A Historical “Debt of Gratitude” in Center-Region Relations

KOMPAS/MUHAMMAD IKHSAN MAHAR

A pedestrian passes in front of an inscription wall bearing the names of fallen heroes during the second Dutch military aggression at the Yogya Kembali monument in Yogyakarta on Tuesday (7/3/2017). This inscription wall shows how regions had an important role in defending the independence of Indonesia.

“And, thus, in the middle of a moonless night on January 4, 1946, we brought the baby that was the Republic of Indonesia to its new capital city, Yogyakarta.” (Bung Karno, Spokesman of the People)

The Netherlands’ attempts to use the Allied forces to regain control over Indonesia made things difficult for the new Republic. It was only because of support from a previously existing regional entity that Indonesia survived. This was a historical “debt of gratitude” to create healthier center-region relations.

The first year of the Republic was marked by political instability in Indonesia’s capital. The Allied forces took control of Jakarta. This not only restricted national leaders’ freedom of movement but also threatened their lives. Rosihan Anwar in Kisah-kisah Zaman Revolusi Kemerdekaan (Tales from the Age of the Independence Revolution) wrote that incidents occurred that increasingly endangered the lives of the Republic’s leaders in the days before moving the capital from Jakarta to Yogyakarta.

On December 26, 1945, Dutch forces tried to assassinate Prime Minister Sjahrir. Sjahrir was stopped in his car by Dutch soldiers in Menteng. Fortunately, a Dutch military police officer recognized him and he escaped from certain death. On December 28, 1945, a group of Dutch soldiers shot at the car of Information Minister Amir Syarifuddin. The next day, Dutch soldiers shot at President Soekarno’s car.

With growing concern over such developments, Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengku Buwono (HB) IX offered his city to serve as the nation\'s capital. President Soekarno immediately accepted the offer as Yogyakarta was deemed safer. On January 4, 1946, the Republic’s leaders quietly left Jakarta for Yogyakarta by train.

At Yogyakarta’s Tugu Station, Sultan HB IX greeted the President and his entourage. Besides offering Yogyakarta as the nation’s capital, the Sultan had also prepared several Dutch-era buildings to be used as government offices. Gedung Agung across from Fort Vredeburg, only a few hundred meters from the sultan’s palace, was used as the State Palace.

At the time, Sultan HB IX not only provided the needed infrastructure for the national government but also issued money to help the fledgling republic. It is said in the book Hamengku Buwono IX: Sacrifices of the Republic’s Defender that, in July 1949, the Sultan donated six million guldens from the sultanate’s coffers to the Republic, which was running out of money.

“The donation of six million guldens was given by the Sultan after the Republic’s leaders returned to Yogyakarta from exile in Bangka in 1949,” Pengageng Tepas Dwarapusa Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung Jatiningrat, 73, a nephew of Sultan HB IX, told Kompas at the sultan’s palace early March.

The palace took no time in voicing its support for the Republic of Indonesia. On August 18, 1945, in the afternoon, Sultan HB IX and Sri Paku Alam VIII sent a wire congratulating Soekarno-Hatta on the proclamation of independence. The immediate support of the Yogyakarta Palace, according to Suwarno in Hamengku Buwono IX and Yogyakarta’s Government Bureaucracy System 1942-1974: a Historical Review, was influenced by the Sultan’s ability to judge public sentiment.

On August 17, 1945, in the afternoon, Ki Hajar Dewantara traveled around the city on a bicycle to spread the news of the independence proclamation, about which youths were enthusiastic.

Other regions

Other regions also made contributions to the republic. Susanto Zuhdi in his book The Proclamation of Independence said that the sultan of Siak Sri Indrapura in Riau donated 20,000 guldens and proclaimed his sultanate part of the Republic on November 1, 1945.

Acehnese businesspeople collected 130,000 Straits dollar (equivalent to today’s Singaporean dollars) and five kilograms of gold to the Republic when President Soekarno visited Aceh on June 16, 1948. The donation was then used to purchase a Dakota airplane named Seulawah (Mountain of Gold).

When Dutch forces invaded the Republic’s capital city in Yogyakarta in its second military aggression on December 19, 1948 and then captured Soekarno and Hatta, Bukittinggi in West Sumatra then served as an emergency capital for the nation. Previously, Soekarno and Hatta had sent a wire saying that if the government could no longer carry out its duties, Welfare Minister Syafruddin Prawiranegara would have the authority to form an emergency government in Sumatra.

The wire was then followed by another one from Hatta as prime minister and Agus Salim as foreign minister saying that if Syafruddin’s effort to form an emergency government failed, Soedarsono-Palar-Maramis would create a government-in-exile in India.

Syafruddin Prawiranegara managed to form the Emergency Government of Indonesia (PDRI) in Bukittinggi. The PDRI’s existence was significant in the struggle to defend the Republic of Indonesia. Mestika Zed in Pemerintahan Darurat Republik Indonesia: Republik dalam Keadaan Darurat (The Emergency Government of Indonesia: a Republic in a State of Emergency) wrote that without the PDRI, the Republic of Indonesia would have been on the brink of collapse following the occupation of Yogyakarta by the Dutch and the arrest of the Republic’s leaders. The PDRI was an alternative government to regroup the scattered national forces.

Infrastructure

These huge donations from regions in the first years of the nation’s independence did not immediately result in smooth center-region relations after Indonesia’s independence was finally recognized in 1949. Ricklefs in A History of Modern Indonesia 1200-2008 wrote that center-region relations had been strained since the early days of the Republic. Relations between regions in Java and those outside Java were particularly strained.

The condition is inseparable from Java’s position as the location of the capital city and other major cities. There is also the contribution of civilian politicians, a majority of whom are from Java, and the fact that the island is inhabited by 61 percent of the national population based on 1961 data. During the New Order era, development tended to be centralized. It is only in the reform era that regions have been given more flexibility in development through regional autonomy.

Gadjah Mada University professor of state administration Purwo Santoso said the contributions of the regions as entities that existed before the Republic was formed at the time could not be seen as a “share” to be paid back with dividends in line with how much the contributions were. Instead, these historical “debts of gratitude” should be repaid in the provision of adequate infrastructure in the regions. That way, all citizens from any ethnicity or region can enjoy the same starting point to achieve progress.

Apart from establishing physical infrastructure, Purwo said, political infrastructure such as a collective national mind-set was also important. Regional autonomy should be redefined because the existing definition, which ends up with regions taking care of only their own business and appearing to compete with each another, is too narrow.

Purwo said it was time for the central government to act as a “choreographer” in making the regions the "hands and feet" to beat other countries in the context of regional and global competition.

“The central government must have a configuration of regional excellence in order to compete with other countries. Indonesia, with its huge resources, should not be merely a market for foreigners,” Purwo said.

After seven decades of independence, has such a commitment emerged?