kelompok 1-change in indoensian stratification (wertheim)

8/11/2019 Kelompok 1-Change in Indoensian Stratification (Wertheim)

1/13

Changes in Indonesia's Social StratificationAuthor(s): W. F. WertheimReviewed work(s):Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 28, No. 1 (Mar., 1955), pp. 41-52Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British ColumbiaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2753710.Accessed: 07/10/2012 21:43

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2/13

Changes

n

Indonesia's

SocialStratification

W. F. Wertheim

NTINETEENTH

century

ava

witnessed

he consolidation

f

a colonial

IN

status

ystem

ased

on

racial

distinctions.

he

general

features

f this

colonial caste ystem

ave

been described

y

the ate RaymondKennedy

n

his

excellent aper,

The

ColonialCrisis

nd

the

Future .'

The situation

if-

feredfrom he pattern ollowed n other olonialempires nasmuch s the

color ine

n

Java

was drawn

between

hose f mixed

parentage

nd those

f

pure

Indonesian

descent. he

result

f thispeculiardivision

was that

Eura-

sians (at

present

mostly alled

Indo-Europeans2)

were ncluded

within

he

European

ruling lass though

heir

ocialposition

was by

no means

equal to

the tatus f those

fpure

Dutch parentage.

The Chinese

nd other foreign

rientals

ormed

n intermediate

roup

consisting,

t least n Java,

mainly

ftraders

nd handicraftsmen.

fter

he

extension f Dutch ruleoverthe Outer Islands, hecolonial classstructure

spread

o

these

erritories

s well.

Though

thecolonial

tatus

attern

bscured

to someextent he

original

lassdistinctions

ithin he ndonesian

ociety,

the

indigenous

tructure ostly

emained

ntouched.

n particular,he

dis-

tinction

etween

he Indonesian

nobility

nd the

common

peoplewas

kept

largely

ntact y

Dutch rule.

In

contrast

o the Western

restige ystem,

scale

of valueswas

preserved

which

o

a

certain

xtent mbodied

protest

gainst

he colonial

ystem,

ep-

resenting

kind

of

counterweight:

prestige cale,

that s

to say,based

on

religion.According o this scale,the Islamic scribe, he hadji (pilgrimre-

turned

rom

Mecca)

and

the

Arab

Sayyid descendant

f

the

Prophet)were

men

of high standing,

hereas

white

men

were

merely

afirs

unbelievers).'

The twentieth

entury,

owever,

witnessed

basic

change of

the status

pattern,

argely s

a result f

economic

hanges nd

the

spreadof Western

education.4 he

expansion f

a money

conomy ave

rise

to numerous

ew

1

In the book,

The

Science

of Man in the World

Crisis,

ditedby Ralph Linton,

. 306

ff.

2

See W. F. Wertheim,

The Indo-European

roblem n

Indonesia ,

acificAflairs, eptem-

ber1947,

p.

29I,

note3.

3

See W. F. Wertheim,he EbFectf Western ivilization n Indonesian ociety,nstitutef

Pacific

Relations,

ew York,

950,

p. 21 ff.

4

See B. Schrieke,

Native Society n the Transformationeriod ,

n

The

EbFect

f

Western

Influence

n

Native

Civilisationsn

the

Malay

Archipelago Edited

by B.

Schrieke, 929),

p.

237

ff.

4I


3/13

Pacific

fairs

jobs,

.g., or

mechanics,

hauffeurs,

nginerivers

nd verseers.

ducation

made ver

eeper

nroadsnto

he

xistingtratificationy reating

new

class f ntellectuals

ndnear-intellectuals

ho

notmerelyhallenged

he

superiortatusf hosefEuropeanescent,ut quallyhreatenedhe x-

clusive

tatusf he

obility

ithin

he ndonesian

roup.

here

as

strong

tendency

owardhe

mergence

f

new

tatus-system

ased n

ndividual

prosperity

nd

ndividual

ntellectual

bilities.

owever,

conomic

ompeti-

tion,specially

ince he risisf hethirties,adbeen

ntensified

o

uch

n

extenthat ersonal

chievement

ould

ot ossibly

ecomehe

nly

ouch-

stone

or ocial

uccess.

roup

olidarity

eveloped,argelyn a racial

asis,

and

tensions

etween

acial

roupsncreased

s the aste-like

arriers

f

formerenturies

aveway.

ndonesian

ationalism

as, o a

large

egree,

the xpressionf ncreasedompetitionetweenhe ndonesianntellectual

class nd he

uropean

roup

hichad

monopolized

he

majorobs

n

the

government

ervices.t

the

ame ime,

weak

roupf

ndonesian

rades-

menwasattempting,

nder

he uise

fnationalism,

o fight

he

Chinese

merchant

lass.' he pecial

osition

ccupied

y he

uropeans

nd

Chinese,

like

hat

f

the

feudal

obility,

adbecome

onsiderably

ess table

t

the

startf

World

War I.

