Stories from Deli

Java Bode 13-12-1897

Medan, November 1897

Long before Tandjong-Poera, also known as Klambir, the capital of the Beneden-Langkat district and the residence of the Sultan of Langkat, gained the significance it holds today, an enterprising merchant established there built a sturdy, large bridge over the Batang Serangan and created the road to the petroleum facility at Pangkalan Brandan.

The government did not mind seeing this work taken out of their hands and allowed Mr. Sandel, the merchant in question, to collect tolls from everyone who crossed the bridge, with the exception of the governing officials and the Sultan with his entourage. This situation remains unchanged, and now that traffic in Tandjong Poera, particularly in the direction of the petroleum sources, has increased in importance, the bridge has become a very lucrative asset.

It seems that the railings of bridges always hold a great attraction for all sorts of idlers, and just as the loiterers at the Amsterdam waterfront quickly found their counterparts in the Malay loungers of Tandjong Poera, who apparently find leaning on the railing of the covered bridge with a view of the swiftly flowing river very pleasant. If it had stayed at that, the bridge owner would have remained silent, but when the Malay loungers repeatedly and deliberately soiled the bridge in the most aggravating manner, the man’s patience ran out, and he decided to teach these gentlemen a lesson.

One day, he smeared the bridge railing with minyak babi (pork fat). As is well known, according to the Quran, pigs are unclean, and the Malays, especially in Langkat, are very devout. As fate would have it, the first lounger to soil his hand, his right hand, on the pork fat and thus become unclean was none other than the Sultan’s stepbrother, Toengkoe Oeda, who also happens to be a Haji! Great consternation among the natives who witnessed this. A native never eats with his left hand, as he uses it for something else that I find difficult to describe in more detail. The unclean Haji was thus forced to fast and pray to become clean again. No wonder his anger was great. Still deeply affected by this terrible event, he encountered the bookkeeper of the bridge owner and, with the words “hantam itoe binatang blanda” (hit that Dutch animal), ordered one of his followers to give the man a beating. Before the unsuspecting European knew what had happened, he received a slap in the face. Naturally, it didn’t end there.

The assaulted European filed a complaint, and this case is still pending. The enraged Toengkoe went to his relative, the Sultan, and offered to bear half the costs if the Sultan would build a second bridge over which everyone could pass for free. The Sultan was very angry but found this revenge too expensive.

That is where the matter stands, and if anything happens, I will report it. This story sheds a peculiar light on the attitude of the Langkat nobility and the tone they believe they can take.

At the ball at the residency house on the occasion of the Queen’s birthday, one had another opportunity to see our East Sumatran princes in their splendor. The Sultan of Deli, simply dressed in a coat, the Sultan of Asahan in a state coat embroidered with gold and a sword, and the Sultan of Langkat in a general’s uniform laden with gold, complete with a hat and a brilliant aigrette on top. Furthermore, he wore a magnificent state sword and a diamond-studded watch chain. The “showiness” radiated from him! And it all comes from petroleum. Fortunately, His Highness is still young and, under better guidance, will likely calm down.

Nevertheless, such personalities give pause, especially to those who constantly sing the praises of indirect rule, including one of the first, Mr. D(een), in his articles in the Deli-Courant.

It is often said that the current Minister of Colonies is a strong advocate of this form of governance, based on his experience in Deli. That experience, gained from 1871 to 1881, during the time when Deli was, as it is called here, “opening up,” dates back sixteen years.

Therefore, it is by no means proven that what was commendable then, now that the land has developed and the cultivation (and with it the number of Europeans) has significantly expanded, still constitutes the alpha and omega of governance wisdom. In Deli, where the authority of the princes meant little or nothing, where, as is likely, the Sultan’s high rank originally stemmed from a mistake or a coincidence, indirect rule may have succeeded, but I believe that no single guarantee has been obtained that indirect rule as a system is sound in a land where those under our direct administration and our Dutch-Indonesian legal system are so numerous and almost outnumber the native population. The success or failure of this form of governance will always be closely linked to, if not entirely dependent on, the personality of the prince and the competence of the official appointed by the Dutch-Indonesian government over the region. I think this is too much to hang on a single peg.

(Telegraaf.)

Jan Tabak.