Cirebon to crown new sultan this month

Cirebon to crown new sultan this month

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

The royal family of Cirebon's Kanoman sultanate said on Friday it
would go ahead with its plan to crown Elang Muhammad Saladin as
the new sultan next month despite strong opposition from a number
of family members.

"The coronation of Elang Saladin Muhammad as Sultan Kanoman
XII will take place in late March, although several members of
the royal family are opposed to it," said Queen Mawar Sekartina,
a spokeswoman for the sultanate.

She could not give a specific date as details were still being
worked out.

"We have made this decision in accordance with the last will
and testament (from the Kanoman XI sultan, Haji Muhammad
Djalaluddin)," she added.

Mawar, who is Djalaluddin's daughter, said that the coronation
date in March should be on or near that day which marks 100 days
after the death of her father.

Before Djalaluddin passed away on Nov. 19, 2002, he wrote a
letter asking Elang to be enthroned as his successor, the queen
said.

"The letter is a mandate from the king, which must be carried
out. Therefore, nothing can prevent the coronation," she added.

Mawar said the decision was achieved through discussions which
started early last month, or 40 days after the death of the
sultan Kanoman XI.

During the discussions, many of those, who had opposed the
planned swearing-in of Saladin, eventually agreed to accept the
decision, she said.

"After we discussed the letter, we were able to settle the
dispute amicably, although there was still resistance from a
handful of royal family members," Mawar added.

The coronation ceremony will be presided over by Kanoman
Prince Haji Muhammad Imamuddin, who has been temporarily in
charge of the administration since the death of the Kanoman XI.

On Jan. 2, 2002, hundreds of royal family members staged a
protest against the appointment of Saladin as the new Kanoman
sultan on the basis of the letter from the late Djalaluddin.

The protesters said the appointment was in violation of a long
royal tradition, under which only the eldest son of the sultan
from his own wife could replace him.

Based on that regulation, Saladin could not be enthroned as
the new sultan because he is the son of one of Djalaluddin's
mistresses.

They said the post should be held by Prince Haji Muhammad
Emiruddin, the eldest son of Djalaluddin's wife.

Elang Nasaruddin and Raden Kemas Muharram, both
representatives from the opposing faction, have said the
appointment of the sultan on the basis of such a testament letter
would be "illogical", while adding that Djalaluddin knew
precisely about the procedures to name his successor.

The protesters said they suspect the letter was a fake.

"We strongly believe that the late sultan was aware of the
issuance of such a testament letter is not consistent with the
royal tradition. We doubt that he would use such a mechanism. We
also suspect that certain members of the royal family are trying
to manipulate and shatter the royal tradition," Nasaruddin said.