Atfirst

ight,he

war

nd he

Japaneseccupation

rought

bout

com-

pleteeversalf llvalues.6 whitekin nd he se f he utchanguage,

which

ad

for o

ong

een

he utward

ignsf

uperiority,

ecame

ym-

bols

f

he ariah.

anyndo-Europeans

hohad

previously

een

shamed

of heir

alf-Indonesian

rigin

nd number

f hose hohad ven

ried

o

conceal

heirncestry

ow

made

veryffort

o

obtain

declaration

hat

hey

were

eranatkans,

hat

s, hildren

f he ndonesian

omeland.fficially,

he

Indonesians

ho

hadfor

o ong

rovidedhe

owest

tratum,

ow

anked

higher

han

he

ndo-Europeans

nd

he

ndonesian-Chinese.7

The ocial cale

eemed

o

beturnedpside own.

ven he

eo

Gracula

javanensis),he alkingirdntheBataviaoo, onformedothe ew at-

tern: e

had

unlearned

he

Dutch all,Daig

Mevrouw

good

fternoon,

Madam),

ndnow

mused

he

hildrenygreeting

he ady

uests

n ndo-

nesian.

n

top

of the

adder,he

Japanese

ad

posted hemselves

irmly.

Though

heJapanese

oldiers ad at first

ried o win

the

ndonesians

by

fraternization

hichontrastedavorably

ith

he

uropeans'

aughti-

5

See

W. F.

Wertheim, he

Egect

of Western

ivilization

n Indonesian

ociety, .

24

if.

61 have

here to

express

my

thanks

o the ndonesian

epartment

f the

Netherlands

tate

Institute or War DocumentationRijksinstituutoor Oorlogsdocumentatie)t Amsterdamor

much valuable

help received.

7

See,

for nstance,

. A.

de Weerd,

The Japanese ccupation

f

the

Netherlands-Indies ,

prepared

tatement

n Recordof Proceedings

f

the nternational

ilitary

ribunal

or

the Far

East,Pros.

Doc.

No. 2750.

42


4/13

Changesn ndonesia's

ocial tratification

ness, their colonial

pattern oon proved

to be no less caste-like han the

system pplied by the Dutch. Even

more so: while the

Dutch

had

long

ago accepted situationsn which an

Indonesiancould

be

a

superior

f

a

European, hiswas,during he first ears f Japanese ccupation,mpossible

according o Japanese tandards. ndonesians

might

hold positions

much

higher hanthoseheld underDutch rule

but a

son

of the

gods

could never

be an inferiorf

any ndonesian.8

True,the ntellectualnd near-intellectual

lass

of

ndonesians,

hich

he

Japanese ound expedient o win over,

had becomeby the

end of the Japa-

nese occupation privileged roup. t

was theywho were

assignedpromi-

nent posts within

the administration

ormerly eld by Europeans,either

totok of pure descent) or Indo. While

prewar educational

facilities or

Europeans had far exceeded those available for Indonesians, he latter,

during he occupation,were given preference

or what

education

emained

intact. he children

f those ndo-Europeanwomen who

had managed

to

keep outside the

camps and of the Indonesian-Chinese

ere admitted

n

limited umber

nly

o

the

Japanese-sponsored

choolsY

Moreover,

number

of Indonesians rom

hiseducated

lass were given military

raining

which

openednew social

opportunitiesor hem

s army fficers.

The Indonesian

rader lass

as comparedwith the Chinese

was equally

favored y Japanese conomic olicy.This policy mplied concentrationf

all

trading ctivities

n a few big Japanese

oncerns nd officiallyecognized

unions

f traders.10

embership,n theseJapanese-sponsorednions

was com-

pulsory.

A

report

n the distribution

ystem n WesternBorneo describes

how

the Japanese

ntended o establish

rading rganizations f Indonesians

providing

or the needs of their wn

group and to limit heChinese,who

had up to then fulfilled

hese functions

or the Indonesianpopulation, o

supplying he needs

of the Chinesepopulation.

hough this ystemmayhave

been

exclusively

alid for Western

Borneo,

where the

Chinese

population

was verynumerous, general rend o strengthenndonesian raders nions

againstChinese ompetition as

in

evidence

verywheren Indonesia.

Many

of

the

Chinese traders

were ousted from ndependent rade

and crafts nd

driven ither o

dependent

ommercial unctions

n

the service

f Japanese

monopolistic

oncerns

r

to skilled abor

on behalf f the military dminis-

tration.

rade

without fficialicensewas not allowed in any

port of In-

donesia.

8

See S. M. Gandasubrata, n Account f the

JapaneseOccupation f Banjumas

Residency,

lava, March

1942

to August

945,

Data PaperNo. io, Southeast sia Program, ornellUniver-

sity,thaca,953,

p. 8.

