Unlike the general pattern in post-war Indonesian that the revolution dynamic swept the traditional rulers away—killing some and humiliating all, there was a great intention in West Borneo to re...Show moreUnlike the general pattern in post-war Indonesian that the revolution dynamic swept the traditional rulers away—killing some and humiliating all, there was a great intention in West Borneo to re-embrace to the traditional aristocracy, who were welcoming the return of the Dutch. On the other hand, revolutionary sentiment supporting the Unitarian-Indonesia rang weaker. Actually, during the short Japanese interregnum, the traditional sovereignty in West Borneo was devastated: all of the ruling sultans were killed, together with some prominent royal members. Interestingly, the traditional authority was soon restored, just after the capitulation. The questions for this research revolve around: Why did the revolutionary republican fail to emerge which meant that fragile commitment to the new nation Indonesia was shown? On the other hand, why was its political development strongly marked by the prevailing of “re-clientelism”? In doing so, this research traces back the political development focus on two rapid changes: post-kongsi war in the late eighteenth century and post-Japanese interregnum. It argues that although, post-kongsi war, Batavia intended to exercise more direct control over its margin, the colonial government eventually only institutionalized the ethic bossism which enhanced strong ethnic political identity. As a consequence, the society still lived within their-own ethnic columns with brokered authority but very limited aces to the state practice by which later provided only weak support to the newly independence state of Indonesia.Show less
