New Surakarta sultan named amid deepening intrigue
Blontank Poer, Surakarta
Some children and other family members of Pakubowono XII, the late sultan of Surakarta in Central Java, who passed away earlier this month, announced the name of his successor on Thursday.
However, in a plot replete with medieval intrigue and machinations, it is feared that the decision to bestow the sultanate on KGPH Hangabehi, 56, will spark an internal rift within the princely family, with many immediate members and other relatives refusing to attend the announcement ceremony.
The modest event was held at the Surakarta Palace in the absence of a procession. Only less than half of the at-least 35 children of Pakubuwono XII were in attendance.
Some 40 relatives and palace retainers, however, were in attendance to witness the announcement ceremony, which was presided over by KGPH Poeger and KGPH Kusumoyudo, a son of Pakubuwono XII.
Kusumoyudo, speaking at the ceremony, claimed the appointment of Hangabehi as the late sultan's successor was legal as it was based on the outcome of family councils held on June 12, 13 and 16, which were attended by Pakubowono XII's children.
Poeger echoed Kusumoyudo's statement that Hangabehi's elevation as the new sultan complied with the procedures and regulations governing the succession.
"The appointment of KGPH Hangabehi to succeed Sinuhun (Pakubuwono XII) is valid as he is the eldest son, and it has been approved by all the members of the family," he added.
Despite Thursday's announcement, Hangabehi was yet to be conferred with a special title of the kind normally bestowed on the sultans of Surakarta.
However, the head of the Surakarta Palace's privy council, KGPH Dipokusumo, denied that Hangabehi's elevation complied with established palace procedures.
He argued that the recent meetings that Kusumoyudo and Poeger claimed had resulting in the selection of the new sultan had been "manipulated" by the faction led by Koes Moertiyah and Hangabehi.
Moertiyah is Hangabehi's sister and a House of Representatives member for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
"What I know is that the meetings agreed to announce the successor to the late Pakubuwono XII 40 days after his death," said Dipokusumo. Pakubowono died on June 11.
According to Dipokusumo, the children of Pakubuwono XII had yet to agree on who was to succeed him.
Most of them, together with the children of Pakubowono XI, were holding meetings in Jakarta to prepare for the royal succession, Dipokusumo added.
"Many of us were not invited to discuss the announcement of Hangebehi as the new sultan of Surakarta," he said.
He did not rule out the possibility that Thursday's move could spark an internal rift among the members of the princely family and palace retainers.