9

See, for

nstance, e Weerd, p. cit.,p. 41.

10

See,

for

nstance, . J. Piekaar,

Atjeh

n de

Oorlogmet Japan Acheh n the

War

with

Japan), . 30I.

43


5/13

Pacific

fgairs

Nevertheless,he privileged osition f Indonesianswas far frombeing

extended o the whole population. n the ong run, the mass of the people

were, under Japaneserule, worse off then ever. At first, apanesepolicy

seemed more or less democratic n that special prerogatives f the aristo-

cratic roup were abolished nd the salaries f higher fficials ere consid-

erably owered. In a way, thisdemocratic endency as continued n later

years o the extent hatJapanese ropaganda, ncouraging ctive upport or

its war effort rom ll strata f the population, ostered spirit f enhanced

self-respectmong the masses.Yet the practical ffect f Japanese ule was

that

the common man experienced n unprecedented umiliation, ruelty,

exploitation,nd lack of concern orhis ife nd basicneeds.For theslightest

offense e stooda good chance f a beating, n essential art, nder heJapa-

nesefeudal radition,fthe ducation fthe ommonman.'2

In

rank, herefore,ndonesian ntellectualsnd othermiddle-class

roups

were decidedly uperior. ut in comparisonwith the mass of Indonesians

(especially he peasantry),many ndonesian-Chinesend even Indo-Euro-

peans (those who were able to escape nternment)tillhad resources hich

were denied to the great majority f the Indonesians.Chinese who were

ousted from egal tradecould turnto illegal trade, r look for occupations

within he administrationr withJapanese oncerns,hanks o

the

tart

heir

material r educational ackground ad given them.As longas Indo-Euro-

peans could keep themselves ut of the internmentamps,many of

them

could live for while

on

the sale of theirhousehold r personalbelongings,

or

engage

n

illegal trade,

r

theymightkeep

intermediate

obs

within he

Japanese dministrationf theywere ready o swear allegiance o the Japa-

nese authorities.f anythingndicates hat emnants f theprewar lass

truc-

ture

according

o

skin

color were

still

live,

t was

the

preferenceiven by

several

Japanese

fficers

o

Indo-European irls

as

secretaries

f

they

ould

get them.

If one is to assessthe impactof theJapanese ccupation n the status

system,

ne must consider

not

only

the shifts n

the

relative

valuation

f

racialgroups

but

also

the

changes

within

he ndonesian

group. Generally,

the ntellectual

roups

were

becoming

new

privileged roupholdingposi-

tions

omparable

o those

ormerlyccupiedby

the

prewar pper

lasses.

he

social

distance etween

his

group

and the masses

ended o

increase.

How-

ever,

ne has

to

distinguish,

s therewere

equally mportant

hifts

nd

dif-

ferentiations

oth

mong

the

upper

nd middle lasses nd

among

the

ower

See Gandasubrata,p. cit.,

. 6.

12

Nor

were ndonesians

f the higher lasses afefrom orporal

maltreatment.

n the early

occupationyears,

herewas a student trike t

the Medical College in Djakarta

as a protest

againstJapanese

ducational

methods.

44


6/13

Changes

nIndonesia's ocial

Stratification

class.

An important

eature f

Japaneseolicy

was a distribution

ystem,

largely

f

foodstuffs,equisitioned

t

low prices rom he

peasantry.he

foodstuffsere

distributedt

officialrices o the

urban

opulation

n

order

toprovideheworkersnvital ndustriesndthe fficialsith he ssentials

of life.

Japaneseolicy

was

thusmarked y a harsh

xploitation

f

the

peasantryn

behalff he

most avored

ocial lassesnthe ities.

On

the

other and,

henew

middle lass

during he

occupation

ould

compete

ithgreater

uccess

with he

aristocracy.

nderDutch

rule, he

native

ristocracyad

remainedtsmain

upport

o thevery ast,

ut

Japa-

nese

olicy as

somewhat

ifferent.houghmost

fthe

ndonesianovern-

ment

fficers

regents

and

districtfficers)

nd

adtt hiefswere

kept n

office

r

even einstated

y heJapanesen

the ases

wherehey ad

fled

mob

violenceuring hedays fchaos fterheDutchdefeat,13hemain rinciple

of

Japaneseolicywas to

keep

balance fpower

nd they

ever elied

x-

clusively

ponthe

native

ristocracy.

n

contrastith he

Dutch,

who

had

always een ather

uspiciousfpolitical

ovements

mong

ndonesians,

he

Japanese

rom

he beginning

ttempted

o foster olitical

ctivity,

lways,

of

course, nder heir

wn

controlnd nsupport

f their

war

efforts.

