Royal family split over appointment of new sultan

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

Cirebon people are turning their attention to the Kanoman Palace, home of one of three royal families in the West Java ancient city, as a dispute over the coveted throne heightens.

The conflict surfaced after the sultanate's chief executive, Prince Mohamad Imamuddin, disclosed on Jan. 1 the last will and testament of the late Sultan Kanoman XI appointing Prince Elang Muhammad Saladin as his successor.

The announcement immediately sparked widespread protests, with 102 top palace officials signing a petition on Jan. 2 opposing the appointment of Prince Saladin. They said the coronation of Saladin would be a break from tradition, which stipulates that the sultan transfer power to his first-born son from the queen.

The angry officials also doubted the validity of the testament, saying Sultan Kanoman XI, who died on Nov. 19 last year, fully understood tradition.

Based on tradition, Prince Muhammad Emirudin should succeed his father.

Spokesmen for the royal family loyal to Emirudin, Elang Nasiruddin and Kemas Muharram, claimed on Wednesday that some 1,000 members of the Kanoman royal family were committed to maintaining the tradition.

"Appointing a crown prince through a testament is unacceptable and we don't believe the late sultan would have behaved this way. We suspect there is a certain party intending to disrupt the tradition," Muharram told a media conference.

He said the royal family would convene to discuss a plan to inaugurate Emirudin as Sultan Kanoman XII.

Princess Mawar Kartina, the elder sister of Saladin, defended her brother's appointment as the next sultan.

"Everybody should comply with the testament as it was the sultan's order," Mawar told reporters on Wednesday.

She said that as Muslims, members of the royal family should uphold Islamic law, which stipulates that a testament must be honored.

She challenged the opposition's suspicion, accusing the protesters of having been provoked by outsiders. She questioned the collection of signatures for the petition against the testament, which was submitted just one day after the testament was made public.

"It was strange because many of the signatories were out of town at the time," Mawar said.

She welcomed the plan to hold a meeting of the royal family as proposed by Emirudin's loyalists, but suggested that the convention explore every avenue to settle the dispute.

"The most important thing is we have to stop trading allegations," she said.