Changes called for Yogyakarta Palace

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.