or

this

theyneeded

he

prominent

ationalist

eaders, ome of whom

had

been

ent nto

xileby

theDutch.By

building p

political

rganizations,

theyreated counterpoisemostlyecruitedromhe ntellectualsndnear-

intellectuals)gainst he

eudal

lass.Religious

eaders,

speciallyhe imple-

minded

lamasfrom he

country-side,14

ere

lso accorded

heightened

prestige

n order

o enlistheir

ctive

upport. he

Japanese ere

ware f

the

nfluence

pon

rural ociety

hich

hese lamas ould

till

xert, nd

they

ttemptedo use this

roup

o strengthen

heir rip

upon he grarian

population y

calling hem

o thecities

or hort ourses

nd by

mbuing

them

with

Japanese

ropaganda.

s a result,hese

eaders

ost o a certain

extent heir

haracterf

an isolated

ackward

roup ut regained

more

dynamicttitudeowardife, venwhenJapaneseropagandas suchwas

wasted

n

them,

s

beingontrary

othe

Moslemaith.

But

t was, above

ll,

Japanese

conomic olicy

which,n the

ongrun,

broughtbout

gradual

hift f

balance t the

expense fthe

aristocracy.

From

thebeginning,he

Indonesianntellectuals

ere

givenprominent

posts

n

the

administrationormerly

eservedor

Europeans.

uringthe

occupation,

apanese-sponsored

rganizations

ncreasinglyame o

dominate

economic

ife nd

to exert

owers

reviouslyielded y

thecivil

ervice.

Consequently,

group

f

Indonesian

ntellectuals,ostly

ather

outhful,

were bletoget firmootingn thebasic ields fcrop ollectionndfood

13

See

Piekaar,

Op.cit.,p.

I93 ff.

14

See,for

nstance,

e

Weerd,

p.

cit.,

.

39

ff

45


7/13

Pacific ffairs

distribution.he regentsnd other

fficersn the ivil ervice,n thecon-

trary,awthemselvesraduallyeprivedf n essentialart f heirradi-

tionalpower.15

Partially, his process oincidedwiththe tendency f Japanese olicy, s

described y Gandasubrata,'6 o lower the position f higher fficials-who,

thoughbelonging o the ntellectual

roup,were argely ecruited rom he

prijctji

lass whichwas the onlyone

able to afford igher ducation-and to

favormiddle-class roups uch as teachers nd policemen. hus, the distance

between hoseof the highest ank and the urbanmiddle class of near-intel-

lectuals ended o diminish.On the

whole,during he Japanese ccupation,

any authority ased upon tradition as

gradually ndermined. apanese n-

terference ith village ife nfringed

n many respects pon the traditional

static rder nd loosened hebondsof social ife. t was not onlypropaganda

which elicitednew dynamic orces: olice

activities f newly-builtrganiza-

tions17nvolving vera million ndonesians,manyof themyoungsters,nd

the requisitioningf labor on a huge scale,withdrawingarge numbers f

young men from heir irthplace, ere

stillmore effectiven uprooting he

authority

f

elders nd traditionalhiefs.

oung men, omeof

whom

received

military

r

quasi-militaryraining

nd mostof

whom wereaffected

y Japa-

nese propaganda, eltmore confidenthanbefore o fight he

old traditions.

This self-confidencend thisprotest gainst authorityncreasedwhen,to-

ward the

end of

the

war,

t

was

especially

he

youngpeople

who

took

the

lead

in anti-Japanese nderground ctivities,

while

the

authorities nd

the elders

still argely cquiesced

n

Japanese

ule.18

apanese ducation,

he

adoption

of

Japanese

manners nd

Japanese-sponsored

olitical

nd

organ-

izational ctivities

lso contributedo

a

greater

reedom f

expression

nd a

heightened

elf-confidence

mong youngwomen, especially

n

the

urban

areas.

Anotherphenomenon

o

be

noted

was

a shift way

from

he

ndividual-

izing tendencies f thelastdecades to a largerdegreeofintegration ithin

all

kinds

of

organizations.

o

longer

was social

prestigeargely

erived rom

traditional

uthority

r

personal erformance

nd achievement.

o a certain

degree,

one's social

evaluation

could henceforth

epend

on one's

position

within n

organization

nd

on

the

statuswhich this

organization

n turn

15

This process n

Acheh has been described y A. J. Piekaar,

op. cit. Though the

social

processes n Acheh are

somewhat

t variancewith those n other reas

on

account

f

the out-

standing ole played by Acheh

religious eaders,

mostof the total

picture

robably

olds

good

for ther egionss well.

16

Gandasubrata,p.

cit., . 6.

17

Ibid.

18

See, for example, he human conflict ortrayedn the novel,

Perburuan,

y the talented

young ndonesian uthor,

amoedya

AnantaToer.

