shall be forced to strip them of their
\ntitles because they have not recognized Prince Emirudin as the
\nlegitimate Sultan Kanoman XII,\" said Nasirudin, who is chairman
\nof the Cirebon Kanoman Family Foundation (YFKKC).<\/p>\n
Last Sunday, Emirudin, assisted by hundreds of Magersari
\nmembers who live in the palace grounds, threatened to expel
\nSaladin and his family from the palace.<\/p>\n
The expulsion decision was enclosed in Sultan Kanoman XII's
\n(or Emirudin's) decree dated June 6, 2004, signed and announced
\nby Emirudin in front of a session attended by family and
\nMagersari members at the palace's Jinem Keraton Kanoman meeting
\nhall, Cirebon municipality, West Java.<\/p>\n
Saladin and his family were expelled by Emirudin on the
\ngrounds that they had tarnished the image of the palace by not
\nobeying rules or customs of the palace.<\/p>\n
Emirudin was accompanied by Nasirudin, Patih Pangeran Raja
\nMuhammad Qodiran, also his own sibling, as well as hundreds of
\npalace members from various areas in Cirebon such as Guwa,
\nRajagaluh, Jagapura and Mertapada, during the announcement.<\/p>\n
The ruling once again indicated the intensifying rift in the
\npower struggle at the Kanoman palace, which has prevailed for
\nmore than 18 months. The two heirs established themselves as
\nSultan Kanoman XII in early March last year, and since then the
\npalace has had two sultans.<\/p>\n
In the June 6 decree, Saladin, his mother Hj Suherni and the
\nrest of his family were ordered to vacate the palace prior to a
\ndeadline of 1 p.m. on June 13.<\/p>\n
\"If Saladin and his family fail to leave the palace by the
\nspecified deadline, they will be forcibly ejected as they will be
\nregarded as having ignored palace rulings,\" said Nasirudin,
\nrepresenting Emirudin.<\/p>\n
Nasirudin added that only Emirudin was the legitimate sultan
\nin Kanoman palace since March 6, 2003, and his command had to be
\nobeyed by all.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Saladin's family, represented by his sister
\nRatu Mawar Kartina, objected to the expulsion, firmly reiterating
\nthat her brother Saladin was the only legitimate Sultan Kanoman
\nXII. Ratu Mawar vowed that she and eight other family members
\nwould not leave the palace, even if they had to sacrifice their
\nlives as a consequence.<\/p>\n
Saladin and Emirudin are the sons of Sultan HM Djalaluddin,
\nbut were born to different mothers. Emirudin bears the title,
\nPangeran Raja, which indicates that he was born to a mother with
\nthe title, Ratu, or from the aristocracy.<\/p>\n
Saladin bears only the title, Pangeran, as his mother was a
\ncommoner. But he deemed it proper for himself to become the
\nsultan as his father had designated him as the sultan in his
\nwill.<\/p>\n
A local cultural observer commented that the struggle for
\npower was fierce due to economic and political factors.<\/p>\n
Politically, the sultanate, which ruled over West Java people
\nhundreds of years ago, still had wide influence in West Java
\npolitical life, said Akhmad Syubanudin Alwy.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, whoever rules was entitled to the considerable
\nassets of the Kanoman sultanate. The assets include 1,020
\nhectares of land, worth Rp 1.5 trillion (US$ 158 million).<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/princely-struggle-for-cirebon-throne-1447893297",
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