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The Colonial Municipal Council in Padang (Sumatra) as Political Arena

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Freek Colombijn
Freek Colombijn
Affiliation:
Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde
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Extract

The experiment with administrative decentralization in Indonesia started with a new law that was enacted in 1903. The European civil servants believed that this law would protect their position, and they did not foresee two processes that were to gradually undercut this very position. First, the citizens in the municipal councils seized the opportunity to acquire a real degree of autonomy. Secondly, the council became a platform where the Indonesian members voiced their grievances from the 1920s onwards. After the Dutch colonial era, and in particular during the Japanese period and the years of Guided Democracy, the municipalities lost most of their leeway for formulating an autonomous policy and devising budgets to the central government. Now, starting with Law 5 issued in 1973, the New Order government of Indonesia has again embarked on the path of administrative decentralization.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , September 1995 , pp. 263 - 288
Copyright
Copyright © The National University of Singapore 1995

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References

I wish to express my gratitude to J.Th. Lindblad, and P.J.M. Nas for their valuable comments on a draft of this article. I would like to thank Marjanneke Haasbroek and Rosemary Robson for the correction of my English.

1 Nas, P.J.M., “Ontstaan en ontwikkeling van de Indonesische gemeente in schakelingen-perspectief”, in Nas, P.J.M., Schoorl, J.W. and Galjart, B.F. (eds.), Aanzetten tot een schakelingen-perspectief in de ontwikkelingssociologie (Leiden: Vakgroep Culturele Antropologie en Sociologie der Niet-Westerse Samenlevingen), pp. 95–116Google Scholar.

2 Frederick, W., “Indonesian Urban Society in Transition: Surabaya, 1926–1946” (Ph.D. diss., University of Hawaii, 1978)Google Scholar.

3 Abeyasekere, Susan, “Colonial Urban Politics: The Municipal Council of Batavia”, Kabar Seberang 13/14 (1984): 17–24Google Scholar.

4 Cobban, James L., “Kampungs and Conflict in Colonial Semarang”, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 19, 2 (1988): 266–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

5 Otto, J.M., “Een Minahasser in Bandoeng; Indonesische oppositie in de koloniale gemeente”, in Excursies in Celebes, ed. Poeze, H.A. (Leiden: Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 1991), pp. 185–215Google Scholar.

6 Verslag van de gemeente Padang, 1906–1918 (Padang: Bäumer).

7 The few surviving original minutes are to be found in the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. Sometimes councillors referred to the Sumatra Bode as a more accurate source than the original minutes; see, e.g., Sumatra Bode (SB), 21 Aug. 1931.

8 Colombijn, Freek, Patches of Padang; The History of an Indonesian Town and the Use of Urban Space (Leiden: CNWS, 1994)Google Scholar.

9 Manan, Imran, A Traditional Elite in Continuity and Change; The Chiefs of the Matrilineages of the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, Indonesia (Ph.D. diss., University of Illinois, 1984)Google Scholar; Oki, Akira, “Economic Constraints, Social Change, and the Communist Uprising in West Sumatra (1926–1927): A Critical Review of B.J.O. Schrieke's West Coast Report”, in Change and continuity in Minangkabau; Local, regional, and historical perspectives on West Sumatra, ed. Thomas, Lynn L. and Benda-Beckmann, Franz von (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1985), pp. 207–234Google Scholar; Rapport van de commissie van onderzoek I (Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij, 1928)Google Scholar.

10 Abdullah, Taufik, “Modernization in the Minangkabau World; West Sumatra in the Early Decades of the Twentieth Century”, in Culture and Politics in Indonesia, ed. Holt, Claire (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972): 179–245Google Scholar; Bouman, H., Enige beschouwingen over de ontwikkeling van het Indonesisch nationalisme op Sumatra's Westkust (Groningen: Wolters, 1949)Google Scholar; Kahn, Joel S., Constituting the Minangkabau; Peasants, Culture and Modernity in Colonial Indonesia (Providence: Berg, 1993)Google Scholar; Kaptein, Nico, “The Berdiri Mawlid Issue among Indonesian Muslims in the Period from circa 1875 to 1930”, Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde 149 (1993): 124–53Google Scholar.

11 Benda, Harry J. and McVey, Ruth T., The Communist Uprisings of 1926–1927 in Indonesia (Ithaca: Cornell University, 1960)Google Scholar; Bouman, , Enige beschouwingenGoogle Scholar; Colombijn, , Patches of Padang, pp. 70–71Google Scholar; Kahin, Audrey R., “Repression and Regroupment; Religious and Nationalist Organizations in West Sumatra in the 1930s”, Indonesia 38 (1984): 39–54Google Scholar; Rapport van de commissie.