46


8/13

Changes

n

ndonesia's

ocial Stratification

heldwithin

hewhole ociety.uch

organizations,ncluding

rmy nits nd

underground

roups s well, ecame tepping

tones or ocial

dvance.

The shifts

n the tatus

ystem hich herevolution

roughtboutwere

stillmoreprofound.or a while,

t

washardly ossible oassess hetotal

effectf the

revolution.n the

reas ccupied yAllied

roops, partial es-

torationf

colonial elationsccurredor

short eriod.

herewas

a

con-

strained

ttemptn thepart f the

ndo-Europeansnd

groups f

ndone-

sian

Christians,

losely

ssociated ith hem ocially,o retain ome f

their

old

prerogatives.he former

etherlandsndianArmy

K.N.I.L.), espe-

cially,was the

nstrumenty which

he

ndosand

some

f

theAmbonese

and the

Menadoneseried o keep omethingf

their ocial

dvantage.

At the ame ime he

feudal obility,

speciallyn theOuterslands,

t-

temptedoregain he uthorityt had beendeprivedfduringhe ccupa-

tion.

Though

number f aristocraticeaders

oined hebanner

f

revolu-

tion

itherut f

genuine ationalistonvictions

r

because

hey xpected

he

Republic o be

on thewinningide,19here

were

lso

many

who,

ooner r

later, dhered o

Dutch ule

hoping

o

restoreheir uthority

ith

he

back-

ing of the

Dutchmilitaryorce. fter few

bortivettempts

o win

over

the

lass f

Westernizedntellectuals,heDutch

fficials

an

Mook ndVan

der

Plas

were

ompelled,

f

they

wanted o

reassert

measuref

Dutch

ule,

to fallbackuponthe traditionalineofpropping p the feudalnobility.

Though

ormallyhe o-calledMalino olicy

mplied

number f demo-

cratizing

lementsuch s the reationf

regionalnd ocal

ouncils,

n

fact,

the

power f

ristocraticulers asoften

einforcedatherhan

iminished.20

In

areas nder he

way ftheRepublic,

he ituation as

quite ifferent.

With

the exceptionf a

very imited

umber f Indo-Europeanshose

pledge f

oyaltyotheRepublic as accepted,

ll Europeans,

ven hosewho

had

kept

utofthe

amps

uring

he

war,

were nterned.fter ard uffer-

ings,most f themwere

ventuallyeleased

nd transportedo areasunder

Dutch ontrol.hus nseveral laces n the nteriorf Java, uch sJogja-

karta,

he

number f

ndo-Europeans

as

practically

educed o

nil.

Their

place

n

the governmental

ystem as occupied y

ndonesians ho had

received ome Western

ducation. he

prewar

tratificationccording

o

race, lready

eriously

ndermined

uring apanese

ule,

ad now

uffered

death-blow.

The

position

f the ndonesian

ristocracy

ithin

he

Republic

as more

ambiguous.

ome

feudal

ulers,

uch as the

young

ultan

of

Jogjakarta,

Hamengku

uwono

X,

belonged

o

theforemost

eaders fthe

Republican

19

SeeG. McT.

Kahin,Nationalismnd

Revolution

n

Indonesia,

thaca, 952, p. 352 and

356.

20

Ibid., p.

365 ff.See also R.

Kennedy,

ield Notes on

Indonesia, outh Celebes

1949-50,

New Haven, 1953.

47


9/13

PacificAfairs

movement.

herewere

lso

many egents

ho

wholeheartedlyoined

he

Republican

ause.

nsofar

s the

ristocracy

as

far-sightednough

o

per-

ceive he

rends

f

the ime ndto

giveup part

f ts

prerogatives,

he oss

f

statust suffereduringhe evolutionaryearswasbut mall. emocratiza-

tion

f

the

governmentystem ent

urtherhan n

the

reasunder utch

rule;buttheregentsnd

wedonos till

etained gooddeal of

power, nd,

in many

nstances,

embersf thearistocracy

ucceededn

amalgamating

with he ew op lass f

ntellectuals.

In

some reas,where

hefeudal

ulers ere, ightlyr

wrongly,onsid-

ered

by thepopulation

s potential

esertersotheDutch

ide, hepicture

presented

nother xtreme. his

holds specially

rue f theeast coast f

Sumatrawhere ative ulers adgreatly rofitedefore hewar from he

Western lantation

conomynd

were uspected ow by

the ndonesian

Republicaneaders f

conspiring

ith heDutch n order o

restore utch

rule.

n

the irst onths

f1946, he anguinary

Sumatra

ocialRevolution

occurred,21esultingn

a brutal

massacref many ocal

aristocraticeaders

and their

amilies.n

some ther arts f

Sumatra,imilar

vents ccurred

of

which

hose

n

Acheh re

especiallyotable.

ere t was the raditional

struggle

or

ower etween

hepetty eudal hiefs

nd thereligiouseaders

which

ccountedor hedramatic

ventsfter he

Japaneseapitulation.he

balance fpowerwhich heJapaneseadmanagedo achieve y keeping

both

groups

n

check

ouldnot

ast.From

December

945

until

ebruary

1946, herewas

an

outburst

f

nsurrections

ed

by

the

ulamas roup Mos-

lem

religious

eaders)during

which

everal amilies

f

petty

ristocratic

rulers

uleebalangs)

eremurdered

o the

astmale

descendant,

nd hun-

dreds

f

thers ere nterned

s

enemiesf he

Republic. 22

An

ntermediate

ituation

as

obe

foundn

the

rincipality

f

urakarta,

where

he

unanwas

stripped

f

most f his

governmental

owers,

ut

eft

inpossessionfhispalace ndhis piritualunctions.

Another

roupwith

n

ambiguous

osition

as

theChinesewithin he

Republican erritory.

hough

ome

of

them

were

ble to

take

over con-

siderable

ortion

f the

arge-scale

ommerce

ormerlyarried n by big

Western

nterprises,

any thers,specially

hose

iving

n

the

desas vil-

lages)

became

ictims

f the

ocial

unrest.

hey

were he

greatestufferers

from

military

rictionss

they

were

onsideredy he

ndonesianss poten-

tial

Dutch

agents.

here

were

many

asualties

mong

hem

nd a

large

number,

t

the

pproach

f

theDutch

roops,

led rom he

ountry

o the

21

Kahin,

op.

cit., p.

I79

if.

22

Piekaar,

Op.

cit., p.

250.

48


10/13

Changes n Indonesia's ocial

Stratification

cities

hus

eaving

he

rade

nd

the

money-lending

usinesses

hey

ad

car-

ried n

beforeo

be taken ver

y

well-to-do

ndonesians.23

But

the

substantialhifts

roughtbout

n

territoriesnder

Republican

sway ouldnotbe keptwithin hose imits. he result ftheattemptsf

Europeans

nd

feudal

eaders o

restoreheir

rewar

tratificationas

quite

the

reverse

fwhat

had

been

hoped.

he shiftsn

the tatus

ystem

epicted

above

had

been o

dynamic

hat hey

ecame

deciding

orcen the

olitical

struggle.

The Indonesian

lass f

ntellectualsow

proved

trongnough

inally

o

overturn

hecolonial

tratification

ccordingo race.

This was

due n

great

part o the

mportantunction

hey

ulfilled

n

the

machinery

f

society.

n-

creasing

conomic

egulation,n

particularince hecrisis

f

the

thirties,

hadmadeboth headministrativendeconomicystemsependentpon

the

cooperationf

the

newmiddle

lass

onsistingf

numerous

fficials,

employeesnd

techniciansn

the

ervice f

governmentr

business.

y

cor-

porate

ction, n

an

economic

r

political

asis, y trikes

nd

non-cooperar

tion, his lass

ould

disable hewhole

conomic

ife f

the

ountry.

t is not

independent

usinessmen

ho

govern

conomicife n

theOrient

ut

rather

the

arge

monopolistic

nterprisesnd

the

tate,which

re,

however,ully

dependent

pon

he

ooperation

f

thenewmiddle lass.

he

power

fthis

class howedtselffter heDutchmilitaryccupationf Jogjakartatthe

end

of1948.

By

refusingo

cooperate ith

he

Dutch,

he

Sultan,

upported

by

practicallyhe

ntire

ultanate

ersonnel,

ucceededn

makingt

mpos-

sible

or he

Dutch o

dministerhe

rea.

In

the new

ndonesia

f the

present

ay, he social

upremacy

f

the

upper

ayer

f

the

newclass f

Western-educated

ndonesians

eems, or

he

time

being, o be

practically

nimpaired.

he

Indo-European

roup

spe-

cially as

suffered

seriousoss

of

status.

otok-Europeans,

nd

Americans

for

that

matter,till

have

many

pportunitiesn

commercend

industry

especiallyfthey elong othe ategoryf specialists ot vailablen the

Indonesian

abor

market. ut

ndo-Europeans,

ost f

whom

were n ad-

ministrative

ostswhere

hey ad to

compete

ith

ndonesians

ithoutny

traditionalolonial

rivilegend

without

inguistic

dvantage

rather,

eing

handicappedy

a

lack

of

knowledge

f

the

ndonesian

anguage),

re n a

much adder

light. ens of

thousands

f

them,

ffectedy

mass

sycho-

sis,have

ought

efuge

n

Holland,

where

heir

ssimilation

as

proved ar

from

asy.Those

remaining

n

Indonesia

perhaps

oo,ooo)

till ace

evere

difficulties.

nly

minorityas

opted or

ndonesian

itizenship

nd even

their ositions notfreefrom iscrimination.hosewho haveretained

Dutch

nationality

re

no

longer

oleratedn

government

obs

except

nsofar

23

See

Kahin,

p.

cit.,

.

327

if.

49


11/13

Pacific fairs

as theymay be classed

s specialists. ossibly,

number fthemwill be able

to switch ver to

private usiness nd to profitn thiswork

from heir

du-

cational advantage

over the masses.But as a group, the

Indo-Europeans,

either f Indonesianor Dutch nationality,ave no future nd will be able

to

competewiththe

members f the ndonesian

op grouponlyon a basisof

individual ualities.

However iberal

he egal protection hichracialminorities

ayenjoy n

the future, he real position f such

groups n Indonesian

ociety an only

depend n the ast

resort pon the extent o which ndividuals

n their anks

become

ssimilatednto the new ruling lass.Any form f

segregation rom

the Indonesians n a racial or so-called

nationalor culturalbasis will no

longer ecure hem safeguarded osition

s minority roups.

ventually,t

maywell turn hemntogroups fpariahs.

The situation f the Indonesian-Chineseeemsat the

moment ar more

favorable, nd thisnot only because

of the proximityf a

powerful hina.

Their position n trade seems,for the

moment, argelyunimpaired,

ut a

tendencys discernible

imilar o theprocesswhichforeboded

hecatastrophe

for

the Indo-Europeans.

ust s before he war the Indo-Europeans

were

pressed

from

below

by

Indonesiancompetitionn the field

of

government

administrationnd were obliged to

set their educationalstandards ver

highern order okeep abreast,he Chinesewereousted, uring heyears f

the revolution, rom mall-scale

rade

n

the villages.24

n

foreign

ommerce

they

re still

makingheadway,

ut

it

is

only

a

fairly

imited

roup

of

Chi-

nese who

profit

y

the

new situation.

Although

he

greatmajority

f the

Chinese at

the transfer

f

sovereignty

utomaticallycquired

the

status f

Indonesian

itizens, heir

inal tatus

will

be

decided

by

a

treaty

etween he

Indonesian

nd

the

Chinese

governments.

here

stillexists

good

deal

of

discrimination

nd social

tension,

nd also a

strong eeling

f

envy mong

many

ndonesians.

robably

here

re

large

numbers

f

Chinese

iving

n the

cities n a state f poverty,utthey ttract cantnotice. f the Chinesecon-

tinue

holding

together

s

a

group

under conditions

making

for economic

competition

n

a

group basis,

their

ventual

ate

cannot

be

doubted. n the

long run,they

will also be

unable to

maintain heir

rivileged

osition

s

a

group.

In the

social

stratification

f

the

new

Indonesia,

racial criteriawill fall

ever

further

nto the

background.

his

applies

to

those f

European

descent

in

particular.

he

prophecy

ttered

y

Ross

in

1920

to the effecthat before

the end of this

century robably very

estige

f

European

eminent-domain

in

Asia

will

have

vanished

ounds,

t

present,

lmost

commonplace.25

ut

24

Ibid.

25

E. A. Ross,Principles f Sociology,920,

p.

543.

50


12/13

Changes n

Indonesia's

ocial

Stratification

stratificationn a

racial

asiswasnot he

nly

ne to beswept

wayby

the

revolution. e have

een

hat ederalism,s

expressednthe

o-calledMalino

policy , as a dam

castup

against n

overthrow

f the

ristocratic

rder

f

society. fterhefinal efeat fcolonialism,owever,t appeared hat n

several

egions he

ristocratic

rder,

ithoutheprop f

the

Dutch rmy,

was

unable o hold

tsown

either. he

federaltructure

rumbled

eforehe

dynamic

nslaught

f thenew

ruling

lass.

he revolutionas notdirected

only

gainst

olonialism;t

resultedo a

large xtent

n

a

defeat

f

the

nobil-

ity

s well.The

feudalristocracy

ost

great ealof he

ura

urroundingt.

In

many

egions,t could

hold

on

to somevestige

f

ts

authoritynly

by

throwingtself

holeheartedlynto

he

nationalisttruggle.

Japanese

ccupation

ndnational evolution

ave peeded

p

the

prewar

trend oward n increasingndividualismnd toward socialevaluation

based n

personal

chievement.

oreover,

he

years

f

nsecurity

ave

orced

manymembersf

the

prijaji

lass o

engage

n

trade, profession

hey

ad

formerly

corned.26

he rising

ndonesian

usinesslass s

thus

njoying

n

enhanced

ocial

restige. o longer

rerace

nd birth

mportantriteriaor

determiningocial

tanding.

uring he

revolutionaryears,

he

traditional

authorityf the

elders

was

seriouslympaired

hile

young

evolutionary

fightersthe

pemuda)

were

winning social

steem or

hemselves.omen

achieved measure f social qualitynd recognitionuringhenationalist

struggles

fighting

artners

f themen.Yet

thereversal

f values

was

not

nearly s

completes it

mighteem t

firstight.

fterhe

chievement

f

the

primary

im

of

the

revolution,

ational

overeignty,

uch

f

the evolu-

tionarympulse as

goneby

theboard

nd

the

breach ith

he

past

ppears

to be smaller

hanwas

expected.

he

elders esumed

largepart f their

authority.

omen,

o

longer

eeded s

partners

n

the

truggle,

aw them-

selvesmore

elegated

o

the

background

gain.Whathas

been

preserved

f

the

old aristocratic

rder,

as

been

ntegratednto

henew ocial

rder.27

n

Indonesianocial evelopment,ontinuityrovesobeasessentialfactors

reversal.

In

considering

he

resentituation

nd

prospectsor he

mmediateuture,

with

espect

o

social

tratification,

t

should e

borne n mind

hat

he arge

majority

f

ndonesiansre

still

easants.

ike

the

feudal

obilitynd

the

religious

eadersn

the

ast,

he ew

lite

f ntellectuals

nd

near-intellectuals

and the

ising

merchantlass

re,

or

he ime

eing,

nly

ratherhin

pper

crust

f ndonesian

ociety.

he

intellectual

lass

s

primarily

n

urban

lite

26

D. H. Burger, Structuurveranderingenn de Javaanse amenleving Structural hanges

in

Javanese ociety),

ndonesie, ol. III,

No. 2

(September

949), p. io6

ff.

27

For

an

evaluation f

the

authorityf the

feudal

nobility

ee also R.

Kennedy,

p. cit.

n

Acheh,

the

uleebalang lass

was

reinstated o

part

of its former

uthoritywhich

was

one of

the

causes f the

Daud Beureuh

evolt n

I953).

5I


13/13

Pacific ffairs

derivingts supremacyrom hefact hat hefocus f modern

ndonesian

administrations centeredn the owns. utthepresentuling lass s hardly

able

to

wield ommandver he grarian asses nd t may e expectedhat

thepeasantryill, eforeong, ecome more ecisive actorn thebalance

of ocial ower.

New criteriafsocial restige ill, herefore,oon ppearwithinndone-

sian

ociety.ocialprestiges being ncreasinglyeterminedycriteriaon-

nected

ith he truggleetweenollectivities.n a sense,hiswas rue lready

in theprewar eriod f national trife. ew norms f valueemerged,he

main riterioneing alor n thenationalistause. uring heJapaneseccu-

pation, nd more speciallyuring herevolution,his rocess as consider-

ably einforced.nyone aken obe a

kaki

angan ica a tool f heDutch)

wasdisqualifiedrom heoutset. incethe overeigntyransfer,hediffer-

entiationetweeno'sand non-co'sthose aving ooperated ith heDutch

and

those emainingoyal o theRepublic ill he nd) gives xpressiono

this

endency.

The developmentowards reaterndividualismn thefirst hase f the

presententurys thusbeing vertakeny a new movement ithgreater

emphasisn collectivection. he old traditionalgrarianommunitiesre

losing heir nfluence,ut through ewly ormed ollectiveodies uch

s

peasant nions nd (insofar s labor n theplantationss, nvolved) rade

unions,

ew

eaders ome o thefore. heir ocial restiges often till f

a

traditional

haractereing ased

n the charismatic

ie

between

eader

nd

group:

tie

estingnan

rrational

elief

n the eader's

ell-nighupernatural

capacities.

ut

their ower

nd social

nfluenceill

ultimatelyepend pon

the ohesionnd

the

ocial

ignificance

f

the ollective

ody hey epresent.

Other ayers f the ocietyrealsobeginningo challengehe upremacy

of

the

new

ruling lass.

The

new middle

lass f near-intellectuals

s

some-

times

istrustfulf themore

Westernized

pper ayer

n whose

hands

he

leadershipftheRepublictpresenties.Militaryecruitmentromhemass

of

the

population

as

also

brought

ew

personalities

o theforefront.

Consequentlyt

is

probablehat

he

most owerful

ollective ovements

will

eventually

ause

split

n

the

ruling

lass nd bind he

new

elite o

the

political,ocial and military rganizations

hich

ucceed

n

getting

he

ascendancy.

huswe can

see

that

he

endency

owards status

ystem

ased

on ndividual

rosperity

nd

ability

s

n

turn

ecoming

utdated

s

collective

organizationsre

beginning

o

play

n

increasinglymportant

ole n

social

evaluation,t the ame ime orcinghe ndividual ore nd morento he

background.

Universityf

Amsterdam

52

kelompok 1-change in indoensian stratification (wertheim)

Documents