Cirebon has two new sultans after royal dispute

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

Kanoman Palace in the West Java town of Cirebon has two kings as a result of a year-long royal dispute following the death of Prince Haji Muhammad Djalaluddin, the eleventh sultan of the kingdom, last year.

At about 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Prince Muhammad Saladin was crowned as Sultan Kanoman during a modest ceremony in the palace. On Thursday, Prince Raja Muhammad Emirudin was also crowned as Sultan Kanoman in a more festive royal inauguration in the same palace.

But Emirudin's installation turned ugly when some supporters of Saladin attempted to stop the ceremony. The police managed to prevent a possible physical clash after barring Saladin's supporters from attending the ceremony.

Led by Saladin' sister, Princess Mawar Kartina, the supporters continued to protest Emirudin's inauguration as sultan, saying that it was a coup d'etat.

Mawar said that Saladin's supporters would settle the dispute in court.

The royal dispute started following the reading of the will of Sultan Djalaluddin, who named Saladin as his successor. However, some members of the royal family said that Djalaluddin request was against Kanoman tradition, which stipulates that the sultan's first son from the queen -- in this case Emirudin-- is the legitimate heir to the throne.

Saladin is Djalaluddin's son from one of his concubines.

Some royal family members, who are supported by the people and about 100 royal officials, oppose the appointment of Saladin as sultan. In January, hundreds of Kanoman royal family members held a protest against Saladin.

The opposition grew because they considered the appointment of Saladin as against the palace tradition.

"Appointing a prince in a will is not acceptable. We believe Djalaludin knew that it was not our tradition. We suspect there was an intent to manipulate and damage Kanoman Palace tradition," said one of Emirudin's supporters.

However, Saladin believes that he is the legitimate heir to the throne after Djalaluddin's will was read before the public on Jan. 1 this year.

Besides the two parties, a third party had also demanded the crown, that is, Djalaluddin's brother, Muhammad Imamuddin, who was acting sultan following his death.

Kanoman Palace is one of three kingdoms in Cirebon. The other two are Kasepuhan Palace and Kaceribonan Palace.