12 The Dutch civil servants were, of course, very interested in the socio-economic processes that threatened the Pax Neerlandica.

13 For an overview of this literature, see Kahn, , Constituting the MinangkabauGoogle Scholar.

14 Nas, , “Ontstaan en ontwikkeling”, p. 98Google Scholar.

15 The lump sum consisted of a fixed amount plus a supplement (accres). The amount of the supplement was settled yearly, but in practice remained stable for long periods.

16 Verslag Padang, pp. 38–50. For a detailed overview of municipal sources of income and the annual budget, see the yearly Decentralisatie-verslag (1911–1929).

17 From 1925 to 1927 the average income of the entertainment tax in Padang was f 28,000, of the tax on cars f 25,800, and the tax on other vehicles f 21,900. Rückert, J.J.G.E., “De ontwikkeling van de financiën der autonome gemeenschappen”, in 25 Jaren decentralisatie in Nederlandsch-Indië 1905–1930, ed. Kerchman, F.W.M. (Semarang: Vereeniging voor Locale Belangen, 1930), pp. 97–123Google Scholar, in particular p. 109. Of course, taxes on cars burdened Europeans more than Indonesians.

18 SB, 11 Dec. 1907, 16 Feb. 1911, 18 Feb. 1911, 27 Mar. 1912; Verslag Padang, pp. 89–94.

19 SB, 9 Sep. 1916, 3 Apr. 1920, 8 Jan. 1932; Verslag Padang, pp. 69–74, 136–51.

20 Decentralisatie-verslag 1929, pp. 260, 270–71.

21 SB, 4 May 1923, 17 Jul. 1923. Otto (“Een Minahasser”) describes a crisis for Bandung and it may be that there was a structural weakness in the financial management of the Indonesian cities.

22 Tillema, H.F., “Kromoblanda”; over 't vraagstuk van “het Wonen” in Kromo's groote land I (The Hague: Uden Masman, 1915), pp. 51, 120Google Scholar.

23 SB, 28 Sep. 1923, 23 Nov. 1923.

24 SB, 22–24 Apr. 1925.

25 For example, SB, 7 May 1925, 14 May 1925, 13 Aug. 1925, 11 Sep. 1925.

26 SB, 10 Sep. 1925, 24 Oct. 1925, 23 Sep. 1932.

27 SB, 7 Sep. 1929, 4 Jan. 1930.

28 SB, 26 Nov. 1929, 12–23 Sep. 1932, 25 Mar.-7 Apr. 1933, 7 Jun. 1935, 27 Jan. 1941.

29 Between 1925 and 1927 the share of different revenues in the budget of Padang and of all Indonesian municipalities was respectively: lump sum 21.5 and 21.1 per cent; surtaxes 0 and 11.4 per cent; other taxes 26.3 and 29.8 per cent; public undertakings 50.0 and 33.9 per cent. The other municipalities show great variations. Rückert, , “De ontwikkeling van de financiën”, pp. 109–110Google Scholar.

30 SB, 19 Feb. 1937, 29 Dec. 1939.

31 Bailey, F.G., Stratagems and Spoils; A Social Anthropology of Politics (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1969)Google Scholar.

32 Claessen, H.J.M., Over de politiek denkende en handelende mens; een inleiding in de politieke antropologie (Assen: Van Gorcum, 1988)Google Scholar; Vincent, Joan, Anthropology and Politics: Visions, Traditions and Trends (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1990)Google Scholar.

33 Otto, , “Een Minahasser”, pp. 201–213Google Scholar.

34 I will use the colonial term “indigenous”, since this was at that time the relevant administrative category, with Minangkabau, Javanese, Niasans and others lumped together. Today it is fashionable to reserve the word “Indonesian” for the “indigenous” people. I find this misleading because the Chinese, Arabs, and Tamils are part and parcel of the Indonesian society and must be called Indonesians as well.

35 Among the long standing councillors were Lie Sim Tjoan (1906–1918); Soetan Radjat glr. Masa Boemi (1909–1925); Mahjoedin glr. Dt. St. Maharadja (1909–1921); Lie Tje Thay (1913–26); M. Passer (1920–42); Abdul Hakim (1921–34, 1938–42); and Yap Gim Sek (1924–34). The Europeans were not the only newcomers in town; there were also indigenous councillors from elsewhere, like the Batak doctor Hakim and the Javanese engineer Mas Hoedioro, and many Minangkabau councillors had migrated from the Highlands.

