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.