House urged to step in on royal dispute

House urged to step in on royal dispute

JAKARTA: A group of people went to the House of
Representatives on Monday to ask the lawmakers to help settle
protracted dispute at the Surakarta Palace in Central Java.

The group, comprising palace officials and workers, community
figures and cultural activists, said the fight over who should be
eligible to succeed the late Sultan Pakubuwono XII would worsen
without intervention from both the House and the government.

"The palace is a national cultural heritage that needs to be
preserved, that's why the government and the House must move to
put the dispute to an end," the delegation's spokesman Tunjung
Sutirto told deputy House speaker Zainal Ma'arif, who is a
Surakarta native.

Following the death of Pakubuwono XII in June last year, the
royal family has been split into two camps. Prince Hangabehi, the
eldest son of the late sultan, rose to the throne in mid-
September, just a few weeks after his half-brother Prince
Tejowulan was crowned the new sultan outside the royal compound.

The feud arose as the late sultan did not name any of his
concubines his queen nor appoint his legitimate successor. --