36 Decentralisatie-verslag (1911–12), p. 16, and (1920–21), pp. 9–10.

37 SB, 2 Nov. 1908.

38 SB, 9 Nov. 1909.

39 SB, 22 Dec. 1908.

40 SB, 20 Nov. 1912.

41 SB, 13 Dec. 1916, 21 Feb. 1919, 25–29 May 1919.

42 SB, 15 Jan. 1913, 13 Dec. 1916.

43 Kerchman, (ed.), 25 Jaren decentralisatieGoogle Scholar.

44 Rückert, J.J.G.E. and de Raad, G., “De Vereeniging voor Locale Belangen”, in 25 Jaren decentralisatie, ed. Kerchman, , pp. 193–204Google Scholar.

45 SB, 2 Jun. 1924, 9 Jul. 1924. The proposal to allow brothels was made by a man considered the joker of the council, and other municipalities were not enthusiastic about the idea.

46 Bailey, , Stratagems and SpoilsGoogle Scholar.

47 SB, 5 Apr. 1908, 11 Sep. 1925.

48 The council assembled on Tuesdays because this was a quiet day for trading firms due to shipping schedules (SB, 27 Feb. 1918).

49 Bailey, , Stratagems and Spoils, pp. 35–58Google Scholar.

50 SB, 6 May 1918, 20 Jun. 1918, 12 Sep. 1918, 9 Oct. 1918, 22 Oct. 1918.

51 SB, 11–15 Oct. 1918, 28 Nov. 1918.

52 SB, 5 Feb. 1925.

53 Before the IEV was founded, there had been appeals to elect candidates who came from Padang, thus Eurasians, but these appeals did not have much success (see, e.g., SB, 4 Aug. 1909).

54 SB, 21 Jul. 1922, 6 Dec. 1922, 25 May 1923.

55 SB, 5 Dec. 1925, 7 Dec. 1925.

56 SB, 24 Nov. 1928.

57 Ouwerkerk's ambitions were shown by his goal to make Padang rank with Medan, Palembang, and Makassar (Ujung Pandang). It must have been a disappointment to him when on several occasions he missed out on the mayoralty of Makassar, Batavia, Malang, and Semarang. SB, 25 Nov. 1929, 8 Feb. 1930.

58 For examples of these four tactics, see SB, 3 May 1929, 2 May 1932, 10 Aug. 1934, 15 Dec. 1934, 7 Jun. 1935, 2 Aug. 1935, 20 Nov. 1936.

59 SB, 25 Aug. 1930.

60 SB, 9 May 1930, 3 Oct. 1930, 21 Nov. 1930.

61 SB, 13 Jul. 1931, 21 Aug. 1931, 1 Sep. 1931.

62 SB, 9 Jan. 1932, 20 Jan. 1932.

63 Sinar Sumatra (SS), 30 Jul.-3 Aug. 1932; SB, 3 Jun. 1932, 29 Jul.-4 Aug. 1932. The Governor-General's reaction is not known to me.

64 To their outrage the council discovered that Ouwerkerk had not informed council informed about a cheaper design submitted by the local building company Bordewijk-Groenewegen. SB, 10 Aug. 1934.

65 SB, 6–7 Jun. 1935, 14 Nov. 1935.

66 SB, 23 Mar. 1933, 7 Apr. 1933, 6 Jun. 1935, 7 Jun. 1935, 30 Jul. 1935.

67 SB, 21 Feb. 1924.

68 SB, 23–25 Nov. 1929.

69 SB, 13 Apr. 1907, 9 Jan. 1907, 13 Dec. 1922, 8 Dec. 1923.

70 SB, 10 Apr. 1912, 1 Oct. 1913. On several occasions, however, Dt. St. Maharadja pleaded for the poor kampung dwellers (SB, 22 Nov. 1911, 13 Oct. 1915, 23 Jan. 1918).

71 SB, 6 Mar. 1912, 22 May 1912.

72 The indigenous electorate can be divided into ethnic groups, and socio-economic groups (textile wholesalers, petty traders, lower officials, servants, peasants). Unfortunately I do not know whether certain ethnic or socio-economic groups supported certain candidates. Whether, for example, the Depression changed the vote also remains obscure.

73 SB, 14 Dec. 1934.

74 For example, Noerdin Rasad arranged a high salary for one civil servant; Roestam Effendi asked why a building permit had been refused to a certain woman, and so on. SB, 19 Jan. 1924, 5 Oct. 1926.

75 See, for example, Persamaan, 29 May-5 Jul. 1934, 1–11 Aug. 1938; Tjamboet, 29 Aug.-2 Sep. 1933.

76 Persamaan, 7 Jun. 1934, 4 Aug. 1934; Tjamboet, 2 Jul. 1934.

77 SS, 22 Oct. 1920; SB, 14–23 Oct. 1920.

78 Ensiklopedi Indonesia, Vol. II (Jakarta: Van Hoeve, 1980), p. 883Google Scholar; SB, 4 Oct. 1926, 15 Nov. 1926.

79 SB, 31 Oct. 1929, 25 Nov. 1929, 6 Feb. 1939, 2 Jan. 1940.

80 Once a Minangkabau councillor made a sharp Indonesian address with many demands and the mayor provided an abridged Dutch translation, which was weaker and less well founded than the original. The mayor then had no problem rejecting the demands made. SB, 28–29 Dec. 1939.

81 SB, 19 Feb. 1937. For his varied life see Ensiklopedi, Vol. V (1984), p. 2526Google Scholar.

82 SB, 20 Sep. 1938.

83 van Miert, Hans, “The ‘Land of the Future’; The Jong Sumatranen Bond (1917–1930) and Its Image of the Nation”, Modern Asian Studies, forthcomingGoogle Scholar.

84 For example, SB, 20 Feb. 1919, 15 Sep. 1923, 19 May 1926, 25 Aug. 1930, 11 Jul. 1931.

85 SB, 4 Oct. 1926, 6 Nov. 1931, 21 Sep. 1938, 25 Feb. 1941.

86 SB, 26 Nov. 1931, 3 May 1932, 16 Dec. 1933, 15 Dec. 1934, 14 Nov. 1935, 19 Feb. 1937, 4 Nov. 1938, 10 Mar. 1939, 25 Sep. 1939.

87 SB, 31 May 1930, 12 Jun. 1930.

88 In 1938, at the first elections with a system of proportional representation, the distribution of seats remained exactly the same as under the electoral pact. SB, 11 Aug. 1938.

89 SB, 31 Mar. 1933, 7 Apr. 1933.

90 SB, 19 Jun. 1931, 2 Jun. 1933, 10 Aug. 1934.

91 Furnivall, J.S., Netherlands India; A Study of Plural Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1944), p. 444Google Scholar.

92 For example, SB, 10 Feb. 1930, 9 Jan. 1932.

93 SS, 6–8 Aug. 1936; SB, 8 Aug. 1936. The alleged coalition put the electoral pact of the European parties under great strain.

94 SB, 11 Aug. 1936, 12 Aug. 1936.

95 SS, 30 Sep.-2 Oct. 1936; SB, 30 Sep. 1936.

96 SB, 15 Feb. 1937.

97 The VC councillor Van Haselen approached the IEV councillor Jolly two days before the meeting of the council with the suggestion to drop the radical Roestam, together with Kho, for the moderate Aboe Bakar as alderman. The VC probably also inveigled Aboe Bakar beforehand, because in the meeting he voted with the VC. (SB, 20 Apr. 1938).

98 Persamaan, 23 Oct. 1937, 30 Oct. 1937, 8 Apr. 1938, 9 Apr. 1938; SS, 28–30 Oct. 1937; SB, 8 Apr. 1938, 20 Apr. 1938, 4 Nov. 1938.

99 Persamaan, 27 Oct. 1937, 29 Oct. 1937; SS, 29 Oct. 1937, 30 Oct. 1937.

100 Persamaan, 16 Nov. 1937, 30 Nov. 1937; SS, 16 Nov. 1937, 20 Nov. 1937, 23 Nov. 1937.

101 SB, 20 Jan. 1939.

102 SB, 15–17 Nov. 1939.

103 For Minangkabau land rights, see Colombijn, Freek, “Dynamics and Dynamite; Minangkabau Urban Landownership in the 1990s”, Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde 148 (1992): 428–64CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

104 Persamaan, 21–25 Nov. 1939; SB, 17 Nov.-2 Dec. 1939, 18 Dec. 1939, 7–10 Feb. 1940.

105 SB, 27 Jan. 1941, 5 Mar. 1941.

106 SB, 21 Feb. 1941.

107 SB, 18 Sep. 1939.

108 SB, 4 Nov. 1938.

109 For example, SB, 4 Nov. 1938, 26 Jul. 1939, 25 Sep. 1939, 24 Jan. 1940, 1 Feb. 1940, 2 Apr. 1940.

110 SB, 27 Jun. 1940, 19–23 Aug. 1940, 30 Oct. 1940, 5 Apr